Fast Connection
Review originally posted at Sinfully.4.5 stars
Dominic Costigan is so not the ass we first met in [b:Strong Signal|28561501|Strong Signal (Cyberlove, #1)|Megan Erickson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1452874221s/28561501.jpg|48722063] and he had my heart from the start of this book. Out of the army and trying to adjust to civilian life, he’s back living in his parents’ basement, working at the family shop and at times, questioning his own self-worth. His father is meaner and nastier than ever and is taking it out on Dominic and his 16 year old sister Adriana. Nothing about his old friends or neighborhood appeals to him right now, but he doesn’t know how to move forward. He is ready to fully embrace his bisexuality and he just wants to connect with someone. Garrett would be a great friend if he ever bothered to answer Dominic’s texts. He decides to give Grindr a try and winds up in sexy, silver-fox Luke’s bed.
Luke Rawlings, on the other hand, seems to be a bit of an ass. Not really an ass, but he’s not all warm and cuddly either. He has his reasons of course and he’s not a bad guy even if he is a bit grumpy and has “defective interpersonal skills”. He has his kids to think of and has been badly hurt in the past so he has a strict set of rules when it comes to his sex life. Weekends only when the kids are with mom, find someone on Grindr, get him to the house, take care of business and get him out. One and done. No relationships. Everything in its own box.
Until Dominic enters the picture.
Dominic is a bright, burning, ball of light in Luke’s well-ordered, gray life. Not only are they on fire in the bedroom, but Dominic is able to pull Luke out of the shell he’s lived in for so long. It’s not all one-sided as Luke offers Dominic support and a sounding board. Their shared Army experience, different in some ways but the same in others, gives Dominic hope that there is a future beyond his father’s bagel store.
Luke is soon breaking all his rules for one hot, passionate encounter after another until their family worlds collide in the form of Dominic’s sister and Luke’s son, putting a huge strain on whatever it was they were building. Luke had his boxes for reason, but even with all the potential for disaster, Dominic has him reevaluating everything, but he still has to wonder will it all be worth it in the end. Luke’s kids are his paramount concern and when their safety is in jeopardy, all bets are off.
Again, the online world plays an integral part in this book. From Dominic and Luke’s Grindr and text banter, to a connection with Kai’s gaming community, the current reality of the strength of relationships based online is well laid out.
Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell have cemented with this second book that they make a great writing team (which shouldn’t be surprising since they’re wonderful on their own as well). Their characters, both the MCs and all the secondary players, are very human and relatable. The Costigan and Rawlings families of Fast Connection could be my next door neighbors, only hotter and more entertaining.
This book completely works as a standalone, though if you’ve read Strong Signal (which you really should if you haven’t) you’ll be glad to see Garrett and Kai appear as well. There’s really a little bit of everything here, Luke and Dominic’s individual stories are compelling, there is real family drama, a nod to the difficulties of acclimating back to civilian life, coming out, a bit of angst (both teen and adult), humor, smoking hot sex and most importantly an amazing love story. Grab this book – you will not be disappointed.
