I’ve been a huge RJ Scott fan for several years and I’ve also loved the Eli Easton books I’ve read, so I was excited to read this duo’s first co-authored book. They should have written together ages ago! 😊

Solstice is romantic suspense at its finest – heavy emphasis on the suspense. If you’re looking for an MM book with lots of sexy time this may not be the story for you. However, if you enjoy stories with intricate plots and maybe more than a bit of sexual tension, I highly recommend this book!

Gabriel has recently moved back to his hometown to become the sheriff and also to mend the rift between him and his family. Tiber also recently moved to Prophet. Both men have situations and memories that they are trying to escape from. Gabriel goes to Tiber for help when a murder victim’s dog, Duke, is found near his body. The dog is terrified and Tiber’s expertise with animals is just what Gabriel needs.

Solstice kept me glued to my eReader; once I started it, I had to finish it before doing anything else. In addition to the murder mystery, the personal situations for each of the MCs hit me hard in the feels. Gabriel’s situation with his brother, and the reasons for it, just about broke my heart.

The murder mystery is solved – so no cliffhanger – but the personal relationship between Gabriel and Tiber is just getting started. Watching them “dance” around each other was one of the things I enjoyed most about this book. It proves to me, once again, that a book doesn’t have to be hot and heavy between the sheets to be a great story. I can’t wait to see how their romance develops over the course of the series.

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Note: I do want to give a warning for off-page violence that is later recounted in detail (this is a murder mystery after all). There is also a tough-to-read, but necessary for the story, recounting of violence involving an animal.

Reviews for RJ Scott

Reviews for Eli Easton

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A corpse.

A chill ran down my spine. I’d seen bodies in LA with horrific injuries that haunted me to this day, but there was something so wrong about this man laid bare to the elements, the mist of rain swirling around him, his skin gray as drops of water collected and ran down his muscled stomach. This was a man who looked after himself, built, strong, maybe a hiker, or one of the open water swimmers who loved coming to the lake?

His upper torso was exposed to the elements but navy jogging bottoms, covered the lower, and he wore running shoes and socks. He was on his back between the two upright stones, his arms and legs spread, and his sightless eyes faced us with his head turned our way. There was extensive bruising on his face, darker on one side, running from his cheek up into his hair, but it was so bad that from ten feet away it was impossible to ID him for sure even if the guy was someone I knew.

“Fuck,” Devin muttered and took an instinctive step forward, but I held out a hand to stop him moving.

“What about a pulse?” my rookie asked hurriedly. “Shouldn’t we check for that? Procedure for finding an unconscious person?”

“Normally, but it’s clear there’s no pulse.” The victim was unmoving and there was an X scored into the man’s chest, digging deep into his breastbone, and tearing his flesh apart. I could see the purple stain of lividity at the underside of one arm. He was very dead.

I stumbled back a step in shock. The mark was deliberate, considered. Please don’t let this be a serial killer with a propensity to carving Xs into their victim’s chests.

“…Sheriff?” Devin asked. “What now?”