Imperial Stout by Layla Reyne
On April 19, 2019 by Jaye
Imperial Stout by Layla Reyne
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Buy links: Amazon | Barnes
Blurb:
It’s a good thing assistant US attorney Dominic
Price co-owns a brewery. He could use a cold one. Nic’s star witness has just
been kidnapped, his joint operation with the FBI is in jeopardy, his father’s
shady past is catching up with him and the hot new special agent in San
Francisco is the kind of distraction best handled with a stiff drink.
Kidnap and rescue expert Cameron Byrne has his
own ideas about how to handle Nic, but his skills are currently needed
elsewhere. The by-the-book FBI agent goes deep undercover as a member of an
infamous heist crew in order to save Nic’s witness, break up the crew and close
the case before anyone else gets hurt. Nic in particular.
Things heat up when Cam falls for Nic, and the
witness falls for Cam. As the crew’s suspicions grow, Cam must decide how far
he’s willing to go—and how far into his own dark past he’s willing to dive—to
get everyone out alive.
Review:
Okay the book title alone was enough to pull me in. I got to be friends with my Spouse over our shared love of stout. We were the only people we knew who would drink the stuff. Add to that little bit of nostalgia two BAMFs with certifiably Tragic Pasts, an actual brewery(!), sketchy mob ties, and murder, and I was sold.
As a side note, it’s a little hard for me to suspend my disbelief that these two guys could pass their background checks given their pasts and their family connections. That said, I didn’t care. That part (and these guys’ background) is sketchier than gas station sushi and it doesn’t matter one little bit. This is a fun romp from beginning to end. Maybe don’t pass it along to your buddy who does work for the FBI, and who did have to sit there while they actually looked up his freshman year roommate to ask all sorts of invasive questions to make sure he was a good moral citizen and all that, but otherwise put your feet up, grab a beer, and enjoy.
Both Nic and Cam are likeable and relatable. I found myself cheering for both of them. This is something I struggle with in my own work, so I tried to pay extra attention to how Reyne managed to create such different characters who I found so easy to relate to.
Without giving away any spoilers, there’s a part in the story in which Cam has to return to his roots. Let me tell you, as someone who’s spent an awful lot of time in that part of the country, it was perfect. I even read it in the accent.
My only issue with the book was a little bit of info-dumping at the end. It was a relatively minor thing and it shouldn’t inhibit your enjoyment of the book in any significant way. I just got a little impatient with it, in a “oh come on no one does this get back to the murder already” kind of way.
I can be kind of single minded, I guess, especially on Sunday nights.
Anyway, picking up Imperial Stout is one of the better life choices you’ll make. It will put a smile on your face.
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