First book by this author for me. This needed another pass for editing and it was difficult to get through.

Simple language, very easy to read. Tasia writes in a highly descriptive way, allowing the reader to picture the world exactly as the author intends.

Our MC is fantastic, but he feels like he is trying too hard to be manly.

A nice, short read. Perfect amount of spice

Brick and Roman meet when Roman participates in a meeting between Brick and his father to buy Brick’s land. brick isn't interested in selling, but Roman’s father has been relentless. There is an instant attraction between the two men, but they both initially resist, never expecting to see each other again. However, fate intervenes and gives Roman a flat tire near Brick’s house in the middle of a thunderstorm, followed by a tornado.

Brick soon discovers that someone has been making repeated attempts on Roman’s life. Using his contacts from his time as a Navy SEAL he goes about trying to figure out who is after the man he’s falling for. After a very close call at Roman’s office, he insists Roman stay with him and work remotely until they solve the mystery. It's not long before the two men give into their desires and start hooking up.

"Brick" is a low-angst novella betweena retired Navy SEAL and an investment broker. The bookmoves quickly, but the mystery of who could be after Roman keeps you engaged. Due to the short length of the book, the romantic scenes are limited, but you can tellhow much Brick and Roman care for each other. The side character’s, especially Fletcher, from Brick’s old team were interesting and left it open for sequels. I enjoyed “Brick” and rate it four stars.

I enjoyed this M/M romance story with the two main characters that were Brick Matthews and Roman Furrow. And also the rest of the characters to.

Brick Matthews is a retired Navy Seals that has inherited his great aunt lake home. That has become rundown with the years after her death since he could not return to take care of it. Now that he retired from the Navy he might have time to fix the place up. But first there is a few things stopping him from doing this.

Roman Furrow is a CEO to the family business. He also doesn't get along with his father that well. So when his father wants more money from the company he goes to see him. What he finds out is quite a shocking.

This was a fun read with its mystery and suspense. It also had a few laughs through out it that I did enjoyed. This is the first book in the series I hope there more to come.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

It hasn't been bad, it has been an insta love, wich is a cliché that I'm not aa big fan of, bu that hasn't made me not enjoy reading.
The book has its dose of action, its introduction of the characters, and quite good explicit spice scene. And these are elements that have made me enjoy so much. In a few pages we are introduced to the main characters concisely, but give the feeling of being real.
As for the sex scenes, I would have liked to have been more. Is supposed to be a romance with erotica book, but I think that doesn't come to explode as much as it could have done.
However, it has been an entertaining and light reading that I have enjoyed quite a lot.

This book was just what I needed in the moment. I wasn’t looking for anything that was super realistic, I was looking for escapism and this delivered.

Brick is a retired SEAL who has inherited his great aunts house, which has fallen somewhat into disrepair. Roman is the CEO of a major company, and gets pulled into to deal with his irresponsible father who is trying to buy the land Brick’s house is on to build a helipad. Also, Roman keeps having a suspicious “accidents” so Brick and his team of alpha dude bros military expert types step in to investigate.
I started this book ready to suspend my disbelief, but it does feel like it was trying to accomplish slightly too much. There is a small-town renovation, a fight to save the house, and a body guard romance, a bit of instalove and a kidnapping. That’s…. a lot going on.

That said, I did enjoy it and the sheer volume of tropes did keep things moving. It also did a pretty good job of setting up the Fire Lake universe for future books.

And it’s likely I’ll revisit Fire Lake in future.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this. All thoughts are my own opinion.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I signed up for this one. I think based on the cover, I was hoping for more spice than what was present in the book.

It was a quick read - it was about 140 pages. I thought that the relationship between Brick and Roman was well established and that spark of chemistry between them was enjoyable to read. The whole can't get you out of my mind aspect of romance - always love reading that.

From a romance perspective, I really enjoyed it, but I didn't enjoy the thriller/suspense aspect of the book. It felt rushed at the end - like there needed to be a quick resolution. I understand that this is the first in a series and the author is setting up the rest. I just preferred the romance aspect of it.

I would definitely check out the next in the series, just to see where it goes. Hopefully they continue to talk about Roman and Brick in those!

Thank you,again!

The good
+ The honest communication
+ Roman saving Brick's turtle
+ The clear expectations between them
+ Both of them going all-in for a committed relationship
+ Brick's protectiveness over everyone he took under his wing


The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o Is this a spin-off series? Bricks dropped a lot of names, and sometimes it felt like I was supposed to know who they were


The bad
- The editing was done very badly. There were many mistakes, and some things were so annoying they pulled me right out of the story. "We need to get vertical fast, or I'm stripping you standing up."
- At the end of the book, <SPOILER>
- Roman's mother was an awful woman. She didn't support Roman when he came out as gay, then didn't approve of his choice of boyfriend because he wasn't "from a good family", and then used emotional manipulation to make herself look like the victim. She was not called out for any of this
- After they learned Roman was in danger, <SPOILER>


I liked the relationship between Brick and Roman. Almost everything else was a disappointment. And once again, family members were forgiven for their horrible behavior just because they were family. Just because someone is family doesn't mean you owe them anything. If you can overlook the family stuff and don't mind a predictable plot, the romance is sweet and I'd recommend this book just for that. But as a whole, I don't think this is worth it.



This is a copy of my Goodreads review, found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5971498130. The spoilers can be accessed there as well.

Thank you for the ARC netgalley. Enjoyed the start for a new series which I will definitely check out. Former SEALs starting out an investigation officer seems like an enjoyable premise to watch out for.

Brick is the first book in the Fire Lake series by M. Tasia. It is a contemporary romance novel with a suspenseful plot and a slow-burn romance.

The story follows Brick Matthews, a former Navy SEAL who has inherited a lake house in Fire Lake, Maine. Brick is looking forward to a quiet life of rehab and fishing, but his plans are quickly derailed when he discovers that the real estate agent who has been trying to buy his property is up to something shady.

Brick's investigation leads him to Roman Furrow, a buttoned-down CEO with amazing blue eyes. Roman is the last person Brick expects to be attracted to, but he can't deny the chemistry between them.

As Brick and Roman get to know each other, they also uncover a web of secrets and lies that threatens to destroy both of them. Brick must use his SEAL training to protect Roman and bring down the bad guys.

Brick is a well-written and engaging novel with complex and relatable characters. The suspense plot is gripping, and the romance is both heartwarming and steamy. I especially enjoyed the way Tasia explores the themes of love, trust, and redemption.

If you're a fan of contemporary romance novels with a suspenseful twist, I highly recommend Brick. It's a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5*

Thank you to Netgalley and Boroughs Publishing Group for a copy of this book. This book was a quick read for me and I enjoyed reading it. I liked how there was a bit of enemies to lovers in the beginning and I also liked how there was a bit of a mystery element with Roman and who was out to get him. Brick even though he was this tough Navy SEAL was still a sweetheart who loved Roman and went out of his way to protect him. The only thing I would have liked was if the book was more dual POV with the chapters because I think it would have made the book more enjoyable for me. Overall I did like this book especially because going into it I didn't know it was MM which is one of my favorite book tropes.

Awesome. This was a very exciting wild ride. Lots of action. Great heroes. Fallible humans. All good stuff. Great first book in a series. Can't wait for more.