Fear The Beard

by Lani Lynn Vale

Each and every book that I pick up from Ms Vale draws me further into a world of characters that I would love to meet in person, these are guys that wear their pasts well, they each have a history that may have shaped them but certainly doesn’t define them.

They are strong, alpha males who refuse to lay down and let life dictate how and who they should be, they are proud wearers of their cuts but that isn’t all they are, they are confident and contributing members of a society that needs them and their strength to grow.

They watch over their friends and neighbours and because of their active roles in the community they are well placed to ensure that the community is safe.

This is a band of unlikely hero’s and Dr Tommy is no different!

Tommy lives the life he wants, he leaves no stone unturned to ensure that he fulfils every aspect of ever task required of him to the very best of his ability and he lives within the rules, not of hwta other expect of him but of what he expects of himself and that dedication has always been unwavering…that is until Tally because this twenty year old student nurse is everything he doesn’t need to be getting involved with but that he can’t find it in him to fight, he is smitten but as her teacher, the ramifications for the both is they get involved could be devastating!

Single mother Tally will win your heart, she wears her heart on her sleeve and while life is far from easy she is doing everything she can to make a life that will provide for her daughter in the future, no matter how complicated it is at the minute but the added pressure of an illicit relationship could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and that could bring everything she has been working towards crashing down around her but saying no to Tommy is something that she really struggles with, but when he dictates that they have to wait until she graduates before anything can come of how they feel for each other, she is facing not only the pressure of exams but also a physical frustration…boy the two of them had more will power than I would have had!

Of course in tru Ms Vale style the path to a future for the two of them is far from straight forward, there and obstacles and accusations that continue to be directed their way, right up until the very end and at times they weren’t only ridiculous but they had the potential to be professional devastating.

I love the intense emotion that this author is able to pour into a story, the depth of feeling that the characters are willing to not only go through but to articulate as they spring from the page.

It is impossible not to get involved, these are books that cannot read in fits and starts, I have to read from start to finish in one sitting and that will never change, I find peace between the covers of a Lani Lynn Vale novel, and that is because I don’t find just characters…no, I find friends.