Wranglers: Discovery by Vivien Dean is a 50-page contemporary romance about lawyers in love, which is an irresistible theme for me. I always enjoy reading about interesting professions. These two lawyers are hyper-masculine, competitive, quick-witted, articulate, and intensely driven. They play to win in their courtroom battles and their love affairs.

The fast-paced plot and hot sexual tension will reel you straight into the story where you’ll have great fun watching them struggling to get the upper hand with one another. This story is full of strong points such as the clear flawless writing that will let you relax into total escapism. The author is so skilled that she can stay in one close third-person viewpoint while conveying everything necessary about the non-viewpoint character. No amateurish head-hopping here! The part you may enjoy most (other than the hot sex scene) is the sense of humor that lights up the heroes’ snappy dialogue.

The story starts after Derek loses a court case to his opponent, Sam. Back in his office, he vents his frustration in a Wii boxing workout. Sam drops by to ask him out for a drink. Derek thinks that Sam wants to gloat and almost tosses him out. But Sam’s friendliness wins him over.

As time passes, the two lawyers realize they can’t deny their obvious chemistry. On page 33, they kiss in a parking garage:

“Sam broke away, panting. He lifted his long lashes and stared at Derek with [blue] eyes nearly black with desire, his lips swollen from the ferocity of their kisses Derek dragged the back of his hand over his mouth. ‘I can’t.’

Sam stopped. ‘Why not?’

‘Because the last thing I need is to be caught with my pants around my ankles, fucking a colleague against his car. It should be the last thing you’re interested in, too.’

A devilish glint appeared in Sam’s eye. ‘Who said you’d be the one doing the fucking?’”

I have to admit I laughed when I read that. Wranglers: Discovery gives us heroes that are a delight to watch in action. I plan to hunt down the sequels.

Val for AReCafe ( )

This is the classic “office affair” romance, completed of night encounter on top of a desk with ties flying around. Derek Rossi thinks to hate Sam Kimball; he is the newbie who has just beaten him up in court and Derek would be more than happy to have a chance to beat him for real. But when Sam arrives in his office the same night, offering a friendly hand, Derek can’t help but wonder what it’s behind. And when Sam makes clear that he is interested in Derek for something more than a friendship, Derek is even more shocked: for the first time he realizes that all the hot between them maybe was not only rivalry.

I like both Derek than Sam. They are very different despite the same profession. Derek is cooler, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, even if he comes from a conservative family; he hasn’t had much trouble in coming out. Only that he chose to do that as everything else in his life, quietly and unobtrusively. If you ask directly, Derek doesn’t deny that he is gay, but he also doesn’t claim it out loud. So when Sam makes the first daring move on him, Derek is both shocked than stunned, and maybe the first reaction is not positive. It’s quite funny to see big and bold Derek (he is bigger than Sam not only in age but also in body) reacts like an outraged damsel to Sam’s kiss.

I think Sam is hiding some self-esteem issue. It’s not really a big problem, and for sure it’s not even real, but I think Sam’s past in a way influence him in his way to approach the world, both at work than at love. Sam is not out with his family, and probably he has also some relationship issue with his father, a need to prove that he is good enough, like and more than his father. So Sam faces everything up front, always with a grin on his face, even when maybe he would like to be more serious. The grin is like a mask, to prevent everyone to see the real Sam, the one that would like to be pampered and cuddled. Unconsciously probably Sam wears the mask also to prove that he is not “so gay”.

This is only a first instalment in a longer series, the story of how they met, and so there is not so much on their relationship, we can only understand that nor Derek or Sam live easily with them being gay and that, in top of that, now they have also to deal with a sexual affair that can be dangerous for their careers. It will be interesting to read how they will manage to save both their budding relationship than their jobs. And it will be even more interesting to read if they will arrive to live fully and in plain sight their love.

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