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lbrick363's review against another edition
4.0
Heartwarming quick read...
This was a super sweet story. I honestly thought Enzo would have more angst then the book portrayed. Still a good read.
This was a super sweet story. I honestly thought Enzo would have more angst then the book portrayed. Still a good read.
alyssadokusho's review against another edition
4.0
I expected the angstiest of angst but instead got a gentle story of love that springs from unfortunate tragedy and loss, and to be completely honest, I didn't mind at all.
Think fluff but with the consistency of heavy cream
Think fluff but with the consistency of heavy cream
kcsunshine25's review against another edition
3.0
There are some things about this book that I absolutely love that would have made it 4 stars - to me 4 is a great book. Then there’s a couple of niggles that make me more inclined to a 3.
The pretext of the story, I loved. Damon Blackwell and Enzo Moretti are connected because they both lost loved ones in the same tragedy. A brother and a sister. The transition from friends who understand each other to lovers was sweet.
The family relationships depicted in the book are so well observed. There’s a parent with dementia and a parent/child relationship that feels hurtful because of favouritism. Those both hit me in the heart.
I love the scenario of two straight men who fall in love because love has no boundaries.
Some of the writing felt clunky to me. I don’t like the use of gotta, wanna in anything other than speech and if someone talks about being connected during sex, it makes my eyes roll. Who the fuck says that? If my husband said I feel so connected to you while we were having sex, I honestly would be so turned off I might contemplate becoming a nun. Or feeding him to the pigs.
Ending on a high, the epilogue made me cry, in a good way because love is love, and I love love.
The pretext of the story, I loved. Damon Blackwell and Enzo Moretti are connected because they both lost loved ones in the same tragedy. A brother and a sister. The transition from friends who understand each other to lovers was sweet.
The family relationships depicted in the book are so well observed. There’s a parent with dementia and a parent/child relationship that feels hurtful because of favouritism. Those both hit me in the heart.
I love the scenario of two straight men who fall in love because love has no boundaries.
Some of the writing felt clunky to me. I don’t like the use of gotta, wanna in anything other than speech and if someone talks about being connected during sex, it makes my eyes roll. Who the fuck says that? If my husband said I feel so connected to you while we were having sex, I honestly would be so turned off I might contemplate becoming a nun. Or feeding him to the pigs.
Ending on a high, the epilogue made me cry, in a good way because love is love, and I love love.
dith_kusu's review against another edition
3.0
I think reading this solidified for me that this author's writing style doesn't click with me, a lot of the time. I like the characters and premise of the books I've read of theirs so far, for the most part, but something about the writing style just puts me at a distance from connecting to the story, and I find that I breeze through the story in a more clinical detached manner. This feature was more prominent here for me than other books somehow. The writing style is too tell and not show for my taste- there are a lot of declarations about how "they both connected through the experience of shared trauma. trauma they wouldn't ever let anyone else see.", this kind of narration. The sex scenes and love bonding moments also just don't resonate with me. So overall this was well done enough, nothing egregious and even has a sad background story that the couple initially connects through- but wasn't amazing and was the epitome of meh. I did objectively appreciate the premise of Enzo the rougher carpenter and Damon the suit hospital manager guy bonding over their shared trauma and survivor's guilt of losing a sibling in a tragic club fire, and them both getting into a relationship with a man for the first time, their coming out to their respective families.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.
dith_kusu's review
3.0
I think reading this solidified for me that this author's writing style doesn't click with me, a lot of the time. I like the characters and premise of the books I've read of theirs so far, for the most part, but something about the writing style just puts me at a distance from connecting to the story, and I find that I breeze through the story in a more clinical detached manner. This feature was more prominent here for me than other books somehow. The writing style is too tell and not show for my taste- there are a lot of declarations about how "they both connected through the experience of shared trauma. trauma they wouldn't ever let anyone else see.", this kind of narration. The sex scenes and love bonding moments also just don't resonate with me. So overall this was well done enough, nothing egregious and even has a sad background story that the couple initially connects through- but wasn't amazing and was the epitome of meh. I did objectively appreciate the premise of Enzo the rougher carpenter and Damon the suit hospital manager guy bonding over their shared trauma and survivor's guilt of losing a sibling in a tragic club fire, and them both getting into a relationship with a man for the first time, their coming out to their respective families.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.
queenofswordsandwords's review
4.0
➸ MM Contemporary Romance
➸ Shared grief
➸ New friends-to-lovers
I've read a few Riley Hart books and this one is my favorite yet. Damon and Enzo are just lifting each other up, helping each other live again after an unexpected loss. It's a slow one, a soft one, and I loved it.
➸ Shared grief
➸ New friends-to-lovers
I've read a few Riley Hart books and this one is my favorite yet. Damon and Enzo are just lifting each other up, helping each other live again after an unexpected loss. It's a slow one, a soft one, and I loved it.
_mery98_'s review against another edition
4.0
4.3/5
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” ― Thomas Campbell
“We understand death only after it has placed its hands on someone we love.”– Anne L. de Stael
What an unexpected book. A book about loss, family, grief, acceptance!
Enzo Moretti is a good Italian boy. He comes home to ‘sauce’ every weekend with his family and does his best. He’s a successful carpenter who builds beautiful cabinets, but he can never please his family. His older brother Ricky is the apple of his parents’ eye and Enzo knows he’ll never be good enough. He tries, but the fact he isn’t settled down with a nice girl and making good Italian babies is a constant cause of strife with his mother. Enzo’s a good guy, to be sure. Just not as ‘perfect’ as his brother.
Damon Blackwell has a successful career as a hospital administrator. He is a dutiful brother and son. His sister Katie is a little on the wild side, but Damon is always there to rescue her from scrapes. His mother is sick, so he’s always there to ensure she has the best care. He does his best but it never quite feels good enough because so much of his life is not under his control.
Both men face the worst night of their lives. They were there when the club caught on fire. They both lost someone they love. They both have to continue on, living with the ever-present guilt. Living with the ‘what if’. Haven’t we all done that? Maybe not lost someone so tragically and devastatingly, but done something that had unforeseen consequences where something bad happened. Then had to live with always wondering if you had just done something different – driven a different route or called someone at the right time – that tragedy might not have struck.
But life’s not like that. You don’t get a do-over. You have to learn to live with the pain.
And so, day after day, Enzo and Damon continue on with their lives. They go to work. They attend their parents. And they don’t really deal with what is hurting them the most. Oh they put on a good show, but they’re just shadows of their former selves. Until one night when they meet fortuitously. They spend some time together before they realize they share something deep and painful. They part and it seems like there’s an end to it, but fate brings them together again.
This book is very much a gay-for-you story. Neither man has been in any kind of relationship with another man before – never even looked at a guy. Certainly never considered dating one. And a physical relationship? I would have at least wigged them out to think about it. Yet something works between the two of them. And it’s not just the shared grief – although that’s part of it. It’s that they’ve both been lonely. Both are seeking someone they can take care of and love. Sometimes in relationships one person takes on the caregiver role and occasionally it falls to Damon, but Enzo is just as supportive. As time passes, there is real caring there. Even love.
This is a special book in so many ways. It’s a simple story. Aside from the family and a couple of close friends, the story really centers around the two men. It’s a very intimate story. The bulk of the book is just time spent by the two men alone. Exploring and testing the concept of moving on. Not forgetting, of course, but of finding a way to live with the grief and guilt. This is a hopeful story. Somehow simple in its execution yet oceans-deep in its emotion.
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” ― Thomas Campbell
“We understand death only after it has placed its hands on someone we love.”– Anne L. de Stael
What an unexpected book. A book about loss, family, grief, acceptance!
Enzo Moretti is a good Italian boy. He comes home to ‘sauce’ every weekend with his family and does his best. He’s a successful carpenter who builds beautiful cabinets, but he can never please his family. His older brother Ricky is the apple of his parents’ eye and Enzo knows he’ll never be good enough. He tries, but the fact he isn’t settled down with a nice girl and making good Italian babies is a constant cause of strife with his mother. Enzo’s a good guy, to be sure. Just not as ‘perfect’ as his brother.
Damon Blackwell has a successful career as a hospital administrator. He is a dutiful brother and son. His sister Katie is a little on the wild side, but Damon is always there to rescue her from scrapes. His mother is sick, so he’s always there to ensure she has the best care. He does his best but it never quite feels good enough because so much of his life is not under his control.
Both men face the worst night of their lives. They were there when the club caught on fire. They both lost someone they love. They both have to continue on, living with the ever-present guilt. Living with the ‘what if’. Haven’t we all done that? Maybe not lost someone so tragically and devastatingly, but done something that had unforeseen consequences where something bad happened. Then had to live with always wondering if you had just done something different – driven a different route or called someone at the right time – that tragedy might not have struck.
But life’s not like that. You don’t get a do-over. You have to learn to live with the pain.
And so, day after day, Enzo and Damon continue on with their lives. They go to work. They attend their parents. And they don’t really deal with what is hurting them the most. Oh they put on a good show, but they’re just shadows of their former selves. Until one night when they meet fortuitously. They spend some time together before they realize they share something deep and painful. They part and it seems like there’s an end to it, but fate brings them together again.
This book is very much a gay-for-you story. Neither man has been in any kind of relationship with another man before – never even looked at a guy. Certainly never considered dating one. And a physical relationship? I would have at least wigged them out to think about it. Yet something works between the two of them. And it’s not just the shared grief – although that’s part of it. It’s that they’ve both been lonely. Both are seeking someone they can take care of and love. Sometimes in relationships one person takes on the caregiver role and occasionally it falls to Damon, but Enzo is just as supportive. As time passes, there is real caring there. Even love.
This is a special book in so many ways. It’s a simple story. Aside from the family and a couple of close friends, the story really centers around the two men. It’s a very intimate story. The bulk of the book is just time spent by the two men alone. Exploring and testing the concept of moving on. Not forgetting, of course, but of finding a way to live with the grief and guilt. This is a hopeful story. Somehow simple in its execution yet oceans-deep in its emotion.
dithkusu's review
3.0
I think reading this solidified for me that this author's writing style doesn't click with me, a lot of the time. I like the characters and premise of the books I've read of theirs so far, for the most part, but something about the writing style just puts me at a distance from connecting to the story, and I find that I breeze through the story in a more clinical detached manner. This feature was more prominent here for me than other books somehow. The writing style is too tell and not show for my taste- there are a lot of declarations about how "they both connected through the experience of shared trauma. trauma they wouldn't ever let anyone else see.", this kind of narration. The sex scenes and love bonding moments also just don't resonate with me. So overall this was well done enough, nothing egregious and even has a sad background story that the couple initially connects through- but wasn't amazing and was the epitome of meh. I did objectively appreciate the premise of Enzo the rougher carpenter and Damon the suit hospital manager guy bonding over their shared trauma and survivor's guilt of losing a sibling in a tragic club fire, and them both getting into a relationship with a man for the first time, their coming out to their respective families.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.
NOTE: I have enjoyed more of this author's books more than others. Looking back I really did like the first two Blackcreek series stories more than the others I've read of them so far, but mostly my impression is that generally the writing style doesn't do it for me most of the time, not sure why. It's hit or miss with me.