Night Watch

by A.G. Meiers

5 out of 5

Synopsis

A romance at midnight, but happily ever after at dawn? Complicated…

Hunter Jones is stalling. One day, he’ll be a lawyer in his family’s prestigious firm, but just not yet. Instead he is working the nightshift at the Burlington Inn. It’s the perfect place to hide from everything that’s wrong with his life. Once—just once—he did something out of character and it has haunted him ever since. Romance is the last thing he needs. But then a tall, dark, and sexy stranger checks into the hotel...

Detective Cole Sawyer’s life is a complete clusterfuck of his own making. His lies have ruined his chances at a fresh start, and his anger and insomnia constantly get the better of him. Cole has no business getting involved with the honey-sweet night auditor. But with every late night encounter staying away gets more and more difficult.

When a dangerous stalker targets Hunter, Cole realizes just how far he’s willing to go to protect the man he never should’ve been with in the first place—and Hunter starts to wonder what it’ll take to rescue Cole from himself.

Night Watch, the first book in The Burlington Inn series, is a contemporary hurt/comfort romance.

Review

Hunter is secretly struggling after a violent attack, and now he's convinced his attacker is stalking him. When detective Cole checks into the inn that he works at, Hunter finds someone who can help him.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative is split between Hunter and Cole.

Hunter comes from a family of lawyers, and he is under increasing pressure to join the family firm. After witnessing how all-consuming the job is, draining his relatives of all life and joy; Hunter has been putting it off. He has been prolonging his studies, and working at an inn owned by a friend of his grandmother.

After he is the victim of a homophobic attack, Hunter has been suffering from panic attacks. He feels like he's to blame somehow, and refuses to tell his family, or report it to the police. Only his friend Skylar knows the truth and supports him.

But when Cole checks into the inn as a guest, Hunter finds himself seeking help from the handsome detective.

Cole looks like he's got his shit together, but he's a complete mess.

His partner got shot on the job, and is still in a coma; Cole is suspended after beating up the guy who shot him; and to add to it all, he's still in the closet.

Cole moved to Boston to have a fresh start, and after a strict upbringing, he wanted to finally be himself. But three years in, and his lies are getting deeper.

Only when he talks to the cute night auditor, does Cole finally feel free. And when he finds out Hunter is in trouble, Cole will go to any lengths to protect him.

This book broached so many serious topics, and had a depth that I wasn't expecting from the cozy-mysteryesque-cover.

Don't get me wrong - there was plenty of humour and flirty fun, too. I was impressed at how it all balanced out. The author did a great job.

I loved how authentic and realistic it all was.

Hunter is rightly frightened of the guy who beat him up and ran away. But it's made worse, because he feels like he has to hide it, so it doesn't cast a bad light on the family business.

He kinda knows that he wasn't to blame, but he fears what will happen if he reports it to the official channels - will they believe him? Will they twist it, and accuse the gay guy of asking for it?

I really liked the supporting cast, too. They felt fleshed out, and more invested in Cole and Hunter's lives, then the two guys realise.

Skylar in particular is a bright shining star, and I really hope he features later in the series. He's always causing drama, but his heart's in the right place; and he would do anything to make his best friend Hunter happy.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes!

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