Erik asks River to give him a tattoo.  They find they are both attracted and try to see where it goes.  This is hard for Erik since he is often moving around and has trouble with trust.

 

River does not want to get his hopes up.  He knows Erik is struggling to define himself.  River normally sticks to his routine, however, his longing for Erik puts him at a whole new level.

 

This book has so much in it.  These characters are seriously in need of one another.  The story can be dark at times.  I actually liked how they were together and found that if I made it past the grit, there was good heat and and friendship.  I give this a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review by Netgalley and its publisher.

Idlewild - Jude Sierra 3.5 - 4.0

Two vulnerable men, in very different ways, with very different armor. One is young, one a bit older, one Detroit-raised, one Suburbanite, one light and one serious....both are acting the part.


Their story and development was ultimately successful. You really rooted for them, and I liked and appreciated both characters.

What kept this from a solid 4 star for me was the part that was preachy: the two different Detroits. I understand it was part of a mechanism to contrast characters and also an homage, a truly earnest one, on the city itself. Problem is, it failed a bit. These tidbits usually revealed themselves in conversation, and this is where no 1st person account hurt the book. These would be better sights and feelings than weird snipes and tension between characters.

It was easy to invest in the characters but less so in the attempt to intricately weave Detroit into the book as a another character. Kudos for trying.

OK. I am going between 3 1/2 stars and four stars with this one. I did like it. I thought it was well written; I did like the poetic prose-esque writing. That was something I did like. I also liked the fact that the romance took place over time instead of two weeks or some insta-love amount. However, some of the other themes (I.e. the ones playing with consent and what Cam wanted and etc.) made me uncomfortable. So, that's the thing I kind of hated. That and Wren seemed to have the "this applies to you, not me" thing and that's a no. So, all in all, it was interesting but some parts kind of made me side-eye.

Okay, so I am still doing book reviews. However, I was going through kind of bad with my family in my personal life, and I had to temporarily stop doing reviews because of that. However, I can start back up again. And here's what I'll be reviewing (in no particular order by the way). I'm trying to figure out the review style that works best for me as well honestly. So, just kind of work with me, if you can. 

 

Thanks for all of the support and love. :)