Publisher: Samhain
Where did you get the arc: Review copy from publisher
Release date: 17th December
Love can be built on a broken past…but not on broken trust.
Cost of Repairs, Book 4
Rey King has settled into his new life with Samuel Briggs, and his catering business has taken off to the point he’s brought a business partner on board. Yet something is missing. He’s still haunted by the pain of losing his daughter, Faith, in a custody battle six years ago.
Then, one month before Christmas, Faith’s grandmother passes away, and Rey gets a shocking offer he never saw coming.
Samuel knew loving Rey wouldn’t be easy, but then again he’s no walk in the park either. Still, for eighteen months they’ve thrived as a couple…until a shy seven-year-old girl shakes his belief that he and Rey can overcome anything.Settling Faith into their chaotic lives would be a welcome challenge, if things weren’t complicated by Rey’s too-cute, overly attentive new business partner. As misunderstandings, miscommunications, and unresolved tensions escalate, Rey begins to wonder if the best Christmas gift of his life could cost him the man he loves.
Warning: Product contains one overprotective (and slightly jealous) police officer, an angsty chef whose heart is in the right place (even when his actions backfire), and an adorable little girl who turns their lives upside down. Added bonus—hot man-on-man action and the inappropriate use of a washing machine.
*blurb taken from publisher*
I’ve not read the previous books in the Cost of Repairs series but the blurb caught my eye. I’m a fan of romances where the couple are already established. Rey King and Samuel Briggs are happy in their relationship but things are turned upside down when Faith, Rey’s daughter, comes to live with them after the death of Faith’s grandmother and the illness of her Grandfather, John. John is suffering from cancer and he can no longer look after Faith.
I liked Acts of Faith but it took awhile for the story to get going. At the beginning there were lots of descriptive scenes of non-essential day-to-day activities that went on for a few chapters. It took until chapter four for the hook of the story to finally begin. The slow pace continued for some time, and I was tempted to stop reading because the tension was lacking between Samuel and Rey, and the story itself. It was only when Faith came to live with them that the story picked up.
Once Faith arrived in their lives, it changed their living situation and it changed the whole dynamic of the house. Samuel started to feel like an outsider, and he became increasingly jealous of David, Rey’s new business partner. I didn’t understand why Samuel was so jealous of David–a man who Rey had only met a handful of times. Samuel and Rey had many arguments and misunderstandings. I could understand this because raising and looking after a child is a huge responsibility. Rey was terrified that he wasn’t going to be good enough, especially in regards to his past when Faith’s Grandmother used his lifestyle when he was young against him, which resulted in him losing Faith.
But I do question the idea of making the Grandparents out to be the bad guys on top of having his his ex-girlfriend, Carly, who suffered with depression and then postnatal depression after Faith was born. The Grandmother also physically abused the Grandfather, and was abusive to Faith. All of it combined didn’t set well with me, especially when I learned how Carly died.
The arguments and tension between Samuel and Rey sometimes felt forced, and I found the romance lacked in areas because they fought so much. Rey would bitch about Sam’s long hours being a police officer, and Samuel would bitch about Rey telling David about their lives. Everything then switches around towards the end where they make up, and realise that they’re both not taking into account the other person’s feelings.
I liked Acts of Faith but I found it really hard to engage with the characters because of the slow pace of the story, and the constant fighting between them both which felt a little mechanical. C-