I don't even know where to begin. This was incredibly boring, long, and managed to focus on the case too much and not enough at the same time. I also found the dialogue between the adult males to be very... odd. There just wasn't a good balance between plot of the book and the characters

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book was just too weird for me.

This book wasn’t my cup of tea.i was resistant since the very beginning if this was a book I wanted to read. Maybe because this was a new author for me. I wouldn’t say no to another book written by this author.

4.5 stars

Synopsis: Mark is a lawyer just out of college working for the public defender. He mostly represents petty crimes, and his clients are almost always guilty. He hasn't been the lead on a case, until they get a client who is accused of murder, and who was stopped for drunk driving. Mark is lead on the drunk driving case, but is helping his boss with the murder charge. Since the firm's investigator is busy with the murder aspect of the case, Mark gets Lukas, who is a private investigator.
Lukas is a private investigator who is trying to get his business off the ground. He wants to do a good job in order to have more cases come his way. He has some friends, but mostly keeps to himself, or is working on cases.
Lukas and Mark are pretty sure that Mark's client is innocent, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Lukas has to do most of the investigating, as the police are sure that they have their person.

What I liked: how professional Mark and Lukas were and how they were all about doing the best job for their client. There was an attraction there, but they didn't act on it and weren't running around being inappropriate, or even really thinking with their hormones.
Mark was inexperienced as a lawyer, and didn't get the big case, even though he was allowed to help on it. He was thorough in doing everything that he could for his client in order to prove her innocence, within the scope of the law.
Lukas is hard working and believes in doing the best job possible. He is in the closet to his friends and family, but really wants a relationship. Even though he knows that nothing will happen between himself and Mark, Lukas admits his attraction to the man.
The legal aspects of the story seemed to be well researched and true to what really happens.

What I didn't like: the writing itself was a little dry and clinical, which made it a little hard to connect with the story.

Overall impression: I read "Fish Out of Water" by Amy Lane before I read this and didn't notice the similarities until I read "Red Fish, Dead Fish" after I read this. Similarities: one MC is a PI and the other a lawyer. Both deal with corruption on some level in the justice system. The PI is definitely not affluent, and not from a family that is well off. However, I liked this story better. I thought that the characters were well developed and the story wasn't told at a frenetic pace.

*I received a copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

M.K. York is an incredibly talented writer. Her debut novel, Necessary Medicine, made my Best Books of 2017 list, and I enjoyed her brand-new release, Hard Bitten, immensely also. York writes lawyers and courtrooms almost as well as she writes residents and hospital drama. I found myself completely sucked into the story from the very beginning, and loving the characters, the setting—it’s set in Seattle—and the writing style. York’s writing is so vivid, I can perfectly picture every scene. She includes tons of great detail, but it never feels like too much. And, she’s also fantastic with dialogue. Whether the tone of the scene calls for snarky, or serious, or funny, it’s always smart and on point. I thought this exchange was so hilarious:

“Yeah, and then when they find you dead they know exactly who to prosecute!”

“They already know,” Lukas pointed out. “I texted you, there’s a record now.”

“Oh, you texted me. Great. Great! Love it. Foolproof fucking plan! Because I’m definitely the cops, with a shit ton of resources at my disposal to ensure the safety of the citizenry—oh, wait, I’m not, I’m just some fuckass public defender.” Mark’s voice got distant. “Lena! Can you tell our investigator he’s being a fucking moron jackass?”
In addition to the fabulous dialogue, one of the story’s biggest strengths was the characters themselves. Both MCs were well-developed and relatable. Mark is a public defender who is just out of law school and new to the PD’s office. Since he’s so green, the most action he typically sees are the many DUI cases that come through the office, but one of the new cases he’s working ends up being much bigger than the DUI portion that was dropped in his lap. It turns out the woman is also accused of felony arson and murder. Lukas is the private investigator the police force hires to do some additional digging around for the case. l loved both Mark and Lukas a lot. Mark is so self-deprecating and funny and easygoing. And, I appreciate how seriously he takes his career, and how enthusiastically he tackles everything. This bit, where he’s trying to relay some information to Lukas, was so funny…

He called Lukas to tell him, but Lukas didn’t pick up, so he just left a short message. He felt like he probably sounded too excited for a murder case. He didn’t care. This was interesting. For once in his godforsaken career, something more than a driver’s license was at stake.
I liked Lukas so much, too. What’s not to like about a burly Scandinavian guy from Ballard?!? Heh. I told you I liked the setting! But, more about that in a minute…Lukas as great instincts and patience which both lend well to being a good private investigator; and the arson/murder case is very important to him. Working for the state on any kind of permanent basis would mean steady work, and fewer crappy night gigs and stakeouts. It’s critical that he work every lead and leave nothing hanging on this one. And, as the story progresses and Lukas and Mark grow closer, the case matters more and more to him because of how much it matters to Mark.

The romance here was definitely more back burner than it was in Necessary Medicine, but it was still very much a part of the story. The attraction was certainly there, but the risks with them being involved while the case was ongoing were too high, so the UST was off the charts. We’re talking record levels of UST. They have a couple of minor slips while working the case—including a super hot moment while on a stakeout—but they work very hard to stay on the ethical and moral high ground. I really loved them together. They were a great team, both romantically and professionally.

The case itself was intriguing, though I thought it maybe wrapped up a liiiiittle too quickly. There was a fabulous twist at the seventy-five percent mark that I did not see coming at all, and much of the last quarter of the book had me firmly on the edge of my seat. So good and suspenseful. Overall this book was fantastic. Another compelling read that I absolutely could not put down. If you like dramatic suspense, don’t hesitate to check this one out. I love this author’s work.

I've only read one other book by M.K. York - actually I think that Necessary Medicine and Hard Bitten are her only two books. I liked both, but I feel the need to warn anyone who is thinking about picking either of these books up that they were each a super slow burn romance. If you've read Necessary Medicine, you know that the romance between Eli and Neal spanned years. The time span of Hard Bitten wasn't nearly as long, but for a lot of reasons, the romance between Mark and Lukas had to wait - but it was worth it ;)

I really liked both Mark and Lukas. They were both trying to make a difference in their own way. They also worked well together. In some ways, too well. The attraction was mutual, but neither one of them wanted to risk the case. Watching these two work through the growing attraction while keeping each other at a not so comfortable distance kept the pages turning.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author. ;)

A suspenseful story.

Hard Bitten is the second book I've read by M.K. York and I enjoyed it. I'd call this more of a suspense/mystery story with a romance thrown in, rather than a romance, but I liked it all the same.

Mark is a public defender and Lukas is a Private Investigator who is helping to gather information to help Mark's client. I found some of the dialogue a bit stilted at times and the two MCs (main characters) didn't really interact that much outside of the working relationship before falling for each other. It was still a good story but a bit more attention to the romance would have made it even better.

Some might call this a slow-burn romance – the first real sex scene doesn't happen until page 354 (out of a 395-page book) – but once the sex comes into play it's pretty hot.

While Hard Bitten (not sure how they came up with that title – it sounds like a shifter book) won't ever be a favorite of mine I did enjoy reading it and will watch for other stories from this author.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Unfortunately, I could not finish this book. The writing is weak and unedited. There are a lot of dialogues and very few descriptions and narration. It felt as if I was reading a script rather than a novel. The book just does not flow. Which is a shame as I was very much looking forward to it based on the description.
Plus, I noticed some formatting issues. The paragraphs and lines were broken at odd places.
I do appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book, however, I was not able to force myself through this one.
I marked it as "will not finish" on GoodReads and will not rate it.

This was delightful! It’s not exactly what I was expecting, but I was quite happily surprised. While I wouldn’t exactly call either character “hard-bitten,” I think the title does set the tone for a riveting legal procedural mystery.

Mark, a fairly new public defender in Seattle, is excited when one of the senior defenders invites him to help her with a case since their defendant is the same – a woman who was initially pulled over for a DUI (Mark’s speciality) and then later charged with setting fire to her former place of employment and killing her ex-boss. While Mark’s client is undeniably a train wreck, things aren’t quite adding up, and they hire Lukas, a private investigator, to help dig out the truth. Lukas’ good looks – “Super Scandinavian. He looks like you could buy a kit for him at IKEA” – and Mark’s sense of humor initially draw them together as friends, and after an is-he-gay/isn’t-he-gay dance, their developing attraction is hard to ignore. But, with Mark’s insistence on not sleeping with a witness – and as PI for the case, Lukas will definitely be one – can they be friends without benefits, or will this case end their relationship before it begins?

“‘I can’t—you can’t ask me to stop being what I am.’
‘And what is that, exactly?’
‘I believe in the letter of the law. It’s what I do. It’s all I do, and I’m good at it. Finding, finding compromises, sure, but I can’t—violate it, and still do what I do. I can’t sit there and know I’m doing the wrong thing.'”


As a warning – this is an extremely slow-burn romance, and there’s a lot more focus on the murder investigation than the romance itself. I still enjoyed the romance, and I thought the tension was maintained well, but this definitely reads more as a legal procedural / mystery with a hefty dose of romance than a straight-up romantic suspense. And by extremely slow-burn, I mean that it takes the majority of the book before the characters get together, though they have an extremely good reason, as it could jeopardize the case if it’s found out they’re in a relationship. At first, I was vaguely skeptical of how that would happen, but Ms. York worked in a conversation that laid out, exactly, how badly a cross-examination could go if there was even a hint of impropriety. Luckily, they have a few slip-ups along the way that helped keep the thread of sexual tension running throughout the rest of the plot. Also, thankfully, the mystery was engaging, and I was fascinated by the descriptions of life as the new guy public defender and an established private investigator. I loved Mark and Lukas’ banter together, from arguing over what kind of snacks to bring on a stake-out to teasing Mark about his complete lack of knowledge of how to paint a room. It was the perfect mix of two people who were interested in each other but still wanted to remain professional, and they both had amazing senses of humor. The secondary characters were also fun, from Lukas’s football buddies to Lena, the other public defender, and provided more insight into Mark’s and Lukas’s backgrounds.

“Lukas turned his back to Mark and bent down to put the beers in the fridge. His jeans were worn so thin (full! of! holes! Mark’s brain unhelpfully supplied with great emphasis, circling them and underlining like sports commentators drawing plays on the video of the field, arrows, skin visible here) that very little was left to the imagination, and his shirt was long-sleeved, but painfully tight.”


In terms of cons, it’s mentioned that Mark is out of the closet – there was actually an article written about him being an openly gay legal student – while Lukas is not, and while they both talk about it with each other, I’m not certain exactly why Lukas being in the closet was emphasized so much. In the main part of the book (there is a short epilogue), they barely get into a relationship before the book ends, so I wasn’t expecting a big “coming out” scene. The best I can guess is to show that Lukas has very little experience with relationships, as compared to Mark (who reminisces about kissing the football tight end under the bleachers). It’s quite possible that cishet me is completely missing the point!

Overall, this was a riveting, enjoyable read. Recommended for anyone looking for a suspenseful legal thriller with a dose of romance!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Because this book has an element of romance, it is going to get lumped in with a lot of M/M romances, but that's not quite the place for it. Much more of the book is taken up with the investigation and prosecution of a murder - a dead body found in a burned warehouse. Relatively little time is spent on the relationship between the junior defense attorney and the private investigator he works with. The mystery is well-developed and the romance lacks nuance, but overall the book is enjoyable.

An immensely satisfying slow-burn novel brimming with plot and characterization. Highly recommended for readers seeking careful relationships balanced with professional competence, with sharp attention paid to professional ethics.

2* This is not a romance, but it's an OK-ish lawyer/PI/court tale.

MKY's first novel didn't do it for me, as there was barely any connection between the leads and the so-called romance wasn't believable, but I wanted to give the author another try, to be fair in making my mind up about whether to read any more of his/her works. I don't think I will be, as the writing was confusing, the case shaky at best and too much came in at the very last minute, including an attraction between the leads at around 70% gone, when they'd barely spent anything than professional time together, and when there hadn't even been a discussion about any attraction or orientation.

The underlying case was pretty weak for most of the tale, but it strengthened towards the end, though suspects and/or tangents seemed to be pulled out of thin air and introduced to further the plot.

As for the ending, in which an event occurs on bended knee? Totally contrived and unbelievable.

Not an author whose future works I'll be picking up.

ARC courtesy of Carina Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

I was commissioned to review this work for the RT Book Reviews website. I have submitted the review to the source, and it will appear on https://www.rtbookreviews.com/ after February.

3.5 Stars Hard bitten was a good criminal suspense however has very little focus on the romance. I enjoyed the storyline and would read more as I do love a good suspense story.

I tried, really tried, to get into this title but ended up not finishing at 80%...I just couldn't find the motivation to read the last few chapters. If the author focused less on the investigation, and more on the relationship between Mark and Lukas, I *might" have actually liked the book. A worthy attempt that, unfortunately, fell flat.

There was not enough romance in this story. I felt that the emphasis was more on the investigation with just too much details. The romance between the two characters was very plain. The pace was too fast.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review that is all my own.