Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Sometimes the best day of your life is the one you never saw coming.

Joe Cohen has devoted the past two years of his life to one thing: the care and feeding of Kade Bosa. His partner in their PI business, roommate, and best friend, Kade is everything to Joe, even if their relationship falls short of what Joe desires most. But he won’t push. Kade has suffered a rough road, and Joe’s pretty sure he’s the only thing holding Kade together.

Estranged from his own family, Joe knows the value of desperately holding on to someone dear, but he never expected his present and past to collide just as Kade’s is doing the same. Now they’ve stumbled across evidence that could change their lives: the impact of Kade’s tragic past, their job partnership, and any future Joe might allow himself to wish for….

 

First edition published at Dreamspinner Press, December 2017.

 

Book Review

kai·ros noun \(ˈ)kī¦räs\ plural kai·roi \-rȯi\ : a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action: the opportune and decisive moment ~Merriam-Webster

The author certainly picked the correct title for this novella. In one moment, one blink in time, Joe and Kade are thrown completely for a loop and every single thing they thought they knew went upside down and sideways. I do so love a Mary Calmes story. There are always so many juicy bits to just clamp down on and shred all while turning pages faster than imaginable.

Joe and Kade have been best friends and partners in the PI business for several years. Joe is in love with Kade - miserable with it, to be honest - but he knows he can never walk away. Joe is the only thing keeping Kade grounded instead of lost and alone. Kade lost his father and his brothers when he became an addict while working undercover for a long time and then being caught shooting a drug dealer while under the influence. His father, brothers, and all the other boys in blue abandoned him, and he still feels the hurt from that. Joe has his own baggage but these best friends, partners, and roommates have a decent life - although Joe could do without the mixed messages from Kade - but in an instant one informant, with video proof, tears down everything they thought they knew about the past.

This is the second time recently that an author has taken the direction of the story somewhere I totally wasn’t expecting. It’s completely my fault for assuming - oh no, the horror - based upon the blurb and the book cover. Truly. I’m not going to share how badly my assumption went, however. Regardless, Joe, Kade, and Declan, their informant, end up in Santa Barbara, California, which is a short distance away from where Joe grew up. On a winery. In the Santa Ynez Valley. A history he never shared with Kade. A family he never really talked about nor the reason he left. None of that matters, however, when they run into Joe’s mom on day one and she is so not what I was expecting. I’ll give you a wee hint - both Kade and Declan are seriously mother deprived, so… *snorting water out of my nose*

“I growled when he broke the kiss, and the smile I got against my lips, his smile, the one that had only really ever been mine, filled my heart with light and colors and peace that I had nothing to compare to. I knew I liked him, I knew I lusted after him, but I’d had no idea I was all the way down the rabbit hole and in love. Madly, utterly, completely, head over heels in love with Kade Bosa. God help me.
“Did you two maybe want a room?” Mom called over to us.”

I’m not saying a whole lot because I don’t want to ruin this for anyone else. I can say that Joe’s reunion with his family was perfect. I can say that these two men aren’t Sam and Jory, or Ian and Miro. Nope. They are Joe and Kade. Perfect for each other in every possible way. This novella is phenomenal and reminded me again why I love Mary Calmes to pieces. There’s friendship, love, laughter, some bad guys, some really good guys, love, family, wine, hot sex, love, and a beautiful ending.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was purchased by the reviewer.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 175 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	16-March-2025
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Kairos-Mary-Calmes-ebook/dp/B0F1NH4MMJ