FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE KD ELLIS
Book four in the Out in Austin series
Riley didn’ t know home wasn’ t a place… It’ s a person.
Riley would rather sell himself on the streets again than go back home. Only a chance encounter with a stranger saved him from becoming another statistic as a teenager, but now he’ s aging out of the youth shelter and has nowhere left to go— until a kind act from the shelter’ s director sends him straight to Lennox.
When Lennox’ s older sister begs him to rent out his spare room to a kid about to become homeless, he gets way more than he bargained for. He expects an acne-spotted, Red-Bull-bingeing teenager. What he does not expect is Riley.
Riley, who has a dominant streak a mile wide but somehow submits so beautifully.
Riley, who has a tough exterior but hides a sensitive soul.
Riley, who might just be what Lennox never knew he was looking for.
Amazon – All Regions
Pride Publishing
Overall, I liked this book. The story flowed really well even though there was a lot of content. But there were also things that didn’t get enough time- or any time, that left me a bit wanting.
We start with Ryland, soon to be Riley, as a homeless teen because he ran away. We’re kind of left wondering exactly from whom and what he ran for a long time. And then when we find out, it made me wonder how he didn’t get caught for so long. It’s close to 10 years. But ok.
The first friend he makes while being homeless disappears. And we basically never hear about him again. That was kind of sad.
We see Riley get to a shelter for gay youth, where he makes a good friend and seems to do well. He also gets to kind of be a kid.
Flash forward to Riley aging out and meeting Lennox who takes him in as a roommate. Lennox also has issues at home. He is in the closet, his parents want him to be a doctor, he wants to be an artist, etc. He ends up getting his law degree, but makes his money as an artist.
There’s immediate chemistry with them. They dabble in D/s, Riley starts camming for money, there’s a bunch of shelter cats that Riley steals/rescues, Lennox and Riley start doing porn together, there’s a lot going on.
Oh and we find out who and what Riley ran from almost 10 years ago. There’s a situation, several weeks go by, things are glossed over…and it’s resolved. And then apparently Riley is fine. Uh, sorry but that guy has some trauma to deal with.
OH! And Riley was an alcoholic when he was in the shelter but we don’t see it. How did he buy it? With what money? How did he not get caught? And even though it’s mentioned that he has been sober since before he left the shelter, Lennox finds empty bottles. GAH! I hate inconsistencies like that.
BUT, even with all of that, I loved Riley and Lennox together. They were perfect for each other. They get a little more into D/s and BDSM, which is fun, and hot, but also Lennox belongs to a BDSM club but we never saw him there.
If all of these little things were fleshed out, this easily could have been a 2 or 3 book series. Alas, it’s all crammed into this book.
Was it worth my time? Yes
Good story? Yes
Good characters? Yes
Do I recommend? Yes
I do wish more things were fleshed out to just get deeper into the characters.
4 pieces of eye candy