Solace

Title: Solace
Author: Sierra Riley
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary
Page Count: 262
Reviewed by: Gigi
Heat Level: 2 flames out of 5
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Blurb:

“I feel safe with you.”

“It’s not safe for anyone to be around me.”

Shane Carter couldn’t wait to see his daughter after returning home from Afghanistan. Even though the scars he collected overseas ran deep, her light always brought him through the darkness. But when his ex-wife denies him the chance, those scars bleed into every part of his life and Shane is forced to admit he needs help.

“You can’t fool me. I know who you really are.”

Aaron Hayes thought he’d found the perfect career as a service dog trainer. Until he realized speaking to crowds was part of the job description. He’s never felt safe in a crowd, but one-on-one? That’s a different story. And when a handsome and troubled veteran needs his help training a service dog, Aaron doesn’t hesitate.

“You’re the only one who sees me.”

Shane tries his best to keep Aaron at a distance, even though his attraction to the man is undeniable. Convinced a quick fling will get it out of his system, he seduces Aaron. But he soon realizes he’s the one falling under Aaron’s spell. As Aaron starts to become his light in the darkness, Shane fears their future together–or lack thereof. If he can’t even win back his own daughter, how is he ever going to fend off his demons long enough to find solace with Aaron?

Solace is a steamy, standalone gay romance novel with a HEA and no cliffhangers.

After my initial love of Sierra Riley’s Guardian, I haven’t had a lot of luck with her other books. She whips them out every two weekly and each story seems the same as the last, except for the character’s names and occupations. I had decided that I wasn’t a good match for her books after getting the formula out of my system with Guardian but this blurb sucked me in and I had to give it a go.

As I expected, this was the same book as the others, with different character names and jobs. The difference here were:

2. The sex was weak! Not many scenes and very tame compared to the other books. There was even *gasp* fade-to-black sex!

So, while I didn’t enjoy this book for the romance, I am going to give it 3 stars. Ms. Riley included a wonderful epilogue complete with links about service dogs and how they can help you and how you can help them. I am 100% on-board with that.

Epilogue

Paws For Hope is based on the many wonderful not-for-profit organizations across the country that provide a much-needed service for US veterans by matching them with rescue dogs who would otherwise be euthanized. This cause is near and dear to my heart, and I strongly believe these organizations deserve more recognition for the lives they save, both human and canine.

While I can’t list every organization here, I’d like to list a few that I found in my research. You can click any of the links below to learn more, and I encourage you to search for local organizations in your own community:

Healing4Heroes – http://www.healing4heroes.org/
Shelter to Soldier – http://www.sheltertosoldier.org/
Pets for Vets – http://www.petsforvets.com/
Paws and Stripes – http://www.pawsandstripes.org/
Canine Angels – http://canineangelsusa.org/

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