Narrated by Kale Williams

Follows With Intent is a single-title romantic suspense novel that first saw light of day as a weekly serial for members of Gregory Ashe’s patronage platform. It’s part of the Hazardverse: Sidetracks series, which consists (so far) of a couple of sets of short stories and flash fiction (Tangents) and two full-length novels featuring popular secondary characters from some the author’s best known series. One, The Kiss Principle, is a contemporary romance starring Fernando Lopez (older brother of Auggie, from The First Quarto), and the other is Follows With Intent, which features Nico Flores from the Hazard and Somerset series and Jadon Reck from Borealis Investigations, who met for the first time in the short story Meet (Not Cute) (which can be found in Tangents #1).

While this is a standalone that isn’t linked to storylines in either of the aforementioned series, I don’t think it will work independently for anyone who isn’t familiar with the characters and their backstories as told in those books. And there are necessarily some spoilers in this review.

Nico, a grad student looking for mentorship and to get into a good PhD program, is attending a week-long theology seminar at Chouteau College in St. Louis, and Jadon is attending a symposium for LGBTQ+ law enforcement professionals that is also being held there. After their initial meeting some months earlier – Nico had to deliver something to North and Shaw for Emery – he and Jadon started messaging each other regularly and got to know each other over lots of late-night text conversations – which ended suddenly when Jadon just stopped responding to Nico’s messages. They haven’t been in contact since, so the last thing they’re expecting is to – literally – bump into one another in a coffee shop on the college campus.

Jadon has been investigating a string of sexual assaults on college students and becomes concerned for Nico’s safety, especially after he realises that Nico bears a strong resemblance to the most recent victim. Much to Nico’s annoyance Jadon appoints himself his protector, but Nico’s protests – he’s a grown man and doesn’t want or need a bodyguard – fall on deaf ears.

That’s the set up for the suspense plot, and it also provides a reason for Nico and Jadon to spend time together and start to address some of their unresolved issues. And there are a LOT of unresolved issues; in fact, both men are dealing (or not dealing) with so much trauma – Nico’s kidnap by the Keeper of Bees, Jadon’s near death at the hands of someone he trusted – that I couldn’t help thinking that maybe they needed a therapist rather than a boyfriend!

Follows With Intent is more focused on the relationship drama than on the suspense side of things as Nico and Jadon start to inch their way back to each other – which doesn’t happen without some difficult conversations and brutal honesty on both their parts. That isn’t always easy to read, but I’ve always liked Mr. Ashe’s laser-sharp insight into what makes his characters tick and his willingness to let them be unlikeable when necessary.

Nico has come a long way as a character over the various books he’s appeared in, going from the bratty former model who was Hazard’s (completely unsuitable) boyfriend to a valued friend and colleague, without having a complete personality transplant. He’s smart and funny, but hides a lot of insecurity and needs self-validation; he wants to make a career in academia so as to convince himself he’s moved beyond his past as an underwear model and is more than the pretty face and body that are all men seem to want from him. He was deeply hurt when Jadon ghosted him, which added to his already large pile of insecurities about his self-worth, while Jadon decided Nico would be better off without him because he doesn’t have time for anything in his life besides work. In reality, it was because he blames himself for being so ‘distracted’ by his relationship with Shaw that it meant his ex-partner was able to get away with all the awful things he did, and he’s been working himself into the ground ever since Barr’s arrest. Jadon knows his colleagues think he must’ve been stupid not to know what his partner was doing so he just buries himself in work; he needs to stay focused, and Nico would be too much of a distraction.

I read Follows With Intent as it was serialised, and while I enjoyed it, the mystery/suspense plot is not as complex or tightly written as in the author’s other books and the romance is missing a few important pieces. Jadon and Nico are a good fit as a couple and have great chemistry; they flirt, they bicker and they hurt each other sometimes, but they clearly understand each other well enough to know when they’ve screwed up and want to fix it. I was rooting for them to sort out their crap and get together, but seeing at least some of those late-night texts would have added depth and context to the romance. Using a lead couple who already know each other is a common device in romantic suspense because it allows the author to skip the getting-to-know-you phase of the relationship (which, in a romance novel, is the whole focus of the book) and focus more on the plot, but unfortunately, that also risks the romance being ‘undercooked’ because readers/listeners don’t get to experience it along with the characters. Here, we’re presented with the fact that Jadon and Nico have already got to know each other a bit, but we never really know what those texts were about, other than that they’ve told each other things they’ve never told anyone else, so we’re missing an important chunk of relationship backstory.

But with that said, they’re good for each other. They do get to have some adorable moments together (the picnic in the library) and it’s clear that they see and appreciate each other for who they are. The story ends on a very firm HFN with the pair making plans to get together for weekends and holidays while Nico finshes his studies and they figure out how to make long distance work for the time being.

Kale Williams is someone I always enjoy listening to, so I was pleased when Gregory Ashe announced he’d signed on to narrate Follows With Intent. His voice is easy on the ear, and the performance is smoothly paced with a good variety of character voices, male and female, which are clearly differentiated. My one real criticism is that Jadon and Emery Hazard sound a little too similar, but as they never appear in scenes together it’s not too much of an issue. His portrayal of the two leads fits them really well – Jadon’s warmth and good-humour come through strongly in his dialogue, although there’s also a sense of someone wound really tight lurking underneath, and Mr. Williams does a great job of capturing Nico’s waspishness and hinting at the vulnerability that lies not far from the surface. North and Shaw appear briefly in the story, and I liked his take on them both; North is loud, growly and obnoxious as ever, while Shaw is calm, insightful and softly spoken.

I can’t say that Follows With Intent is one of my favourite Gregory Ashe books, but I enjoyed the narration a great deal and am glad that Nico and Jadon, who’ve both been through such a lot, have found some well-deserved happiness.

Breakdown of Grade: Narration – A-; Content – B-

Running Time: 7 hours