Reclamation by Cari Z.

Great story! I'm usually not into either Dystopian world or Sci-Fi, I find I simply get confused and lost in the world building, but while I DID find some difficulties connecting to the world, the story was so well written and engaging I couldn't put it down. I was with tears of exhaustion in my eyes but I kept going. I loved that though both MC were "rough around the edges", they both had a very tender heart and it showed in how much they learned to care for one another. It's a brutal world out there, but inside Grayson's home they had their own ha(e)ven. 



The story is told from both Matt and Grayson's POV. We start with Matt an undercover cop working as a dancer in a gay club trying to seduce the son of a drug lord. Grayson comes to the club as well, but funny enough, though he is gay, watching the shows isn't his main priority.. When there's an ugly scene between the son of the drug lord and his bigger and meaner brother and Grayson sees Matt is in the crossfire he offers him a place to stay. He refuses at first, but after checking his name through his boss he realizes Grayson is on the Reclamation Team which means he's one of the good guys (I guess you could categorize it as a part of the "armed forces"). Grayson has his own demons to deal with, mainly his sick father - though he is in a home he keeps escaping, not remembering he isn't a soldier anymore and endangering himself and others (sounds like alzheimer..). Grayson has kept his job longer than most because it was a good paying one and he needed the money to pay his father's hospis bills. 

There are lies between them, mostly Matt's identity, but in a way they have a sort of superficial relationship at first, watching old James Bond movies, eating pancakes together. They enjoy each other's company and though Grayson IS attracted to Matt he doesn't want to take advantage of him (even when Matt openly says he is interested). In the end they cross that line as well and from there a real relationship blossoms even if neither of them would admit that's what it is. The "shit hits the fan" when the drug lord does a HUGE move endangering both MC, each for their own reason. But when the bullets stops flying and the fires are extinguished will they be able to build something real with each other? 

I LOVED this story as I loved so many of Cari's books before. It's short yet not TOO short, there's romance even if not a "mushy" one, there's friendship, there's are a few steamy encounters, there's a complicated and yet well explained world (though I admit I'm not sure I understood it all but I was content with what I DID get). There's also a very realistic HFN couple and all of this awesomeness is a free read from one of the GoodReads' M/M Romance Group projects. Press the link bellow to either the book page on GR or the download link from the group's blog.

Yep, recommended :)   

Rating: ★★★★½

E-Book Edition

98 pages

Read on: 31-Jan-2017