Review of Law Man (Dream Man #3) by Kristen Ashley
Law Man is the third book in the series Dream Man.
Shy Mara Hanover is in love with her neighbor, Detective Mitch Lawson. She's been in love with him for four years. Being from the wrong side of the tracks, she believes she is not good enough for Mitch. But when the management of the apartment complex can't be bothered by a leaky faucet, Mitch comes to her rescue.
Mitch has been watching Mara for a long time, and when the faucet gives him an in with her, he takes it. Before long, Mara gets a call from her cousin's two young children. It draws her back into the world she's tried so hard to get away from and reminds her why she'd long believed she wasn't good enough for Mitch.
In order to have her, Mitch has to draw Mara out of the cocoon she lives in and help her see what kind of person she really is.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a step up from Wild Man, which I liked, and moved the story back toward the action and hilarity of Mystery Man, which I liked even better. It took me a while to make it through, both because this was a long book and because I didn't read much for a few weeks.
The only downside of this book was the Mara that existed in the first half of the book. It's common for a reader to get frustrated with characters and want to shake them, etc. But Mara actually pissed me off. To the point I nearly put the book down because I was so fed up with her. I pushed on, and I'm glad I did. But her whole us-and-them attitude where she equates herself to lower status and Mitch to better so there's no way it can possibly work really irked me. And to watch her throw Mitch away—twice!—because of this screwed up notion of who's good enough to date whom nearly had me putting the book down. Once Mara got her head out of her ass, which is what Mitch calls it, too, I liked her much better. But it took half the book.
Mitch was determined, past the point I think most men would stick around. The first time she threw him away, I could see him sticking around to work past that. But the second one? I'd be gone. Especially with what she said. I liked him as a character. He's a good guy with a good heart, and I liked that the kids brought them together instead of their relationship surviving the kids entering the picture. He was a solid foundation for Mara, Billy, and Billie, and he took care of them when they needed it.
I think the part of the book that hurt the most was the way Billy expressed his anxiety over needing to make sure his and Billie's protectors stayed nearby. It broke my heart.
The settings were solid in some places and not in others. The apartments and furniture store were good, and since that was where most of the book took place, it worked. I would have liked some more life in other areas as well, especially Chaos's compound, which we've seen before and will apparently see much more of in the next book.
Kristen Ashley's descriptions are always fantastic, and I wasn't disappointed in this book. I always knew what was around Mara and what was happening. That's not easy, so props to the author.
Dialog was good mostly, though it dipped into cheese regularly. It worked for me, though, so it wasn't intrusive.
Overall, another great book from Kristen Ashley. I have a feeling that this may be one of the series that I buy to read again and again.
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