Blood Heat (Dangerous Ground, #3) in Q&A with Josh Lanyon

Jun 29, 2011 Paola rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourite

Another excellent installment in one of my favourite m/m series.

Will and Taylor have overcome a lot of obstacles together, they work well as a team like a well-oiled machine, their relationship is solid and strong, but a lot of underlying tension is still there: Will fears he cares so much about Taylor he’d be unable to do his job properly when he’s constantly worrying about Taylor’s safety; Taylor, in this third book, appears more secure and, dare I say, stoic, than before (though he’s still th Another excellent installment in one of my favourite m/m series.

Will and Taylor have overcome a lot of obstacles together, they work well as a team like a well-oiled machine, their relationship is solid and strong, but a lot of underlying tension is still there: Will fears he cares so much about Taylor he’d be unable to do his job properly when he’s constantly worrying about Taylor’s safety; Taylor, in this third book, appears more secure and, dare I say, stoic, than before (though he’s still the more impatient, quicksilver type of the two, and occasionally displaying a disturbing disregard for his own life that can’t help but continuing to alarm Will), but he’s still not hiding very well his fears that Will’s promotion for an overseas posting (which Will is likely to accept) will spell the end of their affair ‘cause he can’t think they’d survive a long distance relationship.
Taylor’s insecurities are realistic ones, whether they’re based on true assumptions or not; and Will’s fears are no less realistic. I felt for both men: Will has declared his love and lifelong commitment to Taylor in so many ways and yet Taylor has still some lingering doubts about their future together; Taylor has come to depend so much on having Will in his life that despite ultimately trusting Will, Taylor can’t completely trust himself not to come apart at the thought of Will working even temporarily far away from him, or at least that the delicate balance they've achieved in their relationship won't survive their physical distance.
Taylor’s insecurities were not helped by his finding out that Will (view spoiler)[ had had a long-term relationship with a girl while in college, whereas Taylor had never tried sex with a girl, despite being more adventurous and kinky in bed than Will.

"Anyway, how do you know you wouldn't like sex with a woman if you've never tried?"
Will said, “I have tried."
The words just...popped out. Seeing Taylor's astonishment, Will wished he'd kept his mouth shut.
"You have?” Taylor was frowning. “When?"
"Back in high school."
"High school? You never mentioned it before."
Will shrugged. That was one thing that had always surprised him about Taylor. For all Taylor's sexual adventures, one thing he'd never tried was intercourse with a woman.
Hedwig asked, “You didn't like it?"
"I liked it fine.” Will was a little irritated at the way Taylor was staring at him—as though Will had confessed to having an extramarital affair. It was kind of ironic coming from a guy who'd had intimate acquaintance with such items as butterfly boards and piercing needles.
"Did you only try once?"
"Mind your own business,” Taylor told Hedwig. To Will he said, “How many times?"

One of the things I love the most about Josh Lanyon's style is how capably he can infuse humour even in the most tense of conversations.

Will sincerely wished he'd kept his mouth shut. “I don't know. A few. I had a girlfriend."
"A girlfriend? A steady girlfriend?"
Will nodded. Why the hell was this a big deal? For the life of him, he couldn't imagine, but he could feel Taylor's shock like an electromagnetic field.
"Why've you never mentioned this?"

(...)

"So...you consider yourself bisexual?"
"No, I don't consider myself bisexual. What are you talking about? Because I had a girlfriend in high school? A lot of people have girlfriends in high school and college."
"And college? Were you still seeing her in college?"
Will could happily have bitten his tongue out. “It's just a...an example."
"Were you still together in college?"
Goddamn that persistent, ruthless investigative streak of Taylor's.
"For a little while,” Will admitted.
"Well.” Taylor had that huffy, irritable tone he got when he was edgy or nervous. “This is certainly an interesting development."
Will looked away from the road to throw him an exasperated look. “Why would it be? It's nothing. It was a million years ago. A lifetime ago. I can't figure out why the hell we're even still discussing it."
"So this is why I've never met your family?"

(hide spoiler)]

The emotional side of the story is very well mingled together with the job assignment the guys are working on: a lot is happening here and the tension throughout the book is nicely counterpointed by frequent sparks of humour, that don't just relieve the tension but also reveal something important about the guys' thoughts and feelings. Some of the humour is also related to the guys being out of their depth in having to deal with a heavily pregnant woman, but ultimately both Will and Taylor display a lot of strength and resilience over and above their human flaws and insecurities, and like in the previous two novellas in this series no word or scene felt gratuitous or wasted.

I can barely hold on to my patience now, knowing that the fourth instalment is soon to be published :)
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 12, 2011 Ari rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-romance

Third book of Dangerous Ground serie, more action, less romance (still I can feel the sweet romance between Tylor and Will ^^) and cliffy ending. Please Mr. Lanyon, write a sequel soon and make it easier for them to be together.

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Oct 15, 2011 Lee Brazil rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, mystery

Nice quick read...

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Mar 24, 2011 Yuri Aoi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: m-m

油断したら終わりな危機的シチュエーションで話はすすむのに、なぜか笑いがこみあげてきて困った。主人公二人とも、いじられキャラというのか。The main characters are always throw in deadly situations, but somehow I have to struggle not to LOL when reading in public.

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