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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
HOWEVER, I did have my moment of bamboozle when the MC became OBSESSED with the idea of impregnating his girlfriend...? Wot?
And not just a normal amount of wanting a baby, the 'need to breed' was strong with this one
Sawyer Townsend is known in Hollywood as the king maker. His biggest client is musical superstar Gideon York, who also happens to be the ex that broke his heart. For the past seven years, Sawyer's been incredibly lonely, miserable, and drowning in alcohol. One lesser-known aspect of Sawyer's extensive portfolio is ownership of the L.A. Flames major league baseball team. After a stint in rehab, the Flames' rookie pitcher, Adam Haas, recognizes Sawyer. Adam's fighting tooth and nail for his sobriety, and he's so beautiful and vibrant that Sawyer can't help but be enamoured. Their relationship is forbidden at best, and Sawyer is afraid he'll be considered a predator once again. Could they possibly be one another's forevers, or is Adam just another mistake that Sawyer is doomed to repeat?
This boy is trouble. I feel it like a universal truth.
After reading The Handler earlier this month, Sawyer definitely wasn't my favourite character. However, those always seem to be the ones you end up loving in the end! I was thrilled that the next installation in the series was only a few weeks away after that, and my goodness, I wasn't disappointed.
Similarly to The Handler, this book was a gritty, slow-burn romance. August Jones really has a knack for capturing the emotions of the characters in such vivid detail, it feels like you're standing next to them. Although Adam and Sawyer do get their happily ever after, they have to fight for it and deal with some difficult emotions in the process. There were times when I wanted to reach into the book and give them both a good shake, and other times where my heart broke for them. Also similar to The Handler (and yes, we got some Gideon and Jax cameos which made my heart happy), this book touched on some of the raw and gritty emotions surrounding the industry as well as Sawyer and Adam's respective approaches to their sobriety and mental health struggles. Nothing was sugarcoated, and I really appreciated that.
The spice in this book was also phenomenal! The passion and pure lust between Adam and Sawyer absolutely shone through. They were completely vers in the bedroom, and their struggle for control and willingness to contend with surrender was decidedly beautiful to witness and I thought it contributed very well to the overarching plotline of this book.
These characters and this series is so special, and August Jones has such a gift for writing these perfectly imperfect characters that you want to root for. Even if you won't always like them at times, I promise you'll be in it for their happily ever after which they more than deserve! I can't wait to see what's next!
"You'll find this out eventually, but one thing I can tell you about me right now is I take care of what's mine. And that's you, player."
Sawyer and Adam
PLEASE be aware that this review is meant for my own purposes only in order to help me recall this book and is in no way a reflection of what I think anyone else will like or want out of a book. It is simply a memory aid and a rough voice-to-text which is completely unedited/reviewed for errors. Read at your own discretion.
Sawyer is a 42 yo music mogul and billionaire (and Gideon from Manhandled’s agent and former lover). Adam is a 24 yo baseball player who just got called up as a relief pitcher for the LA MLB team. Sawyer is the owner of the team. During the first dinner of the season, Sawyer and Adam see each other and realize that they have met previously when they were both in rehab. Neither of them is happy about this. Weirdly, they end up hanging out, and a tentative friendship starts forming. When Sawyer kisses Adam, Adam freaks out. After my soul-searching, he realizes he is actually attracted to Sawyer. There’s a lot of back-and-forth figuring stuff out since neither identifies as gay. Eventually they get their shit together and get together. They are toxically codependent, but it seems to work for them. There is an undercurrent that they have to remain a secret, because Sawyer cannot let out that he had previously been with Gideon because Gideon was 18 years old. Considering how young Adam is, Sawyer is sure that people will think he is a predator. Meanwhile, Adam is struggling with his sobriety, and Inability to be alone. They have some ridiculous arguments because neither one is really functional and there is a third act break up but eventually they figure it out. The driving dynamic is that Adam is outed in a photograph of him at a gay club, and Sawyer does not come forward at that time. Adam is the traded to a different baseball team and thinks they need to break up.
Overall, I really liked this book until the last little bit. I found it frustrating with the miscommunication. It wasn’t really miscommunication it was more just that the characters are so messed up. And honestly, I think the reader is supposed to realize that Sawyer was in the wrong for not coming out when Adam was outed , but honestly I sympathize with him so I didn’t really buy into his needing forgiveness. Both these characters are in dire need of therapy and their codependency is a mess but they were super fun to read.