Balanced and Tied

Marshals, Book 5

By: Mary Calmes

Narrated by: Scott R. Smith

Deputy US Marshal Eli Kohn is doing fine. As the Director of Public Affairs for the Northern District, he represents the USMS in Chicago and that suits him. Yes, it’s wearing to always be on, to smile and wave even in the face of adversity, but he’s good at his job, and no one ever sees him sweat. His personal life, though, has been stagnant, and that doesn’t seem likely to change. But that’s fine too. Eli would much rather spend his free time with his best friend Cel. And lately, when they’re not together, he’s been missing him more and more….

Celso Harrington, principal dancer with the Chicago Ballet Company, has been feeling adrift, yearning for someone to be there for him, to ground him. Strange to find that anchor in a man who caught bad guys for a living. Celso is all about art and beauty; Eli is all about safety and public service. They could not be more different, yet from the moment they met, it felt like they’d known each other forever.

They are exactly what the other needs, and Celso would love them to be more than friends, but he can’t jeopardize what they have, and Eli’s too stuck inside his own head. When events threaten to unravel their carefully built haven, they each must take a chance on the other or risk losing everything.

©2022 Mary Calmes (P)2022 Mary Calmes

Good story. Good narration.

Hmm. I enjoyed the story. I liked having a chance to get to know Eli better, but I expected something a bit different from his personality based on the earlier books in the series. I couldn't reconcile the Eli in this book with the one in my head based on previous references.

The story had some interesting moments. I was a ballerina once upon a time so I am always curious about how other people see ballet. The melodrama associated with dancing is one of the reasons I ditched my toe shoes for running shoes. Calmes does a decent job of portraying the circus surrounding dance. I would have liked to see a bit more passion about dance incorporated into Cel's character, but that is a very hard thing to describe even if you have spent time bleeding and sweating for your art.

The performance by Scott R Smith was well done. The story was entertaining, and I look forward to the next book.

Not exactly like the previous stories, but fabulous in its own right!

The first four books in the series are are mostly about the lives of Miro Jones and Ian Doyle and strictly about the U.S. Marshal service/witnesses/crimes. Book five has short cameos from that pair, but focuses on Eli - the deputy marshal in charge of making the marshals look good in front of cameras. He and his best friend- a lithe, gorgeous ballet dancer- are best friends who turn into more...sloooowly. If you like deep emotions and sweet angst- this book’s got it! The first few chapters are full of people and things we’ve learned about in previous books. Lots of names and situations that newbies to this series will have to scratch their heads over (read the first 4 books in the series- they’re great!) But this story- it’s pretty fantastic! One of those where the deeper into the story you get, the more tense the plot gets and pretty soon law enforcement is everywhere! In this story a sweet, clueless set of besties finally put their communication skills to the test- and it all works out wonderfully in the end. It’s not a ‘gay/bi-awakening’. It’s an “I finally found my soul-mate and the packaging is a bit more fun and unique than I had expected” kind of ‘a-ha’ story- but with mystery, feisty ballet dancers, and top notch US deputy marshals! I love the meaty, complex plots that Calmes writes while weaving that ungraspable, ephemeral thing called true love through the pages of the book and the chambers of our hearts.

Clueless Relationship Anticipation

I never would have expected Eli to be quite so clueless about the situation! But I guess when it is yourself, it is hard to see what us right in front of you. I love the long time friend/crush turned true love troupe though and these characters are both great. Mix in some death and danger and I'm sold.

I Don't Know

Maybe I could give a better review if I could actually get through the story, and while I enjoyed Scott r Smith's narration of House of Maedoc, here not much... at all. Maybe it's because I loved the Marshall series so much and Tristan James who did such an awesome job of that narration that it's really hard for me to transition into different voices Scott gives us. Everytime I hear Ian's or Miro's voice I cringe and put the book away. This book has a really different feel to it as well. I'm going to switch over to Kindle and read it because the one thing I do know is that Ms. Calmes does not disappoint when it comes to her stories.

Wasn't what I was expecting from the series but happy now that I stayed w it.

I can recommend this as a stand-alone because it is basically removed from the tone, intensity, and references/involvement of the other books & MC's. But for fans of the series I say, stay with it, eventually it works very well. In the end there is a treat of a phone call from a character who reminds you how much the series has meant to its readers. Some icing on the cake. A last thought, it IS Mary Calmes, so you can never go wrong.