4* Solid, satisfying ending to this excellent series. And yay for spin-offs!!

Book 5 in the series can't be read as a standalone, and in fact, I'd suggest a re-read of the entire series to be able to enjoy this at its best, as there's a lot to remember about the Madigans and their many pies and enemies, and though it was clear all along that Brax was an ally, this clashed with his duty as a cop, so despite him being part of the Madigan inner circle, he was always a bit of a man of mystery (of sorts). And, yes, that's exactly what made me want to read his and Holt's tale, and the way LR wrote it, giving us their backstory, didn't disappoint.

I loved how LR took us back to Brax and Holt's first meeting, 14 years before, when Holt was 20 and Brax was 16 years older, and his senior officer. What was immediately clear was that Brax had an unguarded heart for someone who'd been in the military for so long, and that he was a romantic and a bit of a dreamer; I think this book is the most romantic of the series and the most emotionally told. Brax's coup de foudre, which he admits to later in the tale, was sweet and seeing the tale mainly through his eyes and thoughts up until the present, was the best way for LR to allow readers to 'see' him. I loved how he was a mentor, father figure, friend and confidant to Holt (and others) before all of this turned into more one single night, after which he and Holt parted as lovers and remained friends-only for about (sorry, I think this is right) some 6 years. It was heartbreaking to read about his feelings when Holt met Amelia and began falling for her, and how Brax had to remain firmly and only in the friend column until after the events of book 3. Their single night together was perhaps one of the most romantic I've read, and yes, it was sweet and sexy and it proves that you don't need braces and garter in a sex scene for it to be great. This was perfect for the leads, especially with the reveal that Holt dropped hours before.

Holt's uncensored thoughts and words (mainly via messaging/calls/video calls) to Brax was endearing to see; he really was guileless in a way that I could believe of a 20-something, and he had a vulnerability about him that was at odds with his size, his upbringing and his protectiveness. At times, yes, this bordered on a father-son feel in his relationship with Brax, but at the same time, Brax's mentoring, his faith in Holt, and senior command's faith in Holt, made him the man we've seen in the series. And despite being part of the Madigan family of assassins, Holt retained a lot of his innocence and guile, and LR managed to make both come across as entirely believable.

The sex scenes in this were more love scenes, and whilst there were only a couple, that was perfect for the leads, especially as Holt dropped another reveal, which I'd already suspected from early in the series. Yes, this reveal worked because of who Holt was, and because of how LR had portrayed him as a Madigan very, very different to the others. The only thing that had a tiny hint of the not-believable, is that Brax was 50yo at the time of the current tale, and that wasn't really factored in much. Yes, he was former military and yes, he was a cop, so he had to be physically fit, but yeah, a touch more reality here was needed, but on the whole, that's a minor issue.

The tale was perhaps 60% backstory, which I loved, then morphed into the near present, then present in quite a quick sequence, taking us to events in book 4, and things then started to move quickly when Brax was threatened. The storyline from this point out became about the Madigans protecting their own, whatever the cost, and several collaborations sprung up, with characters from LR's Agents Irish and Whiskey and Trouble Brewing making appearances. There were tiny bits of deja vu but on the whole, everything worked, though there seemed to be a lot of leeway available to the collaborators, as well as a lot of clout in places where it came across as too easy and not that believable, which is where things lost credibility the tiniest bit, though not enough to make me eyeroll. I did like that a character I'd thought was lost to the Madigans showed their true colours in the end, coming through for them and setting up a means for the family to be free of persecution in the future. I'd disliked that character, but here, they redeemed themselves and showed they were not as black as painted. And yes, I felt a bit sad for them. This closure aspect did require suspension of disbelief, as well as the introduction of a few not-strong-enough-to-be-credible red herrings, so these issues add to why the tale wasn't a 5* read for me.

Book 5 ends with all the former leads loved-up and living their HEA. It also hinted, before LR confirmed in her Author's Note, that there will be spin-offs of this series, and I suspect that a certain Scotty might be a future lead, as well as Marshall, a former military buddy of Brax's, though I can't figure out if they'll be together or in separate tales. Some of the Madigan lieutenants and insiders got bigged up a bit more than I expected, so I wonder if they'll also form part of the new series, given that their roles may become a bit redundant now that the family has killed off its more unsavoury activities...

What I've really liked about the series is that LR wrote her bi leads organically, without the need for lots of explanations and without what sometimes comes across as defensive justification - other authors could learn from her. There was nothing that felt faux about these guys, nothing that came across as defensive, nothing that came across as inorganic. She went with 'actions speak louder than words' and 'less is more' and yes, cliché as that sounds, this made for tales that focused on the story, not the leads' sexuality. And, this series was refreshingly devoid of toxic masculinity, despite her themes making that, in theory, seem incongruent. I particularly liked how both Brax and Marshall, hardened military men, were nothing but puddles of goo in Lily's sticky little mitts 😊 And, I liked how LR introduced Brax's Jewish identity, and the things that Holt (and others) did to respect and celebrate that; it was sweet and believable, as she tied it in with the spirit of military camaraderie. There was nothing didactic about this tale, though there were several things that I was pleased to be educated about here, not least the yummy Jewish food.


I can't wait to read more from this author, and hopefully to see more of Brax, Holt and Lily as a family - they're my favourite Madigans.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Valentine PR and Literary Management, for my reading pleasure.