Release Day Review: Kairos by Mary Calmes

I am a huge fan of Mary Calmes, so I was super excited to get my greedy little hands on Kairos.  As soon as I started reading, however, I was surprised to discover that while there was a slightly different plot, it was so similar to her Marshals series as to feel as though it was the same book with different names and jobs.

 

Joe and Kade are besties who are private eyes that work together.  While Kade has lost his family, Joe is merely estranged, and by his own choice.  Joe has been in love with Kade from the word go, but Kade has men and women in and out of his bed like a rotating turnstile.  Moving from friends to lovers is done with very little angst, though the chemistry between the men is definitely Calmes’ signature scorcher.

 

I found the plot amusing, the asset they’re protecting adorable, and the shenanigans that Kade forces upon Joe to be a bit over the top, but Joe’s love means huge barrels of forgiveness.  The story is fairly straightforward, though, with little in the way of danger and death predictions.

 

The secondary characters are all quite interesting, and Joe’s mother is simply awesome!  She alone makes this book worth reading even if it wasn’t worth it otherwise.  She collects people, and her methods aren’t particularly subtle.

 

There is some character growth, but the book as a whole isn’t long enough for any significant strides beyond the two MCs coming together.  I was a bit disappointed at the end, because it seemed rather abrupt.  Perhaps it is because it will flesh out into another series.  If so, I’m willing to check it out and see where it goes.

 

While I enjoyed Kairos, I was hoping for more original content and less Miro and Ian two point oh.  I’m rating this at three stars, and I recommend it, with the warning that it will seem very familiar to anyone who has read the Marshals books.