M/M Month Review: Inland Empire by James Buchanan

Inland Empire (Taking the Odds, Book 2)
~James Buchanan

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 343 KB
Print Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press
Publish Date: June 10, 2009
ASIN: B002YK4ECY
ISBN: 978-1-60820-016-0 (print)

From the author's website:
Agent Nick O'Malley and Det. Brandon Carr are back. Nick heads to Riverside, California, center of the Inland Empire and Brandon's home turf. But every minute Nick's in Riverside threatens to out Brandon. When events embroil Nick in one of Brandon's investigations -- gang hits, prostitution, illegal gambling and human trafficking - can they survive both?

I read the first book in this series, Cheating Chance (my review here), at Chris' recommendation several months ago, and immediately fell in love with Nicky and Brandon. I will say this - whenever other bloggers talk about "rope", Nick and Brandon's names always pop up. I think there was one rope scene in Cheating Chance? However, after reading Inland Empire, I understand: Wow, that boy can do some spectacular stuff with his hands!

The book begins with the murder of a teenage gamer. Brandon's police district has been trying to crack the case with no luck. Nick has come from Nevada to visit Brandon in Riverside and to pick up his car (hearse) from impound since his case (from Cheating Chance) is done and the car can be released from evidence. Brandon's a little (a lot) nervous about introducing Nick because Nick is out and Brandon is as far back into the closet as he can go. One thing leads to another and Nick ends up helping Riverside PD with the case.

My thoughts: I already loved Brandon and Nicky, and Inland Empire gave me a new view of the couple. This time they're on Brandon's turf and things are a bit trickier as Brandon can't be as open as he was when they were in Nevada. Only Brandon's partner knows he's gay.

Inland Empire started off with a bang (literally) and then moved quickly to Nicky and Brandon's relationship. At the point where I started to wonder if there would be any plot to the story, it jumped back into it and really took off.

I really connected Brandon in this book. He was so paranoid about being outed, I felt bad for him. It caused a lot of problems, both personally and professionally.

“Why do you always push, Nicky?” Exasperated, Brandon sighed. "Why can't you just leave it where it's good?"

Cutting the cop's chin in his hand, Nicky looked deep into Brandon's eyes. "Because I think we deserve wonderful."
- pg 83

I don't know if it's just me, but I felt like Nicky was more in charge in this book than he was in Cheating Chance; more dominant, if you will; and not just in the bedroom. He had a great attitude and was accepting of Brandon's fears while refusing to change his own personality.

The characters on the sideline were many and moved the story along well. Roberta the tranny prostitute was great. The landlady was awful. I liked most of Brandon's co-workers, especially his partner, Jeff. We also got to meet Brandon's ex-boyfriend Ray, who ended up helping with the case.

The end of the book was amazing - it's not a cliffhanger per se, but I'm dying to find out what happens to these two next in All or Nothing, book 3 of the series.

My Rating:

Review: Cheating Chance by James Buchanan

This book falls into my M/M Reading Challenge.

I bought this book at Chris' recommendation - Thanks Chris, you were right; I loved it!

Cheating Chance is about Nick, a young goth computer geek. He works for the Nevada State Gaming Comission checking the computer code in slot machines to make sure they're all legal. He's recently broken up with his boyfriend, Jake, who really did a job on Nick's psyche.

As the story opens, Nick is feeling sort of sorry for his situation when he meets Brandon at a Goth convention. There is instant attraction and they go back to Brandon's room. They intend to just have a fling, but their chemistry is strong and they exchange numbers and e-mail.

Brandon is a cop who lives in California, and is definitely NOT out. When Nick and Brandon get together for a fun weekend, Nick's feelings are hurt when Brandon starts flirting with women. Brandon exlains it's habit and promises to work on it because he wants the relationship to work. Of course, they stumble a few times and have some issues to work out, and Brandon has a few surprises for Nick.

The relationship storyline is nicely tied in to a mystery involving casino slot machines and a murder. There were a few scenes where I had to go back and read the technical stuff twice, but I pretty much understood what was going on and why Nick got involved; I got the "who" but was curious until almost the very end about the "why" of the mystery.

I loved the scenes between Nick and Brandon - the sex was hot and the emotional scenes drew me in. I was rooting for these two through the whole book. The scene where they talked about having sex with women had me in stitches - Nick is so freakin' cute! I got why it was difficult for Brandon to show his feelings for Nick outside the bedroom, and it made the ending that much more emotional. I'm definitely going to grab the next book about these two, Inland Empire.

I give Cheating Chance 4 1/2 out of 5 stars! Thanks Chris!!!