Time and Tide is the first book I’ve read by Bryce Winters and I really liked it a lot. Second chance stories are one of my favorite romance tropes and this is a really good one. Even though this is the second book in the series it can easily be read as a stand-alone story. I haven’t read book one but now I really want to.

Linc was injured serving his country; he’s having a hard time dealing with his injuries. He has a lot of regrets and one of them was the way he left things with his high school boyfriend, Kent. Now Linc is back home and said boyfriend has been assigned as his physical therapist.

I thought that Linc and Bryce had a lot of chemistry right from the beginning. This is a bit of a slow burn story at first (no sex until after the 50% mark in my e-reader) but the sensual tension between them was almost palpable. When things finally did get sexy between them, it was pretty hot. 😊

Kent was devastated when Linc left with no word as the were getting ready to graduate from high school. Twelve years have passed and he’s really leery of starting something again with Linc but he just can’t seem to help himself.

I thought the writing flowed well and the pacing was good. I was invested in the story right from the beginning and was so happy when things finally got worked out between Kent and Linc. I loved that Linc used baking for others to help calm him.

There weren’t really any surprises in this story but that was fine with me. When the crises came between Linc and Kent I knew what it was going to be about but that didn’t matter. The way things were resolved was great and I loved the creative gift that Kent had for Linc.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Reviews for Bryce Winters

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Kent made his way to the door, laptop tucked under his arm, but before he could get far, Linc’s hand snatched his. Startled, Kent looked back at Linc, who looked confused as he stared at their hands.

“Thank you, Kent,” Linc said after a long moment, dropping Kent’s hand. “This is the first time I’ve actually felt some relief since being home,” his voice trailed off, and he shrugged. “Just thank you.”

“Of course,” Kent said, not knowing what else to say. “We’re going to get you better, Linc. But it isn’t going to be easy.”

“You said that to me before,” Linc said, giving Kent a quick smile. “You’re probably not lying now either.”

Kent blinked at Linc before remembering the talk they had in the library during their first meeting as tutor and tutee. Kent had lost his patience with Linc, who had been moaning about baseball practice and the games coming up and how he was wasting so much time studying math with Kent when he should be in the gym. Kent had told him then and there that unless he gave some effort toward his math homework, Linc wouldn’t be playing ball period. That had shut Linc up enough to listen.

“It isn’t going to be easy,” Kent had said then. “But I guarantee that if you try, you’ll succeed.”

Kent stiffened at the memory, even as he answered Linc’s smile with a nod. He needed to remain professional here, not take a stroll down memory lane.

“You’re going to do fine,” Kent said. “Have a nice nap. If you need us, ring the bell on the cart.” With that, Kent snapped the light off and nearly ran from the room, leaving the door propped open so anybody could hear the bell.

Kent heaved a sigh of relief as he made his way back out to the gym. The appointment was over. All Kent had to do was unhook Linc when he was done, type up his notes and submit them. That would hopefully be the end of his professional relationship with Linc. With the extent of his injuries, it was very likely that his boss, Nick, would take over the case.

“Kent, how’d it go?” Nick asked, walking up to Kent from behind. Startled, Kent whipped around. Nick stood tall and wide, having been a college football star back before he decided physical therapy was his calling. He had his jacket on and a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. He must have just arrived.

“Fine,” Kent said with a tight smile. “Linc’s been through a lot, but I think he’s stubborn enough to make a full recovery. Won’t be easy.” Kent gave him a quick rundown of his eval, emphasizing that he would write up the report for Nick’s review later.

“Good work, Kent,” Nick said as they headed to the center desk. It was long, overlooking the gym, with connection hubs for each of the physical therapists’ laptops. None of them had private offices, instead choosing to work out in the middle of the action. Nick said it built a rapport with the patients and tech assistants, and it was always a good idea to have the physical therapists on hand for exercise questions that came up. Kent found he liked the busy atmosphere, finding a natural rhythm in preparing for a patient’s arrival and writing up session notes while his patients completed their exercises.

“I think he’ll be a great new patient for you. A challenge,” Nick continued. Kent froze in place, the words taking their sweet time to register fully in his brain.

“What?” he asked, voice small.

“Holt. I’m assigning him to you. Good luck.” With that, Nick turned his back to Kent and began to pull his own laptop from his bag, unaware that he had turned Kent’s world upside down.

Changing Tides Series

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