PRE- RELEASE REVIEW: 'Two Man Station' by Lisa Henry
Title: Two Man Station
Series: Emergency Services #1
Author: Lisa Henry
Published: March 22, 2018
Publisher: Self-Published
Cover Artist: Natasha Snow
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Erotic Romance
Length: 298 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Bisexual; May/December; Children; Law Enforcement; Office Romance; HFN; CW: Violence
NOTE: There are tags or content warning we chose not to disclose for sake of story ARC.
About Two Man Station
Gio Valeri is a big city police officer who’s been transferred to the small outback town of Richmond with his professional reputation in tatters. His transfer is a punishment, and Gio just wants to keep his head down and survive the next two years. No more mistakes. No more complications.
Except Gio isn’t counting on Jason Quinn.
Jason Quinn, officer in charge of Richmond Station, is a single dad struggling with balancing the demands of shift work with the challenges of raising his son. The last thing he needs is a new senior constable with a history of destroying other people’s careers. But like it or not, Jason has to work with Gio.
In a remote two man station hours away from the next town, Gio and Jason have to learn to trust and rely on each another. Close quarters and a growing attraction mean that the lines between professional and personal are blurring. And even in Richmond, being a copper can be dangerous enough without risking their hearts as well.
5 HEART READ
REVIEW:
If you enjoy reading about a relationship that develops over time, earned trust, growing kinship and mutual attraction – not the complete nuance of sex – let Lisa Henry take you on a journey with Two Man Station.
Meet Giovanni “Gio” Valeri. Senior Constable at 26. How he got this position at such a young age is a mystery that plays out right along with why he has been exiled a two day drive away from any family and friends, to Richmond. A dust bowl in the middle of Australia with only two coppers. His sole objective is to stay under the radar and serve out his two year chastisement. Sergeant Jason Quinn has just welcomed his “new guy”. Scratch that, the Constable forced upon him by circumstance and the only other man there to help him patrol the approximate size of West Virginia in the States. Gio’s reputation precedes him. Or at least hearsay and gossip do. How do you partner with a man who appears to have “ethical standards on speed dial” and can’t be trusted?
Oh the brilliance of Lisa Henry! So subtly she uses the Australian Outback, with its beautiful, majestic yet dangerous tundra and throws two men together to gently, quietly and passively navigate each other’s paths amidst protecting their citizens as small town coppers.
One man with a secret he’s desperate to hold onto and another who’s a widower just trying to manage the everyday chaos of raising his ten-year-old son as a single father.
Without the reader even being aware Henry shrewdly entraps you into Gio and Jason’s lives accelerating your anticipation for what is to come. With four main players moving this story along, two head strong cops, one sarcastic AO (which one can gather is like an Officer’s Assistant) and a precocious young boy, Henry deals with the delicate subject matter with great care and sensitivity.
In one sentence, with one simple word, Gio is explained and the flood gates are opened. In the rising waters Lisa Henry does what she does best, releasing another surprise in Jason.
Once they begin to trust each other with their lives their hearts aren’t far behind but neither one knows how to tell the other and as they seem to build a rhythm you know the storm is brewing. It turns out, as with any relationship, they’ve learned what buttons to push and how to turn the key on the shackle to hurt the most.
They both want, and as Jason ponders, “Jesus, it would be a bloody mess. But want wasn’t rational,” they find neither are the forces that surround them. It takes one defining moment to show them just that.
If you enjoy children in your stories you’re gonna love Taylor. This young man’s respectful manner, bubbly personality and untainted intellect at the ways of the world are so refreshing and further serve to connect you with who Jase really is. Plus his sneaky charm adds comic relief when you need it the most.
One thing I will advise is to have Google handy. Being set in Australia, and within the confines of police work, if you’re not familiar with either you will want to look some things up. I for one love when I pick up books like this because I learn new things. There’s cop speak such as MVC (motor vehicle collision), RBT (random breathalyzer test) and even slang for teachers (chalkies). And the food…What are sultanas, lamington and SAO’s? Truly, some of this sounds so yummy! Like chicken salt. Yeah, already found a recipe to give this one a go on my fries. Wait, chips. See, I’m learning!
Two Man Station is a reminder that when you are in a relationship it isn’t only just about you, it’s about opening up, compromising and keeping each other safe. Whether you’re a country copper or a lover. Sometimes what we think we want, or even need, may just be misguided notion. Because things happen for a reason and place us right where we’re supposed to be. With who we’re supposed to be with. If all this wonderfully good emotion swirling around the subject matter and building ARC of a complex story is what we have to look forward to in the next installment in her new Emergency Services series I say to Lisa Henry - Bring. It. On!
A copy of Two Man Station was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Riptide Publishing, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
Meet the Author
Lisa Henry likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.
Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.
She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied history and English, neither of them very thoroughly.
She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.
For more from Lisa be sure and visit her website!
