Rating: 4.5
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 1st person
Series: Mackenzie Country #2
Genre: contemporary romance, MM
Tropes / tags: hurt / comfort, opposites attract, small town
Zach and I were tinder to fucking flame and we’d both known it before he’d set a single foot on my doorstep.
And then there was all this, he’d said. This. You. Us.
I was so excited about being back in Mackenzie Country, and The Mechanics of Lust was an absolutely gorgeous and heartfelt story!
Both Luke and Zach appeared in the first book, and Zach especially had me intrigued. They both had past hurt and trauma to deal with, and my heart broke for these men and what they’d been through. Their story was very real and very emotional, dealing with loss and grief, homophobia and trauma.
Jay Hogan truly managed to capture it all beautifully in this story though – I could feel how wary Zach was of relationships, how deep his hurt ran and how scared he was to trust another man with his heart. Luke’s grief and longing was palpable as well. It was difficult to read at times and I definitely cried through quite a few passages.
It wasn’t all hurt though, Luke and Zach had plenty of sweet and lighter moments together and there was also quite a bit of humour and warmth. I loved the friendships and bonds found on the station, very strong found family vibes and they made sure to take care of each other.
There was a lot of push and pull between Luke and Zach – add in some animosity and a ton of sexual tension that had been building for over a year and… yea, that first time was definitely explosive! I certainly loved all of the marking and biting that they got up to as well. Lots of hot scenes in this one!
The Mechanics of Lust was a fantastic story, and I honestly can’t wait to go back to Mackenzie Country! The writing, the setting, the emotions – it was all gorgeously portrayed and conveyed in this story. The landscape and nature in this series has been stunning so far, even if the more treacherous and unforgiving sides of it has been shown as well. Definitely a series that I highly recommend!
Wearing nothing but miles of bare skin, a ton of bruises and teeth marks, and those intriguing splashes of freckles all painted in shades of grey in the wash of moonlight that lit the room, Zach looked so young, so lovely, so . . . bewitching, and I was charmed in a hot second.
Book links:
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