Off Duty

I was going to rate these individually but ... let's just say I liked them all and I'd definitely recommend reading them. I'm also adding some other shorts that have been available from the author but not listed on GR.“TICKETS TO THE GUN SHOW” This is takes place on January 14th, about two weeks after the Christmas/New Year's Eve events in [b:Paternity Case 38478348 Paternity Case (Hazard and Somerset #3) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518288966l/38478348.SY75.jpg 60110759]. Hazard & Somers are deluding each other with the fiction that they're work partners, sort of friends, and roommates. Each is diligently working on separate romantic relationships: Emery trying to convince himself that he's happy with Nico, though realistically the don't exist in the same universe, and John-Henry pursuing a reconciliation with Cora. It's evident to the reader, the MCs individually, that these are doomed pursuits, but still they persist. I love how this story isn't just as side indulgence from the author to the fans, but another window into how much these two care for each other, how they show it in deeds, even when they can't say it with words or face to face. I like the recurring side characters who form the Wahredua universe, and I absolutely love how part of this story neatly sets up the opening of [b:Guilt by Association 39712922 Guilt by Association (Hazard and Somerset, #4) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522791119l/39712922.SY75.jpg 61372656], which I've started. Color me HAPPY.“WHEN THE ROAD RISES UPThis takes place after [b:Guilt by Association 39712922 Guilt by Association (Hazard and Somerset, #4) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522791119l/39712922.SY75.jpg 61372656]. It's John-Henry & Emery's first weekend getaway as a couple, and of course trouble follows. It's fun to see them learning to navigate their new status, how they always have each other's back, as a couple and as professional partners.“LITTLE STOICS”My heart. My heart. My heart. After the events of [b:Reasonable Doubt 40408547 Reasonable Doubt (Hazard and Somerset #5) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528309833l/40408547.SY75.jpg 62730037] seeing Somers being such a knucklehead out of love, and all the other stuff he's been doing? Heart melting. The rest of the book is a series of vignettes that come after [b:Criminal Past 41103639 Criminal Past (Hazard and Somerset #6) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533944202l/41103639.SY75.jpg 64217590] from August 5th to September 27th, and each cover an hour or a day in their new lives. They deepen and enrich the characters, what they're going through, and my cold heart might have skipped a beat or two. The shorts below are not included in this volume, but I don't see them listed in GR“PRETTY AND PINK AND PERFECT”This story falls in the middle of the vignettes and it's super cute. Emery and John-Henry are hosting Evie's birthday party in their new house. Hazard is trying to make it perfect, and largely succeeds, in spite of the usual miscreants, and the fact that Hazard has no experience with children, family, or healthy relationships. “JOHN-HENRY SOMERSET: SOLD!”Hazard & Somers go to the Pretty Pretty, there's an auction, Hazard doesn't share. Oh! And a Nico sighting too. “PICK UP LINE”The things John-Henry will do for Emery are big and small and mean everything. This is the last short before [b:The Rational Faculty 48145120 The Rational Faculty (Hazard and Somerset A Union of Swords, #1) Gregory Ashe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568486069l/48145120.SY75.jpg 73373048] and I suspect Hazard's state of mind, alluded to here, will get full attention in the new arc.