Remy Devereaux

High School reunions hold a certain fascination for a lot of people, and the reasons are as varied as there are personalities, situations, and memories to deal with. In this story, all Erik wants is revenge on the guy who broke his heart in high school – more than once. The build-up is well done, a couple of flashbacks show us why Erik is so focused on paying Ben back, his emotions are clear and deep, and the outcome was not quite what I expected.

Erik is now a successful lawyer in New York City, but the insecurities and ridicule he had to deal with in his small-town high school still haunt him. And he knows exactly whom to blame. Amazingly, he has held on to his hatred for ten years, and his still-strong urge to get revenge is more than clear. As soon as he runs into Ben in the restroom, the sparks of his anger fly, and even though they sort of talk, that underlying fury never goes away.

Ben is truly sorry and apologizes for what he did, but the way in which he accepts his "punishment" made me cringe. The way Erik doles it out actually made me really angry. Ben says he still loves Erik, and if that is true, he is in for a ton of trouble and heartache. Nobody should have to accept to be treated with such disdain. On the other hand, he may like what Erik does to him – the story is too short for me to be able to figure this out with any certainty.

Although revenge is what Eric gets, the ending left me wondering if he didn’t miss a real opportunity here. He never loses his anger, and the forgiveness I had hoped for doesn’t happen. Maybe it is too early, after all, he's been hating Ben for ten years. But still. The romantic in me wanted a happier outlook for the two of them, even if that had made the story predictable. So, if you like stories about revenge that have a lot of anger and even leave you with a level of uncertainty as to what really happened, if guys coming back ten years later to see what "the one whom they used to hate" is up to, and if you're not looking for a romance and a traditional happy ending, then you will probably like this book.




NOTE: This book was provided by Secret Cravings Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

… (mais)

I really battle with the rating on this between 3 and 4. Mark really makes me angry pretty much through the whole story. He seems like a user and has trouble being honest about himself. He has cheated on his wife emotionally because he already clearly knew how he felt about himself before he even married her and then cheats physically with Jake and other men he encounters. He is also cheating on Jake in way by admitting he felt something special from the first encounter but continues to be with his wife and others. I mean they hook back up because Mark is coming in looking for a one-night stand. I could tell his feelings for Jake were real and that sort of redeemed him a bit in my eyes but to the end he still seems to be so much more about himself and his feelings and his convenience than concern for Jake and what he's needs and wants might actually be. You hope with time Mark can relax and just let the relationship develop but a part of me kind of hopes Jake moves on to someone who will love him more unconditionally.… (mais)

I received this one as a member of the Secret Cravings Book Club and I liked it much more than the first installment of this series. Jake is running scared and Mark is trying to track him done. Like the first book Mark comes off as kind of an ass for the first half of the book. But what turned this book around for me was that this time Jake isn't just putting up with it this time. He seems to be stronger and more forceful in standing up for himself. He really gets some good zings on Mark. This story leaves with a feeling that there really is hope for these two as a couple if they continue to open up to each other and treat each other with a level of respect.… (mais)