TW: Depression | Book-Endz

TITLE: ⟫ Bitter When He Begs
AUTHOR: ⟫ Avery Collins

SERIES: ⟫ Sinners of Blackthorne U Book #2
RATING: ⟫ 4.5/5

BLURB: ⟫ Luca
I’ve built my life on control. On the field, in my reputation, and in keeping my demons buried where no one can see.
Sage Blackwell was never supposed to be a part of that. The nerdy prodigy overheard something that could ruin my entire career, so I do the only logical thing. I don’t threaten him. I don’t scare him off.
I claim him.
I tell myself it’s about survival, about keeping my secret safe. But the longer I keep him close, the more I realize I might be addicted again.
Only this time, my drug of choice is him.

Sage
I wasn’t supposed to hear it.
I definitely wasn’t supposed to get caught.
One wrong step. One overheard conversation. That’s all it takes to make me the unwilling keeper of Luca Devereaux’s darkest secret.
Now, Blackthorne U’s arrogant, untouchable quarterback, has decided I belong to him.
He’s relentless, possessive and cruel in the way only someone with too much power and too little consequences can be.
Being owned by Luca might just destroy me… especially when I realize I don’t want him to let go.

***
Bitter When He Begs is the second book in the interconnected Sinners of Blackthorne U series, but it is a complete standalone. Readers are advised to approach with caution and ensure they are comfortable with the listed triggers and content warnings before proceeding.

REVIEW: ⟫ Well if I thought book 1 was unhinged, book 2 basically went just that little bit higher! Luca Devereaux was everything that’s wrong with elitist society – using his money, position and power to make his problems go away without facing any consequences. Sage Blackwell is in the unfortunate position of accidentally coming into some information that could cost Luca dearly, and Luca can’t afford to let that happen.

It would have been so easy to make this a more traditional ‘bully’ trope, but Avery Collins dug deeper and harder, turning this story into a scorching tale of obsession, love and addiction, with a side order of kink. It was too easy initially to think of Sage as the innocent caught up in something he didn’t understand, but the further I read, the more I realised that Sage had issues of his own that made him more than a match for Luca.

The background plot and characters were solid, adding depth and nuance to the story, as well as causing more than a tear or two of their own. The relationship between Sage and Luca was by turns hot, confusing, dangerous, dark and ultimately a fabulous love story, with them becoming each other’s anchor in the turbulent seas they were facing. I think I still prefer book one but only by a smidge, and spending more time with Roman and Damon was fabulous. Luca and Sage fought so hard for their happily ever after and the change in the two of them, supported by their friends, was beautiful to witness.

Now I only have book three to read and I’m sad to say goodbye to these guys – in such a short space of time, they really touched my heart.

Title: ⟫ Unbreak Me

Author: ⟫ Jesse H. Reign

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Young Englishman, David Hammond, discovers life on a remote farm in South Africa isn’t at all what he was expecting. He expected the change in climate to do him good. To lift his mood. He certainly didn’t expect farmer, Jonathan Rosseau, to be so rugged or handsome. It turns out, it’s more than the warm weather that gets David hot under the collar.

David deals with his emotions the only way he knows how. By keeping a diary. A very detailed diary. A diary you get to read.

Unbreak Me is a story about first love and coming out. It contains a dollop of angst, smatterings of self-deprecating humour, and enough steam to make your hair frizz.

Depression and self-harm are mentioned.

Review: ⟫ Oh, this book! Because I was on a Jesse H. Reign kick, I didn’t read the blurb – I just downloaded it and dived straight in. So I was a little confused with the format it took as the story is told in the form of David’s diary entries. Initially, I wasn’t sure where things were going, but slowly you get an idea of what has been going on and just why David is in South Africa.

Because you are reading diary entries, a lot of the extraneous details were removed – it was literally how David felt and experienced everything that was happening, and as such it was an intimate, sometimes heart-wrenching, always touching read. We can feel his lack of self-esteem and insecurities, his inner voice making it utterly clear why he was struggling as much as he was. And I fell a little in love with him reading his words – self deprecating but revealing a caring, sensitive young man, unsure of who he truly was but learning to accept everything that is within him as part of himself. It was beautiful.

Of course you fall in love with Jonathan as well – just the descriptions of him from David’s perspective were enough to make you need to fan yourself, let alone when he and David become lovers.

The book does cover aspects of self-harm and depression, and obviously everyone’s experience of this differs. I found it realistic and true to life, which is probably why David’s dilemma affected me so much – to find such happiness after experiencing such sorrow only to face the choices needed was heart-breaking.

The sex between David and Jonathan was steamy, sultry and absolutely downright filthy on occasion, and I loved it. It took me back to the days when I was first really discovering sex and they were excellent memories. This book cemented for me that the author is on my auto-buy pile as everything I’ve read has moved me – sometimes infuriated, sometimes made me cry – but always made me feel, and that is special.