Tere Michaels and her three books...

I bought Duty and Devotion as soon as it was released 'cause I've been waiting for what seems forever. This is Tere Michaels' latest book in the series and, like the other two - Faith and Fidelity and Love and Loyalty it hits all the right chords.


The first two books are tangentially related and both tell the stories of men falling in love. But that's pretty much the end of the similarities.

Faith and Fidelity is Matt Haight's and Evan Cerelli's story and it takes us on a journey that is filled with all kinds of minefields. It's an extremely emotionally rich tale and, from the first line, I was completely and utterly hooked. Since then I've read the book three times. And, if anything, it had an even stronger impact than the first time... and then I was totally blown away!


When I read this book, whether it's the first time or the third, I feel as though I'm on an emotional rollercoaster; it is impossible NOT to get involved with any of the characters. There was one sentence, from page 209, where Evan came to a realisation: "It never occurred to him that a man would fill that role for him." For Evan, falling in love with another man was galaxies away from anything that he had ever expected. Even for Matt, it was a leap of major proportions... but for Evan it was so much more of a struggle; a lot of that basically came down to their different personalities.

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 In Love and Loyalty we're following Jim (James) Shea and Griffin Drake.  We met Jim somewhat briefly in F and F when he and Matt met; although then he was known as James.  It was wonderful getting a chance to really get to know him and his story. 

I loved the people surrounding him; his partner Terry and his wife Mimi and the other couples from the Heterosexual Power Cabal... *laugh* ... what a fascinating group of people!  Then there's Ed Kelly; he was the father of a murdered young woman and Jim and his partner Terry were the homicide detectives.  What a story!

And when we meet Griffin Drake, you just know that this is going to be a riveting story. 

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In this, the third book, we are once again reunited with Matt and Evan, but we also get a chance to spend some time with Jim and Griffin as well.

In Duty and Devotion we're treated to the continuing development - easy and hard - of Matt and Evan's new life.  I was really glad of that; there was so much left somewhat unfinished at the end of F and F but only because the changes in both men's lives, and the lives of Evan's children were so extreme.  But I really enjoyed the combining of both couples. 

With her first book, Tere MIchaels became one of my favourite authors, and everything since then has cemented her there.  I'll be awaiting each book that she writes with bated breath... hoping that we get the next one just a little bit faster.