Romancing Riley

I loved the hell out of this book! 

I wrote in one of my status updates in GR while reading that this book didn’t just tick my hurt/comfort kink box nicely, but it slammed into it with a 2″ x 4″. I can’t think of a better way to put it than that. I love hurt/comfort. I adore emotional hurt/comfort. It’s my drug of choice and these two gave it to me in spades.

I’ve not read the previous books in this series, but as the blurb said, I didn’t need to to enjoy this one. Having said that though, I will probably read them because I did fall in love with the brothers and this family. I loved the dynamic between them and the little glimpses I saw of their lives.

Ethan & Beau are damaged, but in so very different ways.

Ethan is irrevocably shattered by the death of his first love, Gavin, who was taken from him violently, and needlessly. All because of a narrow minded, hate-filled bigot, who relentless taunts him for years afterward. The guilt and pain that torments Ethan causes him to shut down, emotionally. He continues on, but he doesn’t live…just survives. No attachments, no emotion. With his family, his friends, and his lovers. Isolation and casual sex are Ethan’s gig. And he’s good at it, for a while.

Beau is kind of a lost soul. He’s one of those people that you can’t help but fall in love with. Sweet, gentle, kind. It’s amazing he ended up that way. Growing up in a loveless household, Beau has never felt what it’s like to be loved, cared for. He has friends, and has adopted the Walker family more or less as his own, but he’s never had anything that’s just his.

When these two finally give in, the chemistry between them is explosive. Their first time together is one of the most sensual, erotic, and emotional sex scenes I’ve read in a long time. (I’m quite certain I saw that in another review, but I can’t remember who said it.) And emotional sex…well, that can just about undo me when it’s done right. It ranks right up there with my h/c kink.

“I know exactly what I want. And you’d be smart to give in because I can tell you, I don’t have any intentions on giving up.”
[..]

“You don’t want this,” Ethan said, his voice low.

“You don’t want this,” he repeated, his voice containing less anger and more confusion.

Beau placed one hand gently on Ethan’s hip, tilting his head as he studied him. He kept his tone serious when he said, “I want this more than you’ll ever understand.”

Beau is determined to heal Ethan, and Ethan is just tired enough to let him try. The two of them are so sweet together, I didn’t know whether to smile or cry half the time.

It’s funny, there’s nothing new or earth shattering in this book, everything has been done before and yet I loved it to pieces. I guess that’s a testament to the writing and the characters, or it just really hit my kinks. If you like men comforting each other, watching a relationship grow and heal two broken people, I think you’ll enjoy this book. Give it a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.