Sawyer

I didn't actually realise that this book was part of a series when I started it, much less book 7. Having said that, I don' think that I lost anything by not having read the other books. This is a stand-alone story.
This is the story of executive chef Alexander. He comes from money and is very successful in his work life. Sawyer is the pot washer at the restaurant that Alexander works at. He is obviously very clever (having won a scholarship previously) but after the car crash that killed his parents, put his brother in a wheelchair and left him permanently injured, he just lives day to day trying to survive and look after his brother.
This is a romance between Alexander and Saywer and quite a sweet one at that. It's also a view of how hideous the US really is if you are sick or injured. Not only are Sawyer and his brother reliant on private insurance (and Sawyer fears that he might lose his job overnight for nothing really) but it seems that the insurance company has also been ripping them off.
This is quite a quick read, but it isn't all romance, with much of the story being as much about sibling relationships as anything else. It was a good read that I really enjoyed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sawyer is the first book I’ve read by M. Tasia and I really enjoyed it. It can easily be read as a standalone (I haven’t read any of the others in this series) but I liked this so much I’d like to read the other books in this series. Characters from the other books do play a roll in Sawyer but I never felt lost while reading it.

The blurb does a great job of explaining the story so I’ll just say that I felt the romantic connection between Sawyer and Alexander and I could also feel how much Sawyer cared for his brother. There were several places that really touched me and made my eyes leak a bit (that means I really liked it).

There was a bit of excitement in a couple of places and I really didn’t see one of the things coming (no spoiler!). I had a couple of issues which kept me from giving it 5 stars. I can’t say a lot without spoilers but I’ll say that I wanted a bit more closure/details for a couple of the bad guy characters. I loved the epilogue.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

Lets just put it out there right now - Alexander and Sawyer are #couplegoals. Sawyer is working as a dishwasher at The Gates, a high end restaurant in downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). He and his brother lost their parents in a car crash caused by a drunk driver hitting them at high speed. He and his brother were severely injured and both permanently disabled. Sawyer's brother is a quadriplegic who needs round the clock care and support. Sawyer needs a leg brace to be able to get around. Since the accident, Sawyer has been dealing with a difficult insurance company and managing everything for his younger brother. He is fiercely devoted to his brother and does everything in his power to make his brother's life better. Alexander is the executive chef at The Gates. He comes from a family with a lot of money - but their primary mission in life is to give a lot of it away. His passion is food though - and he has a talent for putting restaurants on the map.

Sawyer has not been on Alexander's radar at all (other than Alexander yelling at Sawyer for a disastrous crash with a server carrying desserts. When Alexander's ex-boyfriend proves just how much of an awful person he really is in horror show of a coincidental meeting at the zoo and Sawyer punches him - things get a little crazy for them all.

I loved Sawyer and Alexander together. They were definitely two pieces of a puzzle. Both of them are very much caretakers and obviously care deeply for their families - both blood and found. I also loved reading a m/m romance that didn't have any angst about coming out or coming to terms with being gay. All of the drama revolves around their family and Alexander's unstable ex.

The characters in the book beyond Alexander and Sawyer are also great.

Overall - this is a great romance read!

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

This book worked for me, it's honestly my favorite trope and everything just fell in place with the characters and the plot. I've only read book one in the series besides this one and I didn't feel lost. Really enjoyed it.

p.s. typo on page 84