Review: Hearts On Fire Review for MM romance gem
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 24, 2013
A Hearts On Fire ReviewFOUR & A HALF STARS--A.M. Arthur's "Unearthing Cole" is just great. It was well written and a great length with three dimensional characters and well thought out plot. Cole is back in his hometown after his mother's death and has to deal with the hoarding he left behind. He gets help from the local antiques dealer, Jeremy. Both men had less than easy childhoods. And together, to me, they just...worked.Now when books deal with characters who have survived abuse, it usually goes either one of two ways- really bad with flat characters that you end up wanting to hurt or a damaged soul that you root for, a person who finally realizes their self worth and becomes better for it.Thankfully, Cole is the second choice. His reactions were very believable and I am proud he came to valuing his self worth on his own. He didn't magically change overnight and understood that it will be a process to be 100%, if he can ever achieve it. He's had eight years of abuse to get over and though two years have past since he left his abusive lover, the scars still remain emotionally and physically.Cole and Jeremy? Together, they are a great start to getting Cole's life back on track. And also what Cole did to his past abuser takes guts and steel will. I don't want to ruin what he did exactly but let's just say it takes a strong person.Jeremy was also a well fleshed out character though he had his share of angst, it did always seem second fiddle to Cole. And I felt we learned more about Cole than Jeremy. The story is told from Cole's POV and thankfully it did not have the 'woe-is-me' tone. It was pretty clear cut from beginning to end. The story easy to read and definitely sucked me in. The setting was perfect for the theme the author want to portray.The ending was a strong HFN/possibly HEA. I do believe this couple will make it in the future because they understood one another. I enjoyed Cole and Jeremy individually and definitely together. They were sweet with not being overly sugary which I will always enjoy.And as this was my first A.M. Arthur read, you can pretty much guarantee this will not be my last.;)