Rough Trade by Sidney Bell is an easy, page turning romantic suspense and I couldn't put it down. Read it in one sitting.

Highly Recommend it to all readers.

Ghost has made a deal with the devil (a Russian woman referred to as Mama), for himself and the safety of friend. When life goes to crap (as it usually does for Ghost), he finds Duncan. Maybe Duncan can help him, if they can learn to trust each other. Bad cops, Russians with bad attitudes, and dead friends make for an interesting story.

This book has some action, some death, and some surprises. But it’s really a love story (full of pain, anger and a lot of blood), but still just a love story.

I have been waiting for Ghost’s book for seems like forever (really just short of two years, but in book years that is forever). He’s enigmatic, brutal, scared, almost broken, BUT surprisingly caring for those he considers his. Watching Ghost and Duncan dance around each other while dealing with imminent jail/destruction/death wasn’t pretty but it was very satisfying.

Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads

This is an ARC I've had for ages and didn't get around to because it was third in the series and so I thought I had to read the first two in the series before reading this. But thankfully it is one of those books which is better if you read it in order but every book is a standalone. I found this a definite surprise, mostly because the focus was definitely on the thriller/suspense plot and the romance was more of a subplot.

This book is around a cop on medical leave (after something went drastically wrong at work) who is called in to help a friend with a favour. A sex worker is escaping from the dirty cop and the criminal gang leader he was stuck between and needs somewhere to hide out and plan his next move. Ghost and Duncan meet each other.

This was a far more suspenseful/thriller book than I thought it was going to be and there was a lot more focus on that plot than I thought there was going to be. There was no perfect ending for everyone and there was a lot of conflict between Duncan and Ghost as they want to handle it in different ways, both of them coming at it from different POVs. I loved the conflict as well as the growing romance between the two, as they have to deal with their different pasts but also how they came to be in the situation in the first place. I appreciated the dedication given to Ghost's trauma and the betrayal Duncan experienced and how it impacted them going forward.

This book was just a complete surprise to me and I found I loved it more than I thought I would. This is third in the series but can be read as a standalone, though now I want to read the others in the series and more by this author.

4.5 stars!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in this series and waited impatiently for Ghost's story. It certainly did not disappoint. Sidney Bell is one of the best mm mystery/suspense authors out there. Her world building is superb, and her characters are so well written, I love to see how they develop throughout her stories.

There's such a lot happens in this story, it really is hard to do it justice. Ghost (William) and Duncan are a perfect match. Despite Ghost being a prostitute, Duncan treats him with so much respect,and eventually love. The story is a little light on the sex, but this felt realistic, considering the past experiences of these two.

I truly loved the epilogue, four years on and we get an update on all the guys from the previous stories. A first class ending to a first class series. Very highly recommended.

This was an good read, not spectacular for me, did have a tough time really connecting with the characters and their romance, but it was definitely a quick, entertaining read!

This was a hard read. A good read, no doubt, but not an easy one, by any means. There's grit and determination, passion and forgiveness, struggle and trials, mystery and some answers. This book is a first from this author for me and I have to say I've been won over. The type of angst written is palpable and well-placed. With difficult themes I felt everything was tackled with honesty, pain, and an eye to a happier conclusion.

I had requested this with the intent on reading it but then it just sat unread. Been looking through my NG list for a new title to read and looking at this synopsis I don't have the same interest as i did when I requested it. thanks for the opportunity to read but I no longer think this is a title for me.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a great read with an excellent plot and well-developed characters and spicy scenes.

Exciting characters, well developed, evolving plot. Definite good guys and bad guys, or are they? Sometimes I cringed. This is not a soft read.

I'm not sure how I failed to review this here at NG; I've read this book three times because I loved it so much.

Ghost story was always going to be difficult; the trauma he experienced as a young boy has major implications on the person he is when the series gets underway, and I loved the small glimpses of this character in the first two books. Bell doesn't shy away from exploring Ghost's past in a way that feels very real to the character: Ghost doesn't give up his ghosts without a fight.

This extended road trip, featuring two absolutely incompatible (in theory) strong men, is exciting and insane. I totally believed in the danger pressing at every turn, and I absolutely fell in love with Duncan falling in love with an extremely challenging Ghost. I was invested in these two from the moment of their disastrous first meeting, and I rooted for them from beginning to end.

I loved the cameos from past couples & I wish the author would give us some short stories featuring them post Mama. I know she makes some of them available on her Patreon; but what about a published anthology?

Ms. Bell finishes the Woodbury Boys on a high note, and never lets up on the pressure until the bitter end. She twists and turns our emotions, pulling us into her characters lives, and frustrating us with a lack of easy, breezy answers or solutions. I loved Rough Trade, and this series, and Bell is an absolute auto-buy for me.

I recommend this series all the time.

ROUGH TRADE (Woodburry Boys #3)
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• ⭐️:4,0/5
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💬: The character development on this book was on point. Ghost’s story and feelings were a painful and remarkable thing to be reading, as well, as seeing him getting past his traumas and finally enjoying life. We see these two people that are so different but under certain circumstances they need to put aside their “hate” for each other and work together for the greater good, for justice.
Duncan Rook is the absolutely cutest, he really know how to prioritize his actions and is very understanding towards other people, hence him being able to have conversations with a really paranoid and afraid Ghost at the beginning of the book.
This books has tons of themes that I always like to read about but don’t usually do it. A not so good person fighting against corrupted cops and finding out that he actually is good (depending on the choices he makes), a good cop that is betrayed by his fellow cops when he decided to do the right thing, mafia family (even if I’m done always seeing russian or italian people being part of these bad mafia families) and enemies-to-lovers romance!

So yeah, I'll be the first to admit I was very nervous about this one. With the way the first book skirted the edge of my comfort zone I couldn't imagine reading about Ghost's past and well, present.

That doesn't mean I didn't need it, because I did.

I needed him to be safe and I figured no matter how horrible it was going to be to read I still had to.

Whew! What a relief. That makes it sound easy and it wasn't but truthfully the author did a brilliant job of giving just enough of the bad and letting the readers use their imagination and take it as far as they were comfortable with. Thank you for not forcing me to read it on page, my imagination did a find job on its own. Great job, truly. I wasn't too freaked and I feel I was able to handle it and focus on the story and not so much what Ghost went through, which was a fear of mine.

So, let's talk about the story. Weeeeeeelllll...there was a lot of time where I felt not so much was happening. I wouldn't say it dragged necessarily but there was a lot of time just spent in hotel rooms. This made the vibe feel a little different from its predecessors and I wasn't expecting it in this book. I guess there had to be a lot of recovery time which read true.

And then BAM!! Once the action started it was insane!

I'll stop there.

I think overall this wrapped up the story line properly. Ghost's story mostly lived up to my expectations and I am over the moon happy for him and where he's going with his life.

Sometimes, what we need from a romance is a slow-burn, as opposed to a lot of hot sex from the get go—though I'm not exactly adverse to the latter—and that's exactly what we get from Bell's Rough Trade. The focus on Ghost and his heartbreaking backstory, I couldn't be more delighted for him when he gets gruff Duncan.

At first glance, these two characters couldn't be more different—especially with Duncan being a cop, and Ghost's past—but seeing understanding blossom between the two makes the eventual HEA so much more satisfying. Also, Ghost grovels like no one else, and I do love a good grovel in a romance.

There's an intensity to the backstory and much of the narrative is focused on the suspense aspect of the plot, but for me this just underscored the compatibility between two seemingly incompatible characters. A charming read.

An unlikely romance but some how they just fit. Ghost and Duncan provided the balance the other needed in their life. They were drawn towards each other and although they kept circling on decision to be together they finally accepted what fate had planned all along.

3.5 stars I love this series, I have to be honest I wanted Ghost story in the worst way so this may have just been a bit of a personal let down for me in that respect. However I do love Bell's writing and the build of the relationship, getting more history on the MC;s, for me I just didnt feel it as much in this story. Anxiously awaiting the next one.

Unfortunately I had a difficult time getting into this particular story. I think the writing itself was okay and I might pick up another of the author’s books in the future. Rough Trade just wasn’t for me.

Rough Trade is third book in the Woodbury Boys series by Sydney Bell. I have not read the previous books, and aside from some character connections that returning readers will enjoy, this book stands up well on its own.

Quick-witted hustler Ghost is no stranger to living dangerously; survival has always been the name of the game. He’s just always gone it alone. Now he’s got the wrong people breathing down his neck, and the only way out demands placing his trust in the unlikeliest of heroes: Duncan Rook, a gruff cop whose ethics are as solid as his body. Cozying up to a criminal is hardly what Duncan’s reputation on the force needs—especially when that criminal is temptation personified. Ghost is Duncan’s polar opposite, and the last person he expected to fall for. So then why does every imaginable scenario for taking down their common enemy end with Ghost in his arms?

Rough Trade is much more than expected, and while having read the previous books would have made some of the secondary characters and wrap ups have more meaning to me, I still felt like i understood Ghost and Duncan fully and enjoy their story. I found the beginning hard to get into, but it was necessary to fully understand where Ghost was coming from and how he ended up in the situation that brings him to Duncan's door. I found the banter and developing relationship between the two to be well done, and well balanced with the danger and issues that they had to face. I like that the traumas of their pasts were not glossed over, but the time and effort that it takes to deal with them is talked about and included in the story. I really enjoyed that while attraction and interest might have developed quickly, the relationship was not instant or ignoring problems. I think the confrontation of the issues is what made the relationship so strong in the end. There were a good amount of surprises, scares, and chase scenes- and a good deal of emotional moments. I think the story is realistic and well balanced character wise. It was a little heavier than my typical read- but I am glad I gave it a chance.

Rough Trade is a romance that deals with some hard, real issues. I liked that it was about the characters dealing with their own issues in the process of finding their way to an happy ever after.

"Good people are each other's conscience."

This baby got me right in the feels.
So we know about Ghost - the young prostitute that no one will cross for fear of losing a vital organ. The man with no friends and who can slip on a multitude of masks, using whichever façade will get him what he wants. We know about Ghost. But before reading this one, I didn't know who he was. Not really. And neither did he.
It was so lovely to see this young lost soul slowly find his feet. But he doesn't sacrifice an ounce of strength while doing so.

All you need to know about Duncan going in can be summed up in the following quotes.

"Some things you don't do, no matter what it costs you. Sometimes you just fucking take the hit, and it sucks and you lose but that's it."

He didn't particularly like dogs because he'd been bitten as a child, and he didn't like dancing because of the time he'd stepped on Jessica Warner's feet a dozen times at the seventh grade Winter Ball and she'd smiled at him with pained pity like he was a helpless idiot, and he didn't like children because they were important and fragile and he didn't know how to take care of them and they made him feel big and clumsy and stupid.

In short, Duncan is the best and most honest guy you will ever meet and he ends up being everything Ghost could have needed.

I loved the banter that led them to trusting each other, how they toed the line and pushed each other. I loved how Duncan was safe safe safe for Ghost and that they took care of each other.
All in all, a satisfying end to a solid series. I really hope Bell will be writing more!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get around to this one, but not because I didn’t want to read it. I had an idea that Ghost‘s book would be the most difficult of the three, and I have to be in an okay mindspace to be able to read books dealing with subjects like child abuse.
Once I started, I was immediately hooked though - following the events of the second book (you really can’t read these books independently), Ghost is on the run. He ends up getting help from Duncan, and the two of them try to figure out their way out of an impossible situation - repeatedly.
I loved Ghost and Duncan, and I appreciated the way their relationship was shown to develop. And just when I was getting sceptical, Sidney Bell proved I had no reason to be. I really enjoyed this series, despite the often dark subject matter. If you enjoy m/m suspense with a bit of a darker edge and some action and compelling relationships, this is a great choice.

This LGBTQ Romantic Suspense has a tender romance with lots of suspense in the mystery side. Good pacing with great characters make more than a 4 star read.