Title: Bulletproof (A Matter of Time #5)
Author: Mary Calmes and Jeff Gelder (Narrator)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: February 1st 2013
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary
Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
Reviewed by: Belen
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.42 stars out of 5
Blurb:
Sequel to A Matter of Time Vols: I & II
Jory Harcourt doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Wherever he goes, it seems to find him—particularly when his partner, Sam Kage, is working undercover on a federal task force.
After the recession forces him to close his business, Jory goes to work as a matchmaker and event planner. From there, it’s only a matter of time before his big mouth and up-front attitude make him the rope in a tug-of-war between a trust fund baby and a drug-smuggling criminal. Then, as if that situation weren’t delicate enough, Jory’s undercover lover shows up working for the smuggler.
Between the men who want him and the men who just want him dead, Chicago is getting a little crowded for Jory, so on the advice of his brother, his boyfriend, and the FBI task force, he heads for Hawaii…where a serious accident threatens his quality of life. Can Sam and Jory keep the faith and prove that their relationship really is bulletproof?
First, I just want to start with how much I love this book cover! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the book too…but that cover really does it for me.
Anyway, this installment in the Matter of Time series takes place three (or so) years after Matter of Time Part IV. Jory and Sam are still happily married, Jory is still a trouble magnet, and he’s still as zoned out, snarky and wonderful as always.
So Jory’s got a new job at a matchmaker and event planning business, which he doesn’t love but has thrown himself into, particularly now as Sam has been gone for four months on an undercover assignment and being without Sam, as always, weighs heavily on Jory.
The blurb really does give you a great idea of what’s happening in the story, so I won’t rehash. Even though Sam and Jory are separated for 2/3rds of the book, I didn’t actually mind because the story flows so effortlessly. As always, Jory, being Jory, manages to find trouble in the most unlikely of scenarios, which ends up bringing him in a direct conflict of paths with Sam’s undercover assignment.
“Jory, most people, when hit men come after them, they get killed. You’re lucky, spontaneous, and your guardian angel is overworked and way underpaid.”
“I know, right? My angel walks into a bar and the other angels are like, ‘Oh shit, that’s the poor sap that’s got Jory Harcourt. Look at him, he started drinking again.’”
What I loved more than anything else? Jory actually saves Sam’s ass, not once, but three times. Ha! Actually, Jory saves the day quite a lot in this one to my everlasting joy.
I reached a hand out for him, and he crossed the room fast to take it. I pressed his warm palm to my heart. “You need me.”
“I more than need you,” he said, trembling. “I don’t work without you. I just don’t.”
“Same here,” I told him, closing my eyes.
One thing that did annoy me about the story was the inconsistent use of “boyfriend”, “partner” and “husband” to refer to their relationship. I mean, we know that at the end of Part IV they got married in Canada in a civil union – so I didn’t understand the weird referencing to Sam as his “boyfriend”.
For the narration, I love the character voices Jeff Gelder uses for Jory and Dane, but I’ll admit I definitely prefer Paul Morey’s growly Sam character voice. That being said, Jeff Gelder just doesn’t do a great job with the narration. In parts he loses inflection and his reading becomes flat at times. Worse, he self-corrects and mispronounces words often (example: saying “prostrate” instead of prostate.) Argh!
Though this is my second favorite story in the Matter of Time series, it’s my least favorite audio. The flubs and issues aren’t enough to nix it and it’s still a good listen, but you should definitely be aware before buying if that sort of thing drives you bonkers. For me, my love of the story outweighs my annoyance with a few parts of the audio, so it’s not an issue, and I re-listen to the audio book every few months. I just love this story, and Sam and Jory, so much!
“You’re a fuckin’ gift, I swear to God,” he said, closing his eyes. “Whatever I need, you give me. I’m so fuckin’ lucky.” It was said not as praise, because he wasn’t even looking at me, but simply from his heart, because to him, I was everything.
RECOMMENDED!
A Matter of Time Series
