When Riley Hart pulls all the elements together, things work, and work great. That happens here. She commits to the back story, the present day and lets Roman and Leo flop like fish out of water until they figure it out.
This is probably the highest rating I’ve ever given to Joel Leslie. He is mercifully restrained here, the verbal acrobatics and hyper diction are rarely seen, although that edge that he has – the one that sounds like he could burst into tears at any moment is still present. However, in the spirit of appreciation, I think he is well suited to the angsty nature of this story. is the Italian accent from the nice old lady at the restaurant like nails on a chalkboard? Yes. But this is story about deep pain – both physical and mental, so his tendency to sound emotionally exasperated fits, and more importantly, works. So kudos to him.
Hart creates a backstory of one boy who fears for his physical life from his family, and a boy whose mental well being is crushed by his. Sadly, even though these boys found strength and solace in each other, an act of self preservation causes one to destroy the other.
She deserves credit for creating a scenario that goes far enough – allowing the story to sit with the reader, without throwing in moral gray areas for the leads. I adore her book, Risk The Fall, but in that story we have to deal with a guy with a significant past, and still on the verge of more trouble. But having to wade through the implications of past crimes and associations adds a need to prove that they are now good men, Fortunately, this book allows us to simply deal with the ramifications of their earlier struggles and the paths they now take, their being good men isn’t a question, they are who they are – their lives turned out differently that expected.
This is a highly recommended from me, a top five Riley Hart, listen already!