DNF at 39%, because while this is well-written and engaging, the denial, this far in, of overwhelmingly obvious mutual attraction was very poorly executed, destroying any trust I'd had in the story. Lawyers should be more articulate, just for one thing. ( )

I spent a lot of the time I was reading this texting people about this in capslock, it hit so many things that I love. There was adorable cute boys! Delicious angst! Amusingly blown up action! Tattoos! Family drama! I also learned how prosthetic legs stay on - I'm glad engineer!Sean was down with explaining how that works. I think what I loved most about this book was the fact that both of the main characters had very satisfying plot arcs, interspersed with them being really cute at each other. Nate satisfied my competence kink while also being an all-around good guy, and I was really rooting for Sean to get his life happily arranged so he could do things he loved. Plus the support characters on both of their sides were really cute. I’m glad these boys have so many people that support them.Definitely something I’ll keep in mind when I need a comfort read in the future. ( )

From the start, when reading the blurb, I found the plot of this novel intriguing. Basically, a trial lawyer who’s been ignored and treated unfairly in his father’s firm decides to go to bat for a petroleum engineer who lost a leg and is not receiving the settlement he deserves from an oil company out for its own financial interests. That alone would have been enough for a great story, but the complex characters of Nate, who is a brilliant lawyer, and Sean, as good in his field as Nate is in his, added another layer of enjoyment to the suspense-filled will-Sean-get-justice scenario. Then there are three other elements that add to the complexity of this novel: a set of secondary players who range from utterly supportive to villainous to their core, an evil oil company out to cover up the mess they made, and a plot that twists and turns with the best of them to leave me breathless with anticipation more than once. The result is a spellbinding read that had me rooting for Nate and Sean and on the edge of my seat from page one.

Nate is a young, ambitious lawyer who has been treated pretty unjustly by his stern father. Nate has spent two years working practically day and night, supplying the partner assigned as his superior with everything needed to win case after case - yet Nate has not been rewarded with the kind of promotion his compatriots received. Now Nate has had enough. The way he quits and clarifies why is exemplary. As angry as he is, he stays cool and collected and manages to give both men a dose of their own medicine. And that is when Nate’s adventure starts. He takes an injury-on-the-job case the idiot partner refused and this is how he meets Sean.

Sean is a man of many talents: he is a brilliant petroleum engineer, has a couple of degrees, and can draw tattoo designs with the best of them. I really enjoyed learning about his many layers, and found his survival-driven need to show certain people only parts of his personality very interesting. It made sense for him to have learned a certain adaptability, and while it helped him in general, it also poses certain problems for him. He never denies Nate any part of who he is, but as much as he wants Nate, Sean also believes he is no longer desirable due to his missing leg and multiple injuries.

Both men are honorable in their own way, and it leads to many problems. Nate is determined not to get involved with a client, but Sean reads this as rejection. Without an explanation from Nate a relationship becomes impossible, and it takes quite some doing to get Nate to see this. By the time you add everything else that is going on with the case, Nate’s interfering father and Sean’s ex-employer, a very crooked oil company indeed, the prospective lovers have so many issues on their plate that I was wondering if they’d ever make it to their happy ending. Few love stories are this suspenseful, and I think this one is a prime example of a romance full of suspense inside and outside the building relationship.

If there is such a thing as a character-driven thriller, ‘Pins and Needles’ is one of the best I have ever read. If you’re looking for conspiracies and a fight against big money and selfish men obsessed with power, give this one a go. And if you’re looking for a read that is as much a tension-filled page-turner as a deeply emotional love story, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. Bravo!


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )