susanylee

3.5 starsBecause this is # 4 of a much beloved series…Because this is Mac and Tony…Because I’m so happy about how this relationship has grown…Because we welcomed back all the side characters and Anna & Ben were just cute enough w/o becoming annoying…(especially Ben…)…I really really enjoyed this book.I didn’t want to start, because I didn’t want to finish. I’ve grown to love Tony & Mac so much. They fall into my favorite “closeted-alpha-cop-falls-in-love-with-the-pretty-out-fella” category. And going on the journey with them, through some really sh*tty times frankly, makes them feel like family. I think Kaje Harper did a great job wrapping up this series. It would have been easy to just snap her fingers and make it all ok. But, she didn’t take that easy way out. Mac still struggled with his injuries and recovery. Tony was even moreso than ever concerned about Mac and his career and how to keep their family together. There were outside dangers (Mac’s CRAZY family, Ben’s Grandma and Grandpa, a police investigation…) and this book was all about the battle to stay a team, a family, and get through. Good stuff.The book, however, felt long. I don’t mind long books, but when they start to feel long, my ADD kicks in and I battle to stay interested. It also felt repetitive…the Mac & Tony parts were hug, let’s fuck, we need to talk, I’m worried, he’s worried, repeat. And, surprisingly, the crime story took a major backseat in this final book and it felt secondary and a bit out of place…like it should have been a separate novella (except, of course, we had to go through Mac’s recovery and way back to work storyline through it). I do have to be honest. I’m one of the lone voices of dissention: I, personally, didn’t love the updated cover. I preferred the original. This picture of “Mac” actually was distracting to me. Though (shockingly) the same stock photo model all throughout the series, he looks dorky in this one and…weak?...and just not “alpha Mac” to me. I had to try hard to get him out of my head, especially in sex scenes w/ Tony, in order to focus on what was on the page and not on the cover. Despite all that, again, it’s impossible for me NOT to have really enjoyed the book. But for me, it’s about the entire series, it’s about the “the end” for this beloved couple, and gosh…I’m just sad to see them go. But, thank you, Kaje Harper for giving them to us! 4 stars for the Life Lessons series…definitely recommended reading…