I went into this book trying to keep my expectations low. Months ago, I kept seeing mentions of this book and it seemed like something I would greatly enjoy. Me being me, I had to read the first two books in the series first. While I liked the stories, there were things in the first two books that had me questioning if I would love this particular book as much as I had initially hoped. Having now read this story, I can say it absolutely lived up to the hype.

The pacing of this book is spot on. That was an issue I had with the last book, but this book flowed seamlessly between scenes and even the small time jumps. Having read those other books, I was already fully invested in Easy finding his HEA with Dani. I knew it would be complicated and emotional, yet I hoped it would all be worth it in the end. It was.

Easy is amazing with Dani. To be fair, he is a great guy with all of his friends. He may have a reputation as a player which is well earned, but he’s genuine and giving with his inner circle. His thoughtfulness when it comes to Dani is next level and made me melt. At the same time, Easy has such a chip on his shoulder from all the years of loving Dani silently that he often toes the line of doing something stupid out of his fear of being spurned. Of course, Dani doesn’t understand and makes jokes about his reputation when she’s feeling confused by her budding feelings and hurt by his actions.

Something I always appreciate in stories about widows or widowers is when the deceased spouse is treated with respect. Too often these stories have the dearly departed end up not so great so it’s “acceptable” for the one left behind to move on. That wouldn’t work here or would be, at the very least, disingenuous. Dani’s husband was known and loved in the first book, so anyone having read the series would be put off if Joker was looked at in a different light all of a sudden. The author made sure Joker continued to be looked upon as the great guy he was and never even hinted that Dani shouldn’t or ever wouldn’t still love him.

There are a lot of ups and downs in this story. Both from the romance side and the grieving side of things. Dani has been through a traumatic couple of years, and in many ways so has Easy. They both have to deal with the sorrow, guilt, and acceptance of the loss they’ve suffered. But they also have to find a way to move on with their lives. This story is heavy, I’m not gonna lie. But it is oh so good.

You can find more of my reviews at All In Good Time.

I typically don't like a story where one person has been in love with a friend/ brother/ cousin's spouse. I know going in that the poor "other" person is gonna die, 9 times out of ten. And that makes me mad. Every once in awhile, the other person is a twat and the death is no hardship. However, I liked Joker. HE was not prominently featured, as he was already married but I knew the first time it was mentioned that the groups resident manwhore was in love with Joker's wife that something was going to happen. I hoped, at first, that Easy would find someone else that would knock him on his ass and his friendship with Joker's wife would mellow.
However, since this group is made up of fighter pilots. a death is not outside the realm of reality. When Joker went down, it was not a big surprise. I have to say that Easy was much more than he seemed at first. HE is a sweetheart under the swagger.
The baby was a little cliché but I loved that there is an HEA and that it didn't feel easy or forced.