Hard Time by Jerry Cole

Hard Time Reviews

• 
  Denise H.

  ***This is a well written, smooth, wonderful crime drama.***
  Luke, 35, homicide detective, and his co-worker, Mikey, are great at crime solving. Someone doesn't want this one solved, and Luke finds himself reassigned to an undercover op, alone, in a prison.
  Luke is small, muscled, hairy man with a beard, an "otter,"
  
  with blue eyes. We also see what a caring man he is with the dog rescue.
  
  His cell mate is tall, built, blonde, brown eyed Adam.
  
  Adam is awaiting a trial, but he's stuck there, with nothing moving forward.
  Luke is finding himself in deep thought about where he is, what he's missing, and how alone he feels, because no one knows he's there. He's learned to appreciate what he's taken for granted.
  
  
  When he's attacked, Adam saves him.
  
  Their friendship escalates as they play cards, have long talks, and get closer. A night of hot passionate sex, is leading to more. The op he is on is a bust, and now he wants to get out so he can help Adam be free, especially after hearing his past details.
  
  The characters are flawed, but lovable, and very vivid. The writing is smooth.
  There's a heartwarming ending. Thank you sweet Darlene for the recommendation.
  ENJOY !
  
  =====
• 
  AngelFire

  DNF @ 14%. No rating.
  
  I'm not rating this because I assumed it was MM romance but after re-reading the summary a few times, it kind of sounds like gay fiction and since that's what it was, I don't feel it's fair to rate it low because of that.
  
  This didn't work for me on any level. The story gave off strong gay fiction vibes right from the start because all the focus is on the MC's life as a gay cop. Readers follow him along as he works on some of his cases, interacts with his co-workers and family and has a second one night stand with a guy he'd ghosted after the first one but he awkwardly bumps into. In addition, there were way too many details about things that didn't need to be described. For example, getting the entire professional history of his unit Captain's rise to his rank or learning the name of his grandmother when she isn't even on page or details about how his mom cooks a specific Irish dish and why she does it that way. I didn't care about any of this.
  
  So not only was I bored, not liking the writing style, not liking the gay fiction vibes and not liking the realization that I'd probably have to wait a long time to even meet the love interest, but then we get the smut scene of the MC's second time with the random guy and...I noped out of there. A lot of male authors write smut scenes in a way that doesn't work for me and that's what happened here. I wasn't vibing with the whole situation or the characters anyway but when one of them said 'give me that hairy hole' and the other character reacted like that was the sexiest thing anybody has ever said, I knew this wouldn't work for me.
• 
  Nile Princess

  So I gave this a try because of the prison romance, but it really ended up being more about the murder mystery/police department corruption angle. The odds that Luke and Adam would have ended up in the cell are so remote it makes the whole thing a bit fantastical. I also felt it was bit slow. 3 stars.
• 
  Manfred

  Whenever you read one of your favorite books, it is very tough for the book that comes next.
  When finishing "
  The Fence And Then The Trees" I got a notification about "Hard Time" in my mail and as it was a prison story (sort of) as well I decided to give it a try.
  It really was not a bad decision, the story was intriguing, I already liked the blurb a lot: an undercover cop going to prison and meeting an inmate that he falls in love with (sigh).
  The only problem is, that after a very realistic (but not very romantic) book like "The fence and then the trees" this story was extremely cheesy, very sweet and absolutely "romance novel" like.
  That is not really a problem because I mean, what else would you expect from a romance novel?
  Still, I sometimes wished for a little more "substance" instead of "sap"
  There were so many clichees that I was rolling my eyes constantly.
  What I really did like on the other hand, was, that the story also had a little bit of everything: detectice/crime/suspense, which kept me guessing what was going on until the very end.
  For my liking, the end was too rushed. On one page we learn who the real bad guys are, on the next everything is solved, they are behind bars and our heroes united.
  I would have loved to read all about how this happened because in spite of my former complaints this was a really good story and an enjoyable read and for me 3.5 stars!
• 
  Lucrecia

  Hard Time
  
  Solid story.
  Police undercover in jail. Cellmate connection. Intrigue. Dirty cops.
  I should've liked this more.
  It felt too much like 'reading' if that even makes any sense... I didn't feel the flow of the story, nor the love connection that much. I read about both, didn't feel either. Too mechanical.
  It was still a solid read and I'll keep reading 📖
• 
  Chris

  2.5... half way there for me.
• 
  Viki Evans

  Wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. It felt rushed at the end. Luke wasn't out to anybody except his work partner but he manages to move his boyfriend in with no word about it to anyone. No mention of his parents,nothing, and the mystery of his bosses, cleared up just like that,nah, it really spoiled it for me. 😕
• 
  Don Bradshaw

  This story had a bit of everything from murderer to romance to police corruption. Very well written and though I am new to Jerry Cole, I enjoyed his style. I think that the ending was gift wrapped a little too nicely. The wasn't the edge that many prison themed books have due to the sweet romance.
• 
  Darlene

  I love detective stories and Jerry Cole writes a really great book about homicide detective Luke Shawcross for the Philly’s police department and his partner, Mikey. They worked well together as a team and have a high percent of their cases closed.
  
  Luke’s boss, Jake DeMarco was an overbearing, arrogant Captain, and the two never saw eye-to-eye. Well, especially after Luke punched Jake in a meeting before he became captain. Luke hated the man with a passion; Luke also didn’t trust the man; I didn’t trust the man either.
  
  It’s the good cop verses the bad cops that kept my interest and Luke’s given an opportunity by the Inspector, who was Jake’s boss, to go undercover as an inmate at a holding jail for criminals wanting for trial. Jake felt he was finally doing something that could get him over the mistake when he punched Jake DeMarco.
  
  It was in jail that Luke met the quiet, Adam Baker who becomes his cellmate. Adam’s a gentle soul and as Jake gets to know him through the weeks he’s incarcerated, Jake can’t figure out what the heck the gentle man did to deserve to be in jail.
  
  Adam saves Jake from three other inmates that were beating Jake to death because he was a cop and later Adam finally breaks down and tells Jake he killed a woman. None of this makes sense to Jake. There was no way Adam was a killer and Jake had a sixth sense about these things after being in homicide.
  
  The two become lovers and close friends during Jake’s twelve-week stay of being undercover. Luke needs to report back to the Inspector about what he’s learned about his undercover assignment and has nothing to report. The activity that was supposedly going on in the jail with the guards; Jake had not seen again signs of.
  
  I love how all the pieces come together between what Jake learns in jail from Adam and how it fits to what happened with situations that Jake experienced before on the outside, especially with his Captain. Plus for the first time Jake falls in love, and Adam’s his man. The determined detective promises to get the innocent man and the man he loves out of jail, but with a tangled conspiracy I could not fathom how the detective would end up doing this. All the cards are stacked against him and Adam.
  
  The results surprised me how Jake comes up with how to get the evidence he needs to free Adam. This is a great detective/love story and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend the book. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced read copy of this book.
• 
  Lala

  DNF 43%......Just could not slog through. Writing was stilted and forced. Just..not good..
• 
  ~nikki the recovering book addict

  3 Stars!!
  
  The setup took 50% of the book. It was past 50% before the two MCs even met. Actually, I enjoyed the first 80+% of the book. It’s the last few chapters that threw me for a loop. Because it didn’t seem to go chronologically and the time jump was so large.
  
  Normally I wouldn’t mind it. But it stood out because the first 50% was so meticulous and the time lapse was minimal, bordering on minute.
  
  Also, I expected the mystery/crime to be more complex and more involved than just one conversation which sort of blew the whole thing wide open. And getting the proof was almost too easy. It was worse because the resolution wasn’t really spelled out. Only referred to in vague terms in passing.
  
  And because it’s a romance genre, it pains me to say I didn’t feel the chemistry between the MCs. Adam wasn’t even in the picture much. Mikey might have even featured more heavily than Adam....well, maybe that’s a stretch.
  
  As a real person, I think I would really like Adam. But as a character in a book, he was too forgettable. Too nice, too gentle, too unassuming...
  
  Jerry Cole is an awesome writer. I’ve deeply loved some of his(?)/hers(?)/their(?) works. But this just wasn’t one of....- I obviously don’t know the correct pronounce so I’m going to go with ‘their’ - their best work...
• 
  Barbara

  This was an exceptionally good book by this author. I couldn't put it down. Detective/crime/mystery with all the parts that make up a read to keep the reader absorbed as they work with the author to solve the crime. Luke is a detective who is also a closeted gay. He has a loyal partner and hates his chief, Jake. unwittingly Luke overhears more than he should. Suddenly pulled off the streets he is put on an undercover assignment in jail to investigate violence by guards. Thusly, starts a journey of suspicion, violence, love, treachery, bad cops, disloyalty, anger, homophobia, deceit, lies, crime syndicates, murder and an excellent HEA. You can't go wrong with this book and is one of the best ones written by this author. Grab snacks because you'll need something to do besides chewing on your fingernails as Luke struggles to bring justice for his boyfriend Adam who he had to leave behind in jail. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC book.
• 
  Nerea

  3.5*
  I liked this book, but I have a lot of BUTs
  
  First of all, contrary to the most of stories, this one starts REALLY slow and it takes a lot time (35%) until THE REAL STORY BEGINS. Yeah, until this, is a bit of a backstory to get into the characters and our suspects too. But then, Luke starts the undercover mission in the jail and my heartwas happy because his relationship with his cellmate Adam is superbeautiful!
  Surprisingly, the police case is pretty good too, I was very invested in it!
  
  *personal opinion* Also I wanna add as I always comment that I WANT TO BE WARNED if is explicit sex scene with a 3rd character in the book. In this case the scene is before the MCs meet so yeah, is not really important, (when the scene is before they meet it will always have my 1 star rating.notsorry) I only want to be warned! I don´t like this scenes, they make me difficult to connect with the main couple! Please I think is not very complicated to include in the list of warnings!
• 
  John Charles

  As I read Hard Time, my gut said, "Watch Out Luke, all is not what it seems" and of course my gut was right. Although Luke's gut said something quite similar, he still found himself in a hot mess. So much for our guts keeping us safe. As Jerry Cole pulled me into the story, I wondered how Luke would extricate himself from the hell he allowed himself to be pulled into. Jerry did a good job keeping me thinking as well as changing directions just when I thought I had it solved. When I first started the book, I wondered if I would enjoy the gritty flavor Jerry presented. As it turned out, the story wouldn't have worked without it.
  
  I've read other Jerry Cole books and have always found them well written, interesting, and captivating. He does a good job snaring the reader and preventing him from untying the well placed knots. There was a good balance of intrigue, sex, story, and suspense to keep me interested.
  
  For more book reviews go to johncharlesbooks.com
• 
  Anne in VA

  Very odd book. The beginning was so well written and descriptive. I was expecting this the whole way through. Not the case! By the time Luke goes to jail, I start. to see how flimy and un-thoughtout everything became. Who goes undercover with their real name and occupation?! "Undercover" to a local jail, mind you. So the cops that checked him in knew he was a cop, and you're telling me that nobody gossiped about that, nobody from his own Precinct heard anything about it? Ridiculous! To be honest, I thought Luke was an idiot for not catching on right away that something was fishy. The author knew the second half of the book was ridiculous; that's why it was much less descriptive and informative.
• 
  Julie

  This is a gritty story from Jerry Cole. Following Luke and Adam through a tale that keeps you guessing to the end what is going go happen.
  
  Luke is a complicated character with hidden depths and secrets. Adam is a quiet character that draws you in and you want to find out more about him and Luke.
  
  The story encapsulates the dark and edgy worlds of the police and life in a jail. I loved how characters develop throughout book and kept me on the edge of my seat.
  
  The chemistry between Luke and Adam is beautifully written.
  I highly recommend this book. A worthy 5 stars.
  I received a free advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest & unbiased review.
• 
  Bambi Teague

  I feel I need to say that despite my 2 star rating. I really liked this story. It was a really good read. The thing or rather things that lowered it to two stars where that this is not and I must stress....This is Not in Any Way a romance. This is about a hard nosed detective. This is about an Irish detective. Whom happens to be gay and has a great family whom he is closeted from, that he simply adores. The fact that this man is gay may be front and center. But his romance and even the prison he finds himself in are tertiary to this story. They take a back seat to everything in the storyline and it's description.
• 
  James

  Everything about this book was abrupt. I liked the beginning, I liked to set up, but as soon as the relationship started I was just left reeling from the books instant changes. It was so sudden, Adam and Luke were just hanging out and all of a sudden they are saying they love each other. And then there’s a huge time jump at the end of the book that was around a few months. On top of that, I don’t think either of them ever came out, and I really like when that is included, especially in a book like this where Luke’s fear of coming out was something he struggled with. The ending was overall just a total disappointment.
• 
  Sophie

  I like cop romances so I thought that I would like this story and I was right. This story was very interesting. Undercover cop and a jail inmate does not automatically make for a romance but it does for this story. I liked Luke a lot and I liked the dialogue he had with Mikey. The buildup to the undercover portion of the story is done so well. I liked how he managed to find love with Adam in a jail.
• 
  Coral Mitchell

  MM. Luke is a great cop, but a loss of temper cost him any chance for promotions. Now he has a chance to turn it all around with an undercover operation, inside jail. Adam is a large, gentle man and Luke's cellmate. Maybe the time inside will be good for Luke, his outlook, and his self-image. A journey of self-discovery for Luke. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
• 
  Joslin

  Really good
  
  This was an impressive story. Fully outlined, detailed, well-built and well-written. I wish the ending was a little more....something else, I don't know. But it's not an ending that ruins the story and the story is worth reading.
• 
  Patty

  Jerry Cole is a new author for me, and I must say that it was a joy reading this book. Well written and kept my interest right up till the very end. I will definitely be buying more books by this author.
• 
  John-Torleif Harris

  Pretty good
  
  This book was fun and delightful to read as we learn more about Adam and Luke, but I'm not sure how believable it was. I don't know if I buy the idea of Luke making the decision that he does at the end of the book, especially for the reason that he gave.