R Cayden is a favorite of mine and none of the Love Unexpected books have disappointed me so far. I'm glad to say that Filthy and the Beast has continued the trend of not disappointing.
From the Blurb:
There’s no way in hell I’m falling for a man called the Sledgehammer.
Enzo is a lot of things.
A big grump of a jock.
Twenty years my senior.
My employer.
Straight.
I’m living with the retired boxer while he recovers from an injury, just here to earn a good paycheck after my life fell apart.
Getting
emotionally involved with the man isn't my job, but my gaze keeps
lingering on his thick muscles and the storm clouds in his eyes.
For a million reasons, my geeky heart shouldn’t flutter when Enzo walks in the room.
But then he grunts my name, our eyes lock, and the world turns upside down.
Filthy and the Beast is a steamy standalone M/M romance featuring an older,
grumpy jock and the bubbly geek who lands in his mansion and upends his
life. It’s got a secret sweetheart, surprise temptation, and a touch of
angst. The fourth book in Love Unexpected, Filthy and the Beast can be
enjoyed alone or as part of the series.
Sarah C's Review:
We start the book with Damien working at the gym, commenting on one
particular late night patron that he apparently notices a lot and
notices that a lot of people are scared of. The Sledgehammer, also known
as Enzo, is a former boxer with a bad reputation following a Vegas
fight some twenty years prior. It was a fight that ended his career and
changed his life, for reasons we later learn are a lot deeper than we
originally see.
Damien is in a state of transition during this
story, and because of that, he's willing and able to stay with Enzo as a
personal assistant, helping him as he recovers from a bad back injury.
The details of this injury are a bit... off... Mainly because we learn a
bit about what happened later and the timeline doesn't fully seem to
match up. It niggled at me and that's honestly part of the reason it
lost half a star. It didn't niggle enough to make me want to mark down a
full star nor did it take me out of the story. It just lingers in my
brain.
During his time as Enzo's personal assistant, he learns
more about the former boxer. He learns that Enzo is not an open person,
something we also see during the chapters that Enzo narrates. It gives
an interesting dichotomy to their relationship and the vastly different
narration styles really sells the Grumpy/Sunshine trope that we get
here. It also shows that despite a twenty year age gap between them,
they are very much on the same page emotionally - perhaps with Damien
being a bit older emotionally.
All in all, this book is really
sweet. The two men have decent communication, though they could get
better in a few places. I love that Damien constantly pushed for honest
communication between them, particularly as they explored things
sexually. Because its R Cayden, you know to expect a good amount of
spice - and they do not disappoint with this book.
You do not
have to have read what came before in order to enjoy this. None of the
previous plots tie in, though you see the characters from previous
books.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Filthy and the Beast is currently available on Amazon as part of your KU subscription.
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