Title: Get It On
Author: J Kenner
Publisher/Year:  Martini & Olive 3/10/18
Length:   167 Pages
Series:  Man of the Month #5

Overview

Skillful hands. A talented tongue.
Meet Mr. May.

Fate’s been messing with veteran Tyree Johnson. It took his buddies in combat and his wife in a fatal car accident. But he’ll be damned if he’ll let Fate take his beloved bar, The Fix on Sixth.

For years, he’s avoided being Fate’s whipping boy through sheer force of will, and now every bit of his focus is centered on saving his business. Until, that is, the first woman who ever touched his heart walks back into his life-along with a daughter he never knew.

After years of loneliness, Tyree’s not prepared for the way Eva’s sensual curves and sharp wit still capture his heart and rekindle his senses. All he knows is that for the first time in forever, he’s found a passion other than his bar. But one final twist arrives when Fate pits the bar he can’t bear to lose against the woman who’s stolen his heart.

He’s a master at red-hot ecstasy.

My Thoughts

The series continues and even though these are all standalone stories, they are all intertwined.  We finally get to see what makes Tyree tick and it’s a sweet story of what it was like when he was younger, and then now still when he wants to honor his wife who passed, set a good example for his teenage son and to still live his life.

Eva is the woman who got away 20 years ago.  They had an all consuming romance, however coming from different worlds, and Tyree being in the military, well things were bound to fall apart.  Interestingly enough, her father is the one who made things more complicated – leading Eva to believe that Tyree was killed on duty and therefore raising a surprise child alone (or rather with a man that her father approved of and chose).

So fast forward about 23 years., and we get to see Elena, Eva and Tyree’s daughter set out on the path to find her father, get to know him, and potentially get her mom and dad back together.

In true J Kenner style, we have a story that’s complicated because there are so many ghosts in the past, a lot of distrust and geography that keeps things from being as simple and easy as they should be.  They are pulled apart but always brought back together because of chemistry that was strong 20 years ago and is still there under the surface now.  When they finally allow it to bubble up, well we get the types of scenes that we come to adore from our author – so hot and steamy that you know that there’s something great if they just let it happen.

The supporting characters of the children make this story a bit more real and deep than other stories in the series.  Elena has her own personality and motivation for doing things and she’s a great kid. (young adult).  What i keep getting confused about here though is what she’s doing in Austin, but i guess it doesn’t really matter.  Then there’s Eli, Tyree’s son and he’s beyond his years.  He’s in high school, working in an internship in the hospital and trying to make something amazing of himself.  He’s also really mature for his age, being a bit of the voice of reason to his father about how they should/could live their lives better given that Tyree is living in the past.

Of course, this story like all the others surrounds the Man of the Month contest at The Fix – the attempt of trying to save the bar, and we see that it’s doing wonders for the crowd and revenue.  Tyree has a sense of positive trajectory here, although there’s the underlying fact that his biggest competitor, a bar called Bodacious is stealing not just his customers, but his menu and now his staff.  So things start to get dirty here a bit as well and i wonder if we’ll get to see how that plays out in anyone else’s story.

All in all a good continuation of the series.  There were times though that i noticed that Eva and Elena were mixed up in names and dialogue throughout the story – but that’s just me being critical.  Anyhow – enjoy and onto the next installment that i believe comes out on Tuesday.