I freaking loved this.

"By the Book" was one of my favourite unexpected surprises of 2022, and I have been impatiently waiting for the sequel for over a year now: I remember reading and loving that book, and I remember being helplessly drawn to Nick, and absolutely falling for the unexpected dynamic between Nick and Ben.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that book was the first of many where I started enjoying a bit of a role reversal in my romances: Nick, the gruff, older FBI agent, discovers his subby side thanks to younger, earnest Ben, with his quietly domineering nature.

So yeah, I was so looking forward to seeing that part of their relationship explored in the sequel, and I was so looking forward to reading more of their adventures in white collar crime world. And of course, I was so, so excited to read about Nick some more, my messy, playboy disaster of a man.

I wasn't disappointed, at all. The opposite, actually:
"Bottom Line" was even more fantastic that the first book, and I managed to INHALE it in a day. I'm actually cursing myself right now because I wanted to savour it a bit more but nope. I just had to finish it: I had to discover what was happening, both in regards to the mystery at the centre of this book and between Nick and Ben as their romance slowly develops.

First of all, I adored the story: it's as complex as the one that brought Ben and Nick together in the first book, and again, who would have thought that that kind of crime world would have been so fascinating? I also loved the many side characters we get to meet again, and although Duncan and George appear much less, they still STOLE THE SHOW.
I can't wait to see them properly in the third book (*manifesting*)

And Nick and Ben? WELL, where do I start. Ben was much more my cup of tea this time around: he's still reckless, mulish and somewhat amateur-sleuth-ish, but I loved seeing him come into his own (and his baby Dom era). He's done the homework, he's much more confident and even more domineering and commanding, despite his age and his innocent blond-and-blue-eyed-looks, and whew. I loved that for him.
Nick, on the other hand, is ehm... Not very put together; but it's no surprise that messy, self-destructive disasters are my favourite kind of protagonists. He's such a complex character: assured and confident in some ways, flirty and sunshine-y, but he's also messy and reckless and a bit immature (and yes, he owns that lol), closed-off and afraid and sharp-edged.
He's got some serious baggage and a somewhat traumatic past, and seeing him struggle with his own desires and his submissive nature (versus his masculitiny and society's idea of it), was both heart-breaking and immensely satisfying.
Needless to say, I absolutely adored him: he's my favourite and although he's also very, very flawed, I was quite ready to jump into the book and protect him from the whole world.

Nick and Ben's relationship is still pretty much slow-burn, and although it's much more present here than the previous book, this installment is still more of a suspense story than a traditional romance. Regardless, their dynamic was priceless, explosive and steamy, and their chemistry is literally off the charts. G.B. Gordon has some serious writing skills.

I'm so, so so curious to see what will happen next. I'm pretty sure there's going to be a third book (I might cry otherwise), but this book ends on a very solid HFN. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ben and Nick, but in the meantime I might just re-read book one.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.