Review: Emotional, heartstopping and wonderful read
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2013
4.5 Stars - Jointly reviewed for [...]Gitte: LOVED this short story Jenny, to say it packed a punch may be describing it mildly. I was immediately hooked and I loved the characters Marcus and Ben, they broke my heart. I was carried off into the story and could have just kept going and going wanting to learn more about these two complicated and damaged men. Wish I'd known about the cliff-hanger ending though because when it suddenly finished I may have almost thrown my kindle at the wall on a NO!!!!!Jenny: Me too Gitte! I was immediately drawn into the story of Marcus and Ben and sorry I didn't tell you about the cliffhanger but if I had to suffer it then I had to make you suffer to0 I was NOT prepared for that ending nor for it to end it in such a spectacular cliffhanger....it nearly killed me, but oh what a story this was. I was enthralled and just wanted more because I was so invested in these two men and their stories.Gitte: Marcus and Ben are so very different but each compliments the other and together they meet their individual needs. They immediately see pain in the eyes of the other and they feel the connection. However, neither declares their feeling from the outset. We have Marcus a retired cop; the nightly protector of his neighbourhood streets, spurred on by a traumatic even in his life which scarred and hurt him deeply, leaving a shell of man just existing. Then we have Ben, a graduate student turned rent boy to pay for student loans, who is still coming to terms with a horrific attack in his past that left him with an inability to form a relationship.They meet in the night and once their relationship carries into the day, Ben's traumatic pasts catches up with him and then.....that happened!!! That's all I'll say to avoid spoiling a story that should be experienced without spoilers.Jenny: These two characters are certainly night and day. So different yet so perfect for each other. They each bring something the other craves. We have Ben who is making a living and surviving the only way he can, selling his body to earn his way through university and is trying bury memories of a painful past. He gives himself one more year of living this life before putting it all behind him and moving on and getting out of Atlanta. One more year until he can start living. The victim of a crime, he's stopped caring and is shut off emotionally.Then we have Marcus. An ex-cop hell bent on keeping the Atlanta streets clean. Marcus, who carries scars of his own, has long lost his heart and he too, is just existing. He fears moving on because to do so would mar the memory of the man who owned his heart.These two opposites are drawn to each other from the first meeting. The intensity, chemistry and sheer emotion between these two was palpable and I felt every moment of it. I am so invested in these two and ache to see how their story unfolds. Two damaged men....one wanting to move forward, one wanting to live in the past. Can they both find a way to heal each other?Gitte: I thought Ben and Marcus' story was beautiful to see unfold. It was sad, it hurt my heart, it was scary and it was pretty hot too. I thought this Author did an amazing job; through brilliant writing and two lovable characters, this short stories is one of the best I have ever read for impact and emotions. I was so not ready for it to end when it did and I cannot wait for the next book to come out.Jenny: This was an emotional, heart stopping, gut wrenching and steamy read which I devoured throughout. While the story itself may have been short, it certainly didn't lack depth or character development and I felt the author did well to have me connect and empathize with these two men so much, in such a short time. Just wonderful. I can't express enough how much I loved this book.