The story is a cute fake honeymoon romance between two first responders. It is a standalone spinoff of [Foolish Puckboy] where Remy has been stood up at the altar by his fiancé, Eman, who was really a sorry excuse for a human being, and I thought that Remy was actually lucky...but that wouldn't have been much of a story:) Eman’s childhood friend and groomsman, Sanden, has to break the news to Remy and then encourages him to hold the reception party anyway and still go on his honeymoon. Somehow, Sanden ends up on the Hawaiian vacation, too. I was in hopes that Sanden would have his own story ever since we met him as a Gabe’s friend and fellow firefighter in [Foolish Puckboy]....and it really isn't necessary to have read that book to really enjoy this one. Sanden is a sweet, goofy, lovable man and a selfless hero. He used to be closer friends with Remy until Eman came between them. Remy is uneasy about being married. He finally realizes that it’s the wrong move and when he’s left standing at the front of the church alone, he realizes he dodged a bullet. No need to waste a great honeymoon in a gorgeous place so Remy and Sanden enjoy the luxurious vacation...living in a state of suspended reality... where of course they are mistaken for newlyweds. Once they return home to Seattle, however, their actual reality becomes more of a reality. They can't seem to return to b normal…who are they now? Are they lovers, colleagues, friends with benefits? All of these things? There’s a strong attraction between them but Sanden knows Remy is not in the right headspace for a rebound fling or a more serious relationship. He badly wants more so he’ll wait until Remy has time to heal, trust him, and is ready for more. But Eman left Remy with deep emotional scars he won’t overcome easily. I really hated Eman. He was a truly vile character. He’s a conniving, manipulative, emotionally abusive psycho who have received a great deal of pleasure from simply strangling him and hiding the body. Sanden, wasn't without his own trauma from his childhood so they both needed time and each other to heal. In spite of the dark tone that the story sometimes took, it was still full of enjoyable banter and sexy fun. ( )

Oh wow!! This book is part of the Sadenverse but is different ..not hockey, not sweet and fluffy!

It is Sanden and Remy's story who we have met in prior books but this is a standalone!

Let me say read the content warnings as this book deals beautifully with some heavy topics.

And well I wanted to hurt the ex so bad for all his a$$holishnesh but the resolution that Saxon and Eden gave him was sufficient!

Sanden and Remy have a journey yo their HEA which can be quite heavy in parts but there is also love, laughter, happiness and healing and of course hot moments! ( )

Sanden Masters has had a crush on Remy Porters for ages - but his friend asked him out first and now he's the best man at their wedding. Until the groom flees and Sanden is left having to break Remy's heart. His advice? Throw a petty party - hold the reception and party your heart out - complete with social media evidence of how heartbroken you are not. And for Remy, everything snowballs from there.

I generally love Eden and Saxon's collaborations so I was pretty excited when I saw they had a new one, but while Up in Flames was good - it just didn't hit quite right. First off it's not about hockey. Although Sanden is friends with Gabe and Aleks from Foolish Puckboy, hockey is only a game that exists. Second, to me, the blurb suggested that Sanden and Remy and the Eman were all high school friends and this wasn't quite the case. Sanden was best friends with Eman the groom. Sanden and Remy sometimes work together (they work at different fire stations) and Sanden had a crush on Remy. Sanden took Eman to a work event and Eman asked out Remy before Sanden had a chance. I was expecting more of a friends for ages to lover story and this was a sorta had a chance but missed it and now you're dating my friend story. Which is fine, just not what I was looking forward to.

And finally thirdly, this was also not as lighthearted as I was anticipating. I was expecting a romcom feel and got hit with serious issues. This again, is on me. There were warnings at the start. I did actually read them and then promptly ignored them. But I thought the warnings were in relation to other people - not the two main ones. Or far in the past and they weren't. I'd also add mental health issues to the list.

So this wasn't what I was after. That said, it was a well written and at times humourous, romance with some very steamy sex scenes. Just a lot more serious than expected. The issues themselves - domestic abuse, grief over death of loved one, were handled well and sensitively portrayed. The domestic abuse in particular highlighted just how easy it is to slip down the slope of being emotionally abused and the affects it can have on your life.

But I also felt that this took over the narrative of the romance and it just didn't work for me. Remy was wishy washy. He umms and aahs for far too long about his feelings for Eman and Sanden and I just didn't care. If he had of pulled back early on before things started and got his head together fine. But he doesn't and it just seems like Sanden deserved better than someone who was only kind of all in. And Sanden he was being all responsible and you need to work out your feelings and then he just caves and it irritated me.

So if you like contemporary romance with a dose of angst and a happy ending, this is for you. Or if you read and loved the tone of Goal Lines and First Times and like a more emotionally driven read. If on the other hand you're looking for a sexy hysterically funny romantic read, this is not that - go reread one of their other collaborations. The absolutely ridiculous, Irresponsible Puckboy, perhaps? For this one though, 3.5 stars, rounded to 3 stars. ( )