Wranglers: Voir Dire

Title: Wranglers: Voir Dire
Author: Vivien Dean
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella/ Extended Amber Kiss (17k words)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

THE BLURB

Attorney Sam Kimball finally gets what he’s wanted ever since meeting Derek Rossi across a conference room table—his legal rival in his bed. The sex is fantastic, but Derek makes it clear from the start this is a no-strings arrangement. That’s why Sam doesn’t bother letting Derek know about the weekend he needs to spend in Napa as best man in his friends’ commitment ceremony.

But when Derek finds out, and inexplicably agrees to go along as his date, Sam is both excited and terrified. This will be the first time either of them has met the other’s friends. He has no idea how Derek is going to handle it, or worse, if he really wants to handle it at all…

THE REVIEW

Wranglers: Voir Dire is the book 2 of in the Wranglers series by Vivien Dean. While it is possible to read this without reading the first book, I wouldn’t suggest it; these short stories are just part of a larger picture and you really should start with book 1, Wranglers: Discovery (reviewed here). Where the first book is very much about the attraction between the two San Francisco attorneys, Derek and Sam, this one focuses largely on their transitioning relationship. Here we see a weekend away, communication problems, a series of firsts, and taking things to the next level.

Set two months after the end of W: D and spanning one weekend, the tale this time around is told from Sam’s POV. Trying to get ready for a weekend in Napa to attend — and participate in — the commitment ceremony of friends, Sam is surprised to run into Derek and even more surprised that Derek agrees to accompany him at the last minute. This would be their first time away together and the first time they would be meeting friends of the other, and Sam doesn’t know what to expect from the controlling, private Derek. When Sam’s assumptions about Derek get in the way, he finds himself at a crossroads of either driving Derek away or bringing them closer together.

I really like Sam, our vertically-challenged, twangy-when-he-wants-to-be Texan, and I felt for him in his confusion and frustration over Derek’s behavior — public displays, amiability, comments — all conflicting with what he knows about the man in the several months they’ve been together:

Like to why in hell Derek was acting like this. Possessive boyfriend was not his usual style. Any kind of boyfriend wasn’t his style.

It seems that this weekend will offer him a chance to get to know the real Derek, or at least a peek inside the shell. While Sam wants more than just a casual sexual relationship — and has since the beginning — he is temporarily willing to settle, to take what Derek can give, and be patient. He realizes that there could be a prize at the end if he’s a good boy and lets Derek come out, so to speak, in his own good time.

I think I liked Derek here more than in the first book, especially once the story got going. As cold and aloof as he is passionate, he is one man who is difficult to be in a relationship with.

He looked like he was carved from marble, some pagan statuary ready to be worshipped. Untouchable. Formidable. Unbreakable…Derek wasn’t stone. He just had walls a mile thick.

But as he and Sam work through their issues, I found myself realizing that there is a good man who really likes Sam under that hard exterior. I think as the series progresses, we’ll see even more of his soft underbelly.

I like their little confessions, and as they work though their issues, I’m reminded that in these stories — as in real life — communication problems create some of the most conflict and drama — and most of it unnecessary.   I like their conversations (when they’re communicating effectively, that is) and banter. I also like how they are together in general: two really smart men who have a lot in common.

We meet friends of Sam’s — Abel and Geoff, the grooms — and two women who are part of a bike tour of wine country, but for the most part, the story is character-driven by the protags. I found the story to be well-written and -plotted, gentle and not overly-angsty despite the storyline.

OVERALL

I highly recommend this little book to those interested in the genre, fans of the author, and those who read the first book of the series. Book 3, Wranglers: The Defense Rests, is available next month…