3,5 stars ( )

I have quibbles (mostly about repetition of info and arguments) but Due Diligence is almost as good as the first two in the series. And it's far stronger than the average romance, so quite worthy. Fazil is a little whiny, and Todd is a tad overbearing -- but you know, that's how some people are. Their chemistry works. The sex scenes became a little repetitive (Zabo could've skipped some of them, or moved away from describing specific acts). I'm thinking of Just Business (#2), how each scene escalated or broke progress in Eli and Justin's relationship. I was prepared to be annoyed at an epilogue, but it was VERY worthwhile. :) ( )

I have really enjoyed this series from the very first book. I am especially fond of series where the characters from the previous books are a part of the future books. I hate getting to love these people and then never seeing them again. This one is the story of a second chance romance. I can't imagine a company like S.R. Anderson Consulting. What a great place to work. Misunderstandings and lack of communication in high school drove Todd and Fazil apart. Now, 15 years later, they accidently meet again and find that they still love each other. Fazil spends almost too much time blaming himself for his actions and what happened in high school. One of the things I really hated was the homophobia and racism at Todds workplace, To make matters worse the management treated it with unfair and inadequate discipline. Eli, who is Jewish, and Fazil were the subject of racist remarks and a Quran was burned and left for Fazil. What shocked me most, however, was the corporate leaders attitudes that Todd had to face when the ugliness was trumped by unspoken homophobia. This is book three in the series and it can easily be read as a standalone without too much taking away from the first two books. I've loved meeting all these men but Eli and Justin remain my favorite couple. ( )

I'm new to romance novels about love between men. Totally love it. And getting inside the heads of the two main characters. As ShazOV comments below, Todd is a challenging character, edgy, unpredictable and aggressive, but uncovering his layers provides some of the story arc. ( )

I'm struggling with the rating for this one. I enjoyed the book, but there were a few niggles. The reason I'm struggling is that I'm not sure it's fair to rate a book based on my feelings about one of the mcs, lol. After all, it takes an enormous skill to write a character that I can despise with a passion. So, I feel I'm doing the author a disservice by rating low, as that could seem to reflect on their skill. Yet, the story telling is great. The characters multi-dimensional and real. So real in fact that I truly just wanted to grab Todd throughout the book, shake him soundly and then give him a piece of my mind about how NOT to treat the man you claim to love...

So yeah, I've decided on a mid range rating, but don't let that put you off. It truly is a great book and part of a fantastic series. ( )