Review: Melting Ice 4

Melting Ice 4 by D.J. Manly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This serious is bad boy with a good heart written all over it. In book 4 which can be read as a standalone, the latest bad boy to corrupt a cop is Claixto Medina. Cal is not exactly a bad boy. The circumstances of his situation are horrific. What was done to him as a child is wrong and I cannot condone it. It makes me see red and I want to kill this so called "good guy" who saves him from being on the streets. There is no way to state it other than pedophilia is wrong. Now Cal is stuck in a situation where he has to be under protection by a U.S. Marshal, Dominick Sawyer.

Dominick and his team pull a fast one on Cal to get him into protective custody. What looks like a simple operation turns into something ugly fast. And isn't because Cal is hitting on Dominick or because Cal remembers Dominick from a time in the past. It is because Dominick's past is not as finished and over as he thought.

I like this series. These are fast appetizer erotic suspense with guys I like. Yes, the male characters are formulaic and that is what ties the series together. Well, the stereotypes of the bad versus good guys plus the decrepit cabin in the woods. At this point, shouldn't someone fix this cabin up a little bit? I digress. The series keeps my attention because there are no absolutes. There are gray areas which makes requires a review of the situation case by case basis. In addition, the guys are all created differently enough that they keep a reader interested and wanting to learn more. The imperfect conclusions with a bittersweet ending also keeps me interested because whilst the good guy doesn't exactly lose, they don't exactly win either.

From an erotic perspective, D.J. Manly definitely hits all the right spots. The sexy build up between the characters as they protest and try not to give "into sin" is adorable. The tension adds heat to when the characters finally get it on. The sex is not exactly kinky but it isn't vanilla either. This bit of rough play is just the right balance. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series. This erotic suspense is recommended to m/m readers who enjoy redeemable bad boys.

* Provided by Manic Readers