Sweet, a little angst, a little suspense. I liked it for the most part but I really really struggled with the way Will speaks to his parents throughout the book.

I understand how he would feel it’s justified (they certainly have their issues). But, I’m also a firm believer in “you can’t control the reactions of others, but you can control yours.” Failing to do so, IMO, says more about you and your maturity level than the other person’s. I also know how quickly someone can be lost. So, when I separate from someone, I always try to be sure my last statement to them is something I’d be ok with if I was never able to talk to them again. So every time Will speaks to his parents harshly, I cringe and want to pull him aside and explain his parents are human too and being mean is NOT properly communicating. It also tends to cause the other person to not take your complaint seriously.

Sry for the ramble. That part just really bugged me. But I do realise it is extremely realistic as well. And I LOVED that the issue was discussed.

Right now I’m on an author kick and systematically reading/listening to everything written by Grey. (Love overdrive/library). I’m learning that nearly every book he does also tries to teach the reader something about life. Whether it’s about healing from a loss, realising a “disability” doesn’t make you less whole of a person, that you are worth fighting for.... there’s always a lesson and the characters almost always show serious growth in the story. (Most romances don’t do that beyond “selfish to oh I love you, come be with me”. With Grey, it’s like he focuses on the story and building the characters, turning them into better humans and the “intimate” parts and the relationship are tools he uses to help the process and make them strong and teach them about themselves.

In most books (regardless of gender/sexuality) I skim or skip the smexy bits. But I do that very limitedly with Grey’s books bc they almost always serve a purpose to the story. Either a hurdle will be jumped, an emotion discovered, reality recognised, or a fear explored... the scenes are there to help tell the story rather than just to sex things up. If you skip/skim them, you are missing character development.

Again, I ramble, but his habit of doing things that way is very strong in this particular book. Yes the heart of the story is the relationship between the MCs but it’s also about the background characters. There are a LOT of truth bombs and reality checks along the way. I think that added to the value of the story and Will’s growth as a human.

Also, this story deals with how terrifying it can be to come out and just how much that can cost you. And how just bc you are able to live with the cost doesn’t mean that the other person is and that that doesn’t make the other person bad or weak. It makes them human with their own battle to fight. They have to choose what role they are ready to give you in the battle (whether beside them openly/privately, with them at all in any way, from a distance, not at all, etc.). And you have to choose if you’re willing to accept and respect that position on their battlefield. In this story, Will learns that part of loving someone, is giving them the freedom to choose where they’ll let you stand in their battle. That’s truly what I felt this book was really about.

I’m assuming no one is actually going to read this review, but if you have and you’ve read all the way to this point, I hope you enjoy the book :) . ( )

When two men are very different, like educated businessman William and practical charter fishing service co-owner Mike, one of two things can happen when they meet. Either they can’t find anything to talk about and don’t get along, or the sparks fly. ‘Setting the Hook’ takes its time revealing what the case will be with William and Mike, and because they are both multilayered characters who each have their own history, issues, and passions, I found it fascinating to watch their journey from a sort-of-vacation friendship to a hurricane-induced maybe-romance. As is typical for an Andrew Grey novel, there are multiple obstacles, deep emotions, and several secondary characters who bring the main story line to life and made me want to meet all of them in real life.

William is a family man: he has towed the parental line, studied what his father told him was needed to keep the family business going, and is bored out of his mind doing a job he doesn’t enjoy. He may be well educated and professionally successful, but he is neither fulfilled nor happy. His bi-annual fishing trips to Florida are his one escape, and if it isn’t just the landscape and activity that attract him but Mike who is his focus, who will be the wiser?

Mike is an ex-soldier and also a family man – but his is in a very different place than William’s. First of all, it is not traditional – his loved ones consist of his mother, who has a remarkable talent for “knowing things”, and his ten-year-old daughter, Carrie, whose mother was never interested in raising her. Mike will do anything to keep them safe and happy, and earning a living by running a charter fishing service is his best option. Finding a man to love him and a personal relationship just isn't in the cards for Mike – or so he believes.

Hurricanes are known to cause chaos, and this is definitely the case for the one that strands William and causes Mike to take him home to wait out the storm’s effects. When they open up to each other and discover the attraction each thought was one-sided is actually mutual, things quickly get physical. But their minds need time to deal with what they have done and take a lot longer to catch up. Not to mention what everyone else thinks they have a right to say – especially William’s family. I was severely tempted to wring their necks more than once! As for William? Yeah, he takes his time figuring out what’s important, but a relationship with a man and being open about it is all new to him, so I could see why it took him a while.

If you like romances with enough obstacles to make your head spin, if you enjoy watching adults growing and changing once they meet the partner they are meant to be with, and if you’re looking for a read that is engaging, shows how difficult – and yet rewarding - it can be to compromise, and has a deeply passionate love story at its core, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s got a great setting as well as a whole set of wonderful characters, but it is William and Mike’s struggle that made it all into a spellbinding whole for me.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )