A. M. Arthur

Shane was abused by his step-father when he was 10. When his brother Jason found out about the abuse, there was an altercation, the result of which was that Thom, the stepfather was dead and Jason went to prison for three years for manslaughter and Shane was sent to a group home. Shane always blamed himself for what happened to Jason and, when he is bullied at school at age 15, for being gay, he tries to kill himself. After his release from prison, Jason fought for custody of Shane and show more between the legal bills and the rehabilitation and therapy costs for Shane, they are heavily in debt. Shane feels responsible in all the ways for the debt, even though Jason never complains. Jason finds that he can pay off the loan with the some really big checks...all he has to do is appear in 3 porn videos. Shane of course, tells no one how he is getting the money. Then Jason becomes ill, apparently from overwork, Shane decides to become “Colby” the porn star for a limited season of 6 more videos in order to quickly pay off the mounting medical bills. Then he meets Noel, a police officer and sparks fly and Noel and Shane start to explore their attraction to one another. All goes along well...the money is rapidly coming in for the bills and Noel seems like a gift to Shane...until...Shane feels that he will need to come clean to both Jason and Noel about what he had been doing for the money, but each time he starts he finds that he just can't so it. Jason will be disappointed in him, and Noel will never want to see him again. They soon find out that Jason wasn't just overworked...he has the same heart condition that killed their mother at age 32....the exact age that Jason is now. There is a lot going on in this book. It has a high angst factor...which I usually try to avoid in my books that are supposed to be HEA's. That being said, there were places I was half expecting the story to go and found myself pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. Then the bottom drops out.... for me and the characters. I try to never become emotionally over involved in a book of any genera but sometimes it sneaks up on you. Books that make me cry loose stars...this one lost only half a star because I loved Noel and Shane so much. Have a box of tissue handy. show less

This was the 2nd book in the Woods Ranch series. The two main characters were interesting as well as fairly likeable. They both had issues, but they fit well together. Josiah, a home health-care nurse, who has been hired to care for and rehab Michael's father after he has suffered a stroke, is being abused in his current relationship with the town sheriff that we met in book #1. Michael suspects that something is wrong but doesn’t interfere at first. Michael, himself, had left home several show more years ago after an argument with his father and felt that if Josiah was having problems in his relationship that unless Josiah chose to talk about it he'd just let well enough alone...after all, he had just gone through a split up with his business partner and lover and was back in Texas not only to see about his father but to lick his wounds and fix the heart that his partner had stomped on...his ex-partner had even given his dog away without telling him. Things came to a head when the sheriff Josiah was living with and being mistreated by, locked him out of the house and refused to let him take any of his own things ...and Michael and the Woods Ranch guys came to his rescue. What Michael had done for him made Josiah rethink what he might be able to have with a guy like Michael if he could only bring himself to convince his heart to try. The connection between Josiah and Michael was simply amazing. It was wonderful how caring and careful Michael was with Josiah. This was a really slow-burn romance...not necessarily my favorite but okay occasionally. I like that the bad guy got what was coming to him and the good guys got their forever happiness. I hope there are more Woods Ranch reads out there. show less

Three months after his rescue from an abusive boyfriend, twenty-two-year-old Romy Myers has landed his first legitimate job bussing tables at his friend's new coffee shop. The job has brought him some stability after years of abuse has left him feeling damaged and broken. He's working hard on his panic and social anxiety, and those things are often tempered by the big, burly presence of Brendan Walker. From the moment the ex-football player, Brendan helped rescue Romy from his ex's abuse, show more he's wanted to protect him. And he does, but from a distance, with joking text messages, a new gym routine to toughen him up and a genuine friendship. So far, it's been easy, but Brendan's feelings aren't just "friendly" anymore. When an argument spirals out of control, a hot and heavy make-out session causes Romy's friendship with supposedly straight Brendan to reach a new level. The last thing Romy wants is to fall for another guy who could potentially shatter him, but Brendan also wakes up a part of him he thought had been destroyed by violence...his heart.
This is the third book in this series and because the stories are interconnected, they should be read in order. The order is Book #1 No Such Thing, Book #2 Maybe This Time, & Book #3 Stand by You.

In the first book of the series, we briefly met Remy. In the second book we saw his rescue from his ex’s traumatic abuse. Remy was lucky that he had friends who were brave enough to help him escape and give him that second chance. That doesn’t mean Remy isn’t affected by what happened, though. In fact, he feels more lost than ever. Remy suffers from serious anxiety, and even PTSD, but he’s determined to get through it. He starts working in the café and that helps him at first, but his friendship with Brendan is really what makes everything good for Remy.

I loved Brendan from the start, even though at first, we didn't know very much about him except that he helps with "Street Feed". He’s one of the "good guys", and that shows on the day they rescued Remy. He and Remy eventually developed a solid friendship. Remy can turn to Brendan and is able to talk to him more than any of his other friends. Brendan, in turn, is the only person who is able to calm Remy down when his PTSD flares up. Eventually their feelings turn into more than friendship, and it causes them to examine what they each really want next.

Remy was always a bit snarky, but that was to hide how alone he felt. It made you want to wrap him up, take him home and cuddle him. Brendan was the one I was excited to see take the lead in this book. His solid strength and compassion really came through in the last book, even though he wasn’t "on-scene" much of the time. I was cheering for the two of them by the time things began to get hot and heavy. They both deserved to be happy and have someone that’s just there for them.

It's not an easy book to read. Theres's trauma and other issues... but the end result is so well worth it. A.M. Arthur has always been one of my favorite M/M Romance authors, The stories are well-written, and even though the characters are sometimes flawed they are always redeemable. Their ability to overcome whatever life gives them and find their happiness is what has always kept me coming back.

If you like M/M romances and don't object to same-sex couples, I would recommend this 3- book series to anyone that loves a good story with characters who can pull through whatever life hands to them. show less

This feels like a book that's more for people who are new to the concept of polyamory, given that about 50% of the book is all of the characters not even aware that polyamory is a possibility (this drags on) and the next 50% is a lot of very long discussions about whether polyamory is even possible. As a result, it feels a little stunted as a story, and more like a treatise into 'how polyamory can actually happen between three people who aren't in a relationship with each other.'

I generally show more love AM Arthur, but the polyamory representation in this book is more for polyamory newbies, and not for people who live polyamory and might be looking beyond the 101 representation. That being said, if you are new to poly as a concept, this book is *great* and a realistic look at the first-time conversations you may end up having between three people. But even poly people get tired of how much communication needs to happen sometimes, lol (especially re: scheduling). Three stars because the quality of writing itself is pretty awesome. show less