Ever since Ghost was introduced in book one I've been fascinated by him.Book two wasn't a massive hit for me so I went into this with some trepidation.After a shaky start I really liked this and it's definitely my favourite book in the series.


Who would be the man who finally tamed Ghost?


Turns out the Author created the perfect character in Duncan.Not someone I would have imagined Ghost with but this is Ghost so I really didn't know what to expect.


With the drama of Mama and Spratt unfolding around him,Ghost finds himself having to put his trust in a Cop.Their relationship is not conventional at all.There's no insta lust or love here.What there is,is a slow understanding of each other and their boundaries.Don't go into this expecting lots of dirty sex,which given Ghost's past might be a realistic expectation...


Ghost might have been a whore but sex did nothing for him apart from survival.His body might have been used but mentally he switched off every time,as a result this is an extremely slow burn which I didn't mind at all.In fact anything else here wouldn't have been believable here.Ghost learns a lot about himself from Duncan and he wants to be a better man for him.There is drama,there is angst but there are also some tender moments-watching old movies together and taking care of each other had me melting a little bit.


Duncan and Ghost turned out to be pretty damn special together


Recommended.

I skimmed most of the beginning of, Rough Trade. Even then Ghost is a young man. If he were older, closer to 30, I might have enjoyed it more. I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting.

<b>5 MASSIVE stars!</b>

Wow.

I've been waiting for for Ghost's story since the first book of this series and it didn't disappoint at all. What an amazing ride this book takes you on.

This book starts off with a few flashbacks with Ghost, including how he met what's-his-face, the dirty cop, Benjamin something - SPRATT! Right, him. But back in present day it's starts off basically where the second book left off.

Ghost is on the run with the old retired cop, and he's taking Ghost to stay with Duncan Rook, a good man if not a good cop, to help protect him from Spratt and Mama.

But when things go awry, Ghost is left injured and dependent on Duncan to help protect him. Not that Ghost can't take care of himself, but not even Ghost can take on all of Spratt's men himself.

What follows is these two on the run, and a pretty awesome slow burn.

See, Ghost has had a pretty shitty life, and he was <spoiler>sexually abused (although I don't know if this is much of a spoiler, but just in case) when he was young</spoiler> and anything to do with romance or sex is all an act for Ghost, because he doesn't actually like it or want it. But it does give him control he got taken away from him as a kid - control in that HE got to choose what he did with his body.

And Duncan, he really is a good man, and when Ghost tries to pull his hooker moves on him - all an act, but a way of control - Duncan isn't having it, especially when Ghost goes into a fugue state, basically a doll, protecting himself from what is happening. Duncan isn't a rapist, and he won't do anything with Ghost unless Ghost actually wants something too.

So in the weeks they're on the run from Spratt - and Mama too, really - they get to know each other, and there's just something about Duncan that gets to Ghost. Maybe how he's probably the first one to treat Ghost with respect and decency when it comes to sex. There's Tobias and Church, but they're his friends, and there's nothing sexual or romantic there. But Duncan is attracted to Ghost, and yet he still refuses to do anything Ghost doesn't want to do. It surprise Ghost and makes him off balance.

And maybe as well, it's just how damn truthful Duncan is. He's an honest, good man at his core and he doesn't take Ghost's bullshit - he sees it for the bullshit it is and calls him out on it - and he admits to being attracted to Ghost when most probably would have lied. It's obvious he wants Ghost, but he doesn't take advantage of Ghost's apparent willingness, because he can see it for what it is. He tells Ghost he's not a good person, when most would lie and say he is. But then he also says Ghost CAN be a good person. He doesn't say it's hopeless either, that Ghost can't make different choices.

He's also good at keeping emotion out of his voice, which makes him hard for Ghost to read, and that only frustrates him more.

But they also make each other laugh, and smile when they both so rarely do.

They watch old movies together and end up eventually cuddling, kind of, in bed. It's a thing they start to do, and it brings them both comfort, but especially Ghost.

I will say that, once Spratt and Mama are dealt with, it almost felt too easy - or well, over with quickly. But it felt authentic and real and not drawn out for drama's sake, or shortened because the author didn't know what to do. More that they were ended in the most realistic way possible, and sometimes that isn't in a long, drawn out way.

There is some smut, but not a lot. Don't expect much - and no penetrative sex - but there is still some, mostly at the end. But given Ghost's past and how he never even really wanted sex until Duncan, it makes sense that it took him time to get to a place that he'd be comfortable doing sexual things and wanting them, and being ready for them. I like to think that Ghost and Duncan got to penetrative sex eventually and it was awesome and beautiful, just like when they do get to smutty things, it's not just about the sex. It's about their feelings for each other, and how safe Duncan makes Ghost feel, and how much Ghost actually wants it when he's with Duncan.

I love where Ghost ends up by the end of this. Not only was getting his perspective awesome and amazing, but seeing where he ends up versus where he started out? Simply beautiful. Ghost actually chooses, at one point, to start going to therapy, and it helps him SO much. I was so proud of Ghost when he decided to go, because he so desperately needed it.

Also where Ghost and Duncan start out and where they end? Just as beautiful. Let's just say they start out with Ghost threatening to stab Duncan or somewhere along those lines if he got close to him, and by the end there is love - real, raw, honest love.

This is 470 pages of awesomeness, of getting to go on a journey with Ghost, who starts out this book - this series - so broken by what life has thrown at him, and getting to a happier, healthier place by the end of it. Never "fixed" or "cured" but better. Healing.

The ending made me so freaking happy, and the epilogue was just perfect for these two. I would have liked a little more with them in the epilogue, but in a way it was perfect for Ghost, who got closure in the best way, and had Duncan at his side in the end. And really, in the end Duncan, Tobias, and Church (and maybe their boyfriends...on occasion ;)) is all Ghost needs and wants in life. They're his family.

All I can really saw without given everything away is...yeah, read this. A lot of us were waiting for Ghost's story, and it was everything and more than I could have asked for. And maybe...maybe I'm just greedy, but a little short with just tad more of Ghost and Duncan wouldn't be asking for too much, would it? No? Darn ;)

Also, P.S. at the very end we find out what I assume is Ghost' real, legal name. :O I'll always think of him as Ghost, but it's super cool to know his real name, too.

Two massive, MASSIVE thumbs up - this is the best in the series, in my opinion. And my second favorite Sidney Bell story. Such a beautiful, amazing story, I loved it to pieces. I can't sing it's praises enough.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend!

This was a good book!

It wasn't great, and the writing often felt awkward. This is in terms of plot and dialogue. However, I did enjoy the characters' personalities and the setting is described well.

For M/M fans, this is a decent read!

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5* A perfect tale for the elusive Ghost, with his gentle giant, and a satisfying end to all the... loose ends from the previous tales.

Sidney Bell is an autobuy author, and I don't bother with the blurb with her books - I see her name and I go all grabby hands. This tale is the third and final in the Woodbury Boys series, at least for now, I think, and it's the best of the series. Book 1 was pretty great, book 2 was good, but this is perfection in every way.

These days, I'm finding myself turned off by tropes, authors jumping on the same bandwagon and MM being saturated with saturated with variations of the same old tale, but this is something very different. From a correctional unit to Russian mafia, corrupt cops, a mystery being solved and finally, a chance of peace for Tobias, Church and Ghost, and their guys, and the author did it in style.

This book picks up immediately where book 2 ends, with Ghost trying to fend off the Russians and trying to retrieve his USB and he ends up on the run, but it's a case of who can you trust, when you're not in the habit of trusting anyway, and the word 'trust' isn't even in your make-up, let alone when you can trust those who're meant to be the good guys. He ends up in the company of Duncan, a cop who's suffering from his own demons and betrayal, and they have to join forces with an almost unimaginable temporary ally. Temporary and danger being the name of the game played out whilst they're on the run.

There's a lot more to this tale, and I can't do it justice in a review. Duncan is the perfect foil to the prostitute that is Ghost, and I loved how gentle this giant of a man was, respecting Ghost's needs and feelings, and reading through his body language, his snark and sass, and seeing the real guy, William, beneath the facade that is Ghost.

There's very little sex in this tale, which is a plus - it'd have had to be a case of 'let's stop and get it on, despite my traumas and your issues, and the bad guys', which too many authors do too often in this type of tale, adding a brand of TSTL to their tales. This book got it right, and even when the leads had a chance to get it on, it was slow and perfect.

The book does end 4 years after all comes right, and it's great to know that the various leads are happy and that Ghost and Duncan have laid their ghosts to rest. This is one of my few 5* reads of 2018.

ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley for my reading pleasure.