I loved this book. This was a lose sleep kind of book for me, but it was so worth the time I spent finishing it instead of going to sleep! I'm glad to know Brandon and Nicky got their HEA, but I would still love to read more about them. ( )

As in all the real relationships there are different stage to reach, and in this third enstalment in the Nicky and Brandon’s story they have reach a very important level: in book 1 they met, in book 2 they established the basis for a long-term relationship and now in book 3 they need to test it.

Nicky and Brandon are not exactly family guys, or at least Nicky isn’t. Brandon has an ex-wife and a daughter, but he has never played the role of “daddy”, indead his daughter calls daddy her stepfather. But maybe due to the fact that his relationship with Nicky is moving from dating to living together, Brandon wants for his daughter to meet Nicky; it’s strange since his relationship with Nicky is far from being ordinary family stuff, but it seems than Brandon is taking it as a second chance to be a father.

Sincerely they are not exactly skilled in dealing with a nine years old girl, and both of them adopt the tactics to grant her everything she wants, even if it’s not good for a little girl. Moreover, Shayna is a clever little girl, and Brandon trying to hide the true nature of his relationship with Nicky is not helping. Brandon is for sure paranoic and Nicky is right in telling him that more he tries to hide the true, more he is making it evident, but I didn’t feel as if he is doing something wrong; probably the only wrong thing he did was to come to visit Nicky after weeks they didn’t see each other with a little child tagging along, so that it was impossible for them to steam off the pent-up desire they built. And indead Brandon’s insistence in staying in the closet with his family and at work is growing old, he should stop and think twice on his priorities in life.

Nicky at first is the voice of reason, and his advices to Brandon are right; maybe he is spoiling a bit Shayna, trying to buy her off, but nothing too much. Problem is that Nicky the boyfriend wins over uncle Nicky, and he convinces Brandon to let Shayna with a friend; of course when she gets missed at their friend’s home while they are having sex at home, Brandon’s guilt is something almost unbearable.

The two female figures that enter the novel at this moment are exactly at the opposite: Brandon’s ex-wife, Dian, is the one who is feeding Brandon’s guilt, with remarks on how inadeguate he is, and basically she is pushing him away from Nicky; Brandon’s stepmother, Edith, is instead the one who is encouraging Brandon to share his trouble with Nicky. The author is good in giving to both of them a positive perspective, even Dian has indead her justifications for behaving as she does.

Even if Taking the Odds is a thriller series, dealing with cops and criminals, this side of the story is really behind the scene, even more in this episode.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1608201473/?tag=elimyrevandra-20