On his thirty-sixth birthday, Jimmy Trent didn’t expect his present to be a stripper his friend hired.  Jimmy’s instant attraction to Adam quickly had Adam in his bed and in his heart. 

Adam Hyland expected to deliver his stripper gram and leave, kissing the birthday boy was not part of the plan.  After that first kiss he only wanted more physically and emotionally.  Jimmy and Adam are from different worlds, Jimmy was more privileged while Adam was currently living out of his car, Adam knew more emotionally is a wish that may never come true even though he was already falling hard for Jimmy.

Phoenix Rising is a terrific story.  There’s a strong connection and sexual chemistry between Jimmy and Adam that really made this story work.  Both of them have emotional baggage and believe that they weren’t good enough for each other, and because they are both so sweet it’s heartbreaking that they didn’t feel they were worthy of each other’s love.  Their sexual encounters were hot, loving and somewhat therapeutic.  They talked and shared and showed each other their true feelings when they made love.  Outside of the bedroom, I loved how Jimmy wanted to take care of Adam, but I also understood how Adam’s pride would limit how much he would accept from Jimmy.  Kimberly Gardner has a great writing style and awesome character development, but I was bothered how she would introduce terrific supporting characters but then they would disappear and building storylines would fizzle out.  Other then that, and where Jimmy and Adam were concerned Phoenix Rising is a fantastic story, and I enjoyed it a lot.