Stephen Hoppa

This is a dark romance. It was hard to read for me. Our protagonist Travis is so very messed up, and his rescuer Cody so perfect, that it's tempting to take them as-is, but there's too much story left. You *know* there's more, and jeez when it falls apart it's in all directions. Because this is a romance, hope kept me reading, but man, I worked for it right along with them.

And that, right there, is telling, for me as a reader and for this story's success.

At the end of the ebook is a bonus chapter, the first chapter but from Cody's perspective. It throws a bright light on the reason the author told it all from Travis's perspective. What a contrast.… (mehr)

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

I have to admit this is very hard for me to rate. At moments I enjoyed the book, at other moments it drove me so insane I wanted to throw it out the window. At times I struggled to like the MC's at all; things didn't always seem to make sense and the characters acted in ways that I don't typically enjoy. Ethan and Nate come from different walks of life and appear in the beginning to have nothing in common.

In the end, though, it was a nice glimpse into 2 relatively dysfunctional men and their eventual growth into mature individuals and a mature relationship. I would have liked a little more of the self-discovery/growth part, but the majority of the book was the dysfunction and once they got it all figured out, it was a quick revelation and then an epilogue. I would love to see a bit more of the time in between the figuring things out and the epilogue. Just when I was really finally getting to like the characters more, it ended.… (mehr)

The author was absolutely right in his disclaimer at the beginning of the book. Some people didn't love the books so much because it felt like it ended just when it was about to truly explain the characters and show their true path together. I was one of those people. The disclaimer stated that this (and some later parts that will hopefully be coming) were some deleted scenes but they weren't sunshine and rainbows and will show the reality of their relationship. This made me very nervous. What was highlighted, however, was absolutely wonderful. It showed them struggling to get to a comfortable and happy place. It showed them learning about the other. It did show real struggles, but it also showed absolute love between them. This deleted part was wonderful and I loved it.… (mehr)