Hard to Be Good by Laura Kaye

June 20th, 2015 Kimberly Review 40 Comments

20th Jun
Hard to Be Good by Laura Kaye
Hard to Be Good
by Laura Kaye
Series: Hard Ink #3.5
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Heat Level: One FlameOne FlameOne FlameOne FlameHalf a Flame

Hard Ink Tattoo owner Jeremy Rixey has taken on his brother’s stateside fight against the forces that nearly killed Nick and his Special Forces team a year before. Now, Jeremy’s whole world has been turned upside down—not the least of which by a brilliant, quiet blond man who tempts Jeremy to settle down for the first time ever. Recent kidnapping victim Charlie Merritt has always been better with computers than people, so when he’s drawn into the SF team’s investigation of his army colonel father’s corruption, he’s surprised to find acceptance and friendship—especially since his father never accepted who Charlie was. Even more surprising is the heated tension Charlie feels with sexy, tattooed Jeremy, Charlie’s opposite in almost every way. With tragedy and chaos all around them, temptation flashes hot, and Jeremy and Charlie can’t help but wonder why they’re trying so hard to be good...

Hard to Be Good is a novella in the Hark Ink series by Laura Kaye while it is not necessary to follow the main story, we do see the after effects at the end of book three and get a swoony LGBT romance with plenty of heat. This story pushed me beyond my typical comfort zone. As a straight woman, I was not sure I could connect let alone enjoy an M/M romance. I should have known Kaye would deliver, and give me all the feels.

Hard to Be Good shares Jeremy Rixey’s story. I have loved Jeremy since the beginning from his witty t-shirt collection to his laid-back attitude. Jeremy is Nick’s younger brother and currently housing Nick’s Special Force team and others above his tattoo parlor. During the series, we met Charlie Merritt who was a recent kidnap victim. The attraction between them has been hinted at so I was excited to see their relationship develop. At one hundred and sixty five pages, there was not a lot of room for a slow-burning romance and given the circumstances, Kaye made me believe in these two.

The romance was sweet, adorable at times and so heated my Nook caught fire. While admittedly this was virgin territory for me, Kaye made me first connect to the characters and then allowed me to become caught up in their emotions and the passion. I am not going to lie, the tale is detailed and surprisingly very hot. I was swept away and wanted them to find their happy.

We do get a little plot development but the focus was on Jeremy and Charlie. Eileen now has a friend or maybe I should say foe? I will let you decide. This thread added a touch of fun to the overall intensity of the series arc as well as further bonded this motley crew of characters.

Hard to Be Good for the win. Jeremy and Charlie’s story made me smile. While this is part of the Hark Ink series, I think it would work as a standalone but recommend reading them in order.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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40 Responses to “Hard to Be Good by Laura Kaye”

  1. Jennifer

    This is the only one in the series I’ve not read. . . yet. The only other M/M romantic suspense I’ve read is the Cut & Run series. It’s REALLY GOOD!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I popped my cherry on this and it was really detailed..I just read my second another novella in a contemporary series I am reading it was called Melting Point and was good as well.

  2. Karen

    This was the first Kaye I’ve read and I loved it. I picked up a few of her books at BEA and planning on purchasing the rest of the series because I fell in love with all the characters.

  3. Tiffany

    Great review! I don’t usually do a lot of M/M romances, but this sounds pretty interesting. I think I’ll check this series out.

  4. Jennifer

    I need to get my hands on a copy of this one. I’ve read/listen to the others in the series and have Hard to Let Go on hold at the library so I get it on release day next week.

  5. Melanie Simmons

    This is a series I’ve been wanting to try. I keep seeing this cover and it makes me want to try even more. I’m going to have to pick it up soon. I’ve read a lot of M/M, so I’m not worried about that. If you want to give another M/M a try, I highly recommend Cut & Run series by Abigail Roux. It is FBI romantic suspense with humor. I really enjoyed it.

  7. Sharlene Wegner

    I have been collecting the books in this series, but haven’t started reading yet. 🙁 I have never read a m/m romance, but from excerpts of the other books, I know I would like Jeremy, and this cover is stunning! I think I would prefer to read the books in order.

  8. Lindy

    I love it when a novella has the ability to pull you in completely. It’s quite a challenge to develop a romance in so few pages! I love that the author was able to grab on to your emotions and give you the desire for this couple to succeed. Being a straight woman myself, I feared being able to relate when I first took a chance on LGBT romance, but noticed quickly that if the author is really good I would get swept away in the emotions and love that the couple shared. Excellent Review Kim 🙂

  9. Heather B

    I loved this novella so much!! This whole series is great, but Jeremy and Charlie broke my heart in the best way!

  11. Ramona

    I tried my first M/M romance recently and was surprised by how invested in the characters I became. It’s still not the first thing I’d reach for in a bookshop, but I’ll probably read other stories of the same type 😉 Glad you enjoyed it, Kimba.

  12. Lorna

    I just searched her author page on Amazon because I was sure I had read her before but not. This sounds really good :)The only one close to this that I have read was Lover at Last by JR Ward. I loved that one. Glad you enjoyed 😉

  13. ShootingStarsMag

    Thanks for sharing! That’s good you really enjoyed this one since you hadn’t read M/M romance before. You should try some more, because there are a lot of great stories/authors out there.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am not sure I will pick up novels that are strictly M/M especially adult but if a series I am reading has a couple I won’t hesitate. YA is different and I have read LGBT books and loved them.

  15. Sophia Rose

    I haven’t started this series yet. I look forward to it after reading many of her other stories. It’s interesting how so many series are mixing up m/f and m/m. Glad it was a good one.

  16. Red Iza

    I’ve only read one book by her and loved it, “Dare to resist” in the Wedding dare series. I have her Hearts of Anemoi series and Forever freed too, can’t wait to read those. Then, I’ll move on to the Hard ink which is already on my (complicated and enormous) TR list. Great review, Kim, I’m glad you enjoyed your trip into virgin territory ^^

  17. Grace MyBookSnack

    I loved this one! She really delivered in this novella and exceeded all my expectations on how it was going to go down between Jeremy and Charlie. Glad you enjoyed.

  18. Lover Of Romance

    I tend to be pretty picky about M/M romance as well, and I read them very rarely, but I love Kaye’s style, you just know she will always deliver a great read. And ever since the series began, I have been watching these two, so after reading your thoughts on this one, you have me super excited to read it now.

  19. kindlemom1

    Glad you enjoyed this so much Kim, I love it when an author can take you somewhere you don’t normally go and fall in love with it.