Never Hollowed By The Stare

Fog City: Silent Knight – Layla Reyne

I won’t let anything happen to you.

Fourteen years ago, Braxton Kane’s feelings were forbidden.
As an officer, he couldn’t fall for an enlisted… no matter how much he longed for Holt Madigan.
Now—as a police chief in love with a digital assassin—his promise to always protect Holt is becoming harder to keep.

I’ll protect you.

Holt doesn’t understand why his best friend has been pushing him away for months.
But when Brax’s life and career are threatened, Holt refuses to allow the distance any longer.
The Madigans protect their own, and Brax is family, whether he believes it or not.

I won’t let anything happen to you either.

Forced together, Holt realizes his feelings for his best friend have changed.
His desire to explore the promise their single night together held is undeniable.
His resolve to protect the man who has always protected him is unshakable.
But if Holt wants a future with Brax, he’ll have to search and destroy the person who attacked him—before Brax activates the kill switch and sacrifices himself.

Love and devotion. Friendship and trust. Family. It all comes down to this. Holt and Kane, together at last, in the final book of the Fog City romantic suspense series.

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Saving the last for the best Madigan of ’em all!

Silent Knight is the most awaited finale of Fog City, a series about the notorious Madigans. I’ve been waiting for Lil H’s story ever since he and Brax had those moments in the Hawes’ Fog City trilogy.

Holt Madigan, hacker, ex-soldier, dad, and all-around sweetheart, had had it worse in the first books when his wife, Emilia, turned out to be a traitor in their midst. His best friend, Police Chief Braxton Kane, has been his rock for decades. Now, Brax’s life is in danger, and Holt will do anything to save the person who saved his life.

Their story started 14 years ago when they were in the military. Then-captain Brax first set eyes on the young private stepping off the plane and immediately fell in love. He promised himself he would do everything to make sure that soldier would board the plane home alive.

Due to military regulations, a relationship was forbidden, and Brax kept his feelings for Holt under lock and key. However, the two became best friends. Their bond remained strong even after returning to civilian life and Brax learning the truth about Holt’s family.

The first half is told in flashbacks from Brax’s POV. This part made my chest hurt. The pining alone was worth 5-stars. Poor Cap had it bad for the Private. So bad that he forced his way into a mission to protect the young soldier, helped him transition back to civilian life while he’s still halfway across the world, forced to silently endure Holt getting married to another person, moved across the country to live in the same city as him, risk his career to protect him and his family of assassins. Never once letting his best friend know how he truly felt for him. Not even that night he helped the pan/demisexual Holt lose his virginity. Damn the man and his military discipline!

The second half covers the present and is told from Holt’s POV. This is where most of the mystery and the suspense came in. All the Madigans rallied to Brax’s side to uncover who was behind the threats. I loved how everyone considered him family and pretty much already assumed he and Holt were a given. The only one who needed to realize this was Holt.

This part lost me at some points. The mystery wasn’t as riveting as it was supposed to be. There was a big to-do with the investigations, where I danced with glee at the cameos from Jamie, Aiden, Mel, and Nic, characters from Agents Irish and Whiskey and Trouble Brewing. There were also some attempts at plot twists. But at the end of it all, everything still came down to the default bad guy. So there weren’t any major surprises. The big showdown, while fitting Holt’s character, also felt anti-climactic.

The suspense bit might not have been strongly delivered but the rest of the story, and the romance, in particular, was what made this book my favorite in the series. It is a beautifully rendered love story about falling for one’s best friend and a deeply rewarding requiting of a silent and unconditional love. And the way this book was written, which felt more intense and angstier than the rest, hit me harder in the kokoro.

There is a strong sense of family that ties everyone together, from the Madigan siblings to their significant others to their organization members, and their friends. It is these characters and their bonds that kept me returning to Fog City and its sister series time and time again

The epilogue wasn’t what I was looking for, not enough Brax and Holt. But it left an opening for possibly another spinoff. And it looks like Brax is going to play a big part here too!

Overall, Silent Knight might not be as flashy as Hawes’ books or as bombastic as Helena’s, but it is the one that spoke the loudest and the most heartfelt.

Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

Soundtrack: How Can I Protect You
Artist: Restless Modern
Album:

P.S.

Silent Knight is best experienced after the Fog City trilogy and Queen’s Ransom. The Madigans wouldn’t have it any other way.

While you’re at it, pick up the equally fantastic partners-to-lovers romance between FBI agents, Aiden Talley and Jameson Walker, in Agents Irish and Whiskey.

Because these guys are a tight-knit bunch, also check out Aiden’s sorta-ex-turned-friend, US Attorney Dominic Price, and Nic’s partner, FBI Agent Cameron Byrne in Trouble Brewing

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SILENT KNIGHT

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