Eight months ago Jude Lucen fled his partner, his career, and a hospital in Boston after a suicide attempt. Now back in Philadelphia, he feels like a complete failure. Piano has always been his passion and his only escape. Without it, he has nothing. Well, nothing except a pathetic crush on the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen.
Faron Locklear came to Philly looking for a fresh start and has thrown himself into tattooing at Small Change. He’s only met Jude a few times, but something about the red-haired man with the haunted eyes calls to him. Faron is blown away by Jude’s talent. What he isn’t expecting is the electricity he feels the first time they kiss—and the way Jude’s needs in bed speak directly to his own deepest desires.
Jude and Faron fall fast and hard, but Jude has spent a lifetime learning that he can’t be what the people he loves need. So when the opportunity arises to renew his career in Boston, he thinks he has to choose: music, or Faron? Only by taking a huge risk—and finally believing he’s worthy of love just as he is—can he have the chance for both.
The Small Change series is set in the Middle of Somewhere universe and features crossover characters from that series. Each book can be read on its own.
Content warning: This book contains explicit discussion of depression, anxiety, attempted suicide, and feelings of worthlessness.
Invitation to the Blues (Small Change #2)
Publisher: Monster Press
Release Date (Print & Ebook): March 28th, 2018
Length (Print & Ebook): About 81,000 words
Subgenre: Contemporary romance
Content warning: depression, suicide, thoughts of worthlessness, food issues
Amazon
Ibooks
Barnes & noble
Angus & robinson
Kobo
“Hold this,” Faron murmured into my hair, and handed me the sketchbook. I held it so he could draw with his right hand as his left continued to explore my torso. He sketched our feet, his elegant and high-arched, and mine, bony and slender; his dark, mine pale. And all the while, his fingers sketched other shapes against my skin. He dipped into my navel and ran along my ribs, sending shivers down my spine. When he skimmed a fingertip over my nipple I gasped and tensed against him.
He traced my nipple until it was a hard peak, then squeezed it, and my hips jerked, making the sketchbook jump in my hand. Faron’s breath went rough and he nuzzled into my hair.
My heart was pounding and I knew he could feel it. I squirmed to try and take my shirt off, but I couldn’t quite get it. Faron stripped it off of me and ran sure fingers along my ribs. Then he traced the blue veins visible beneath my skin from my heart to where they disappeared under my waistband.
With my oversized shirt out of the way, the bulge of my erection in my jeans was obvious.
I drew my knee up, resting it against the back of the couch. He slid a hand up the inside of my thigh so slowly I held my breath, but he didn’t touch my hard cock and I shuddered with arousal.
“Jude,” Faron breathed, and I let the sketchbook fall between us as I went for the button on my jeans. I felt like I was made of pounding heart, flushed skin, raging need, and it felt like nothing I’d ever experienced. It didn’t even feel like sex; it felt like desire. It felt like what I knew sex was supposed to feel like but rarely had for me.
This is book 2 in the Small Change series, but being that book 1 is a traditions m/f romance, I didn’t read it. But you absolutely don’t need to read book 1 to read book 2.
I love deep, angsty, character driven stories. And this hit the mark. Jude has battled depression his whole life. Add in a controlling, nasty boyfriend and recovering from a suicide attempt- this is the juicy book I love to read.
Getting depression and anxiety right in a book can be difficult. You can tell when the author either did their research or are sufferers themselves. It comes through in the pages. You can almost feel what Jude is feeling.
Enter Faron. Now, Jude is the center of the story really- but Faron. I could so easily picture him. I loved that both of these characters were not the typical we see in books. Such a refreshing change. Back to Faron. He is a man of few words but the words he uses are powerful. He feels and loves with everything he has. He helps Jude see the man he really is. But he never controls or pushes or makes ultimatums.
Roan Parrish has a way with words. She doesn’t fall back on metaphors we see constantly or descriptions that go on and on. She is succinct, but can paint a beautiful picture.
I really loved these two. I wish the book hadn’t ended because I want more of them
4.5 pieces of eye candy
Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.
When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.
Connect with Roan:
website | newsletter | twitter | facebook | goodreads | instagram | pinterest
