Review: Trusting Jack (MC Securities #1) by Ruby Moone

With only a few days to go until Christmas, Michael Cross has to admit there is something amiss about his latest employee, Jack Whelan. Quiet, jumpy, thin… he never seems to eat. He is also incredibly gorgeous with dark spiky hair that Michael aches to touch. But as his boss, Jack is off limits. And when it comes to relationships, he…well, he sucks.

Jack Whelan is at the end of his tether. He’s living rough in the middle of winter, and paying off a massive debt, so getting a job with MC Securities is a lifeline. His new boss is also the hottest guy ever. Geeky, broody, and scarily clever.

When Michael stumbles upon the reality of Jack’s life, he offers to help. But as Michael’s feelings deepen, and Jack’s terrible past catches up with him, Michael has to decide between believing in the awful truth that is staring him in the face, or trusting Jack.

For such heavy material, Trusting Jack is surprising light on the angst. I was surprised and pleasantly so. But also a smidge disappointed because the lack of angst also made for a lack of memorability. The story is basically hurt/comfort gold, but it’s hurt/comfort-lite and I was expecting more of a visceral reaction to the characters and their stories (Jack especially, obviously) than what happened. 

Both Jack and Michael are likable characters, the kind you root for and want all the HEA action for. Michael is a regular guy, but more, so regular-guy-who-is-worthy-of-being-an-MC kind of guy. Everything about him is just a little better than your average. He has a shy, unsure side that was appealing and more him more accessible though. He needed that and I needed that from him. I didn’t want him to be a knight in shining armor for Jack, that wouldn’t have worked for Jack’s personality.

It was cool seeing him be all heroic and badass when he needed to be, but his unassuming side was what was so appealing about Michael. Jack has seen some shit. He’s been through a lot and has a lot of secrets he’s hiding as he works to get his life together. Michael is curious about Jack’s story and his curiosity gets the better of him. It’s easy for him to indulge though (even though he says he doesn’t want to - methinks he doth protest too much) as Jack is his employee and another employee is concerned. Jack’s story is tough, which is to be expected, but the bad guy didn’t make a lot of sense for me, and in the end, it still didn’t make a lot of sense.

Jack was a good guy in a bad situation. The whole thing was a little too black and white though, I needed a little gray nuance to make the drama work. Honestly, Jack could have just been down on his luck and the story could have spent more time in the development of Michael and Jack as a couple, built some imperfections in there, simplified the story arc by leaving the bad guys out. Michael and Jack had plenty to work with, their setup had me hooked, their personalities were intriguing and I wanted to get to know them without the noise of the villain(s).

I know this reads like I’m bagging on this story, but, I am a huge fan of this author and her historical novels. My expectations were high and while it wasn’t necessarily what I had hoped for, I still enjoyed the story and the characters and I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**