Not Guilty of Books

TEST DRIVE Crossroads - Book Three by Riley Hart Release Date: May 30, 2016 Review Wow, Justin and Drew were so touching. They were amazing men. Caring, strong & steady. Dealing with such emotional family drama…a dying father, siblings he didn’t know existed, is more than most could deal with, but Justin handles it with amazing grace (at least outwardly). Drew’s care for him, and the way he puts his own feelings aside for Justin was both heartbreaking and gorgeous. But I also love the courage he takes from Justin to finally address the distant relationship he has with his brother. It was a really great final story for this series. Such a beautiful romance. Add to your TBR List GOODREADS LINK Synopsis A double shot of devastating news turns Justin Evanson’s life upside down. When he learns his father has cancer, and he has siblings he never knew existed, he leaves everything behind and moves to Virginia to support his dad as he tries to make amends with his family—a family Justin’s ...

  SHIFTING GEARS Crossroads - Book Two by Riley Hart Release Date: February 8, 2016 Audio Release Date: December 27, 2015 Review I really loved Rod and Landon’s story.  It was sweet, sexy, and a mature story with a little bit of angst to make sure we were fully invested in these two.  These guys are fun and flirty, but I also loved that they talked, and pushed past the surface to build a friendship first. I appreciated that Landon demanded more than just sex from Rod. Though in someone ways they are opposite, they shared a love of spending time together. They also shared the terrible father lottery. It became a centre point of their story as they try and work through the baggage they’d been left with. As expected from Riley, this is a well-crafted story that kept you engaged the whole way through. I enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Sean Crisden. Not my favourite, but still enjoyable. Add to your TBR List GOODREADS LINK Synopsis Rod Nelson is used to being someone’s good...

  CROSSROADS Crossroads - Book One by Riley Hart Release Date: July 28, 2015 Audio Release Date: November 17, 2015 Review Such a fantastic book. I swoon for these two. A double Gay-For-You. It’s not an easy trope to make believable but Riley does it beautifully.  Two neighbours who become incredible friends. Wanting to spend all their time together, and have them be a part of their entire lives. It’s sweet, their build-up to friendship. It’s also sweet how oblivious they are to the reason for their newfound obsession with each other. I love a slow burn, especially one that involves an ‘oh damn, that’s what I’m feeling!’ moment. Or in this case two of those moments. I was especially taken by how committed they were to each other, even when they were questioning themselves or when others reacted poorly. It’s not that they didn’t have a lot of emotions to process or plenty of moments where they questioned whether or not they should continue, but they were always grounded by the s...

Review: Sean Crisden couldn’t have done a better job with his narration of Lucky and Saint. It was so good. He captured the characters and the emotion beautifully. This duology was fantastic. I loved both Lucky and Saint, and the conclusion to their story was both difficult and beautiful. It takes place after they’ve moved in together, but now they have to figure out how they fit together in the real world. Lucky has left his home and family to be with Saint in LA. A world Lucky isn’t sure he fits into. Saint is happy to be home, at work, and with his friends. They try to fit their relationship into it, but it places an unexpected strain on them. They both try for the other but at times they also don’t try enough, and other times try too much. Until they realize they don’t need to fit in with or fix the other. It’s themselves that they need to fix, love, and fit in with. The process is fraught with so many emotions, but in the end, they find their steady, and they learn to love ...

Review: How beautiful is this story?! Everything about it is perfect. Their backstories, that brought them to meeting. The way their lives intertwined, present and past. Saint’s relationship with family and the hurt, pain, and love that comes with it. Lucky’s self-discovery and finding himself. Lucky and Saint finding each other, and themselves within it, everything else ultimately culminating in their love. “Love rarely makes sense, and it damn well shouldn’t. There’s no room for logic in love, and once you find it, you fight for it, because it’s a rare and beautiful thing” The writing is also stunning. I love Riley’s writing style, flow, and pace. The perfect balance of narration and dialogue. The emotion that the description of simple gestures like Saint running his hands through Lucky’s curls can evoke. Every word she writes is perfectly placed. And the narrator, Sean Crisden, absolutely captures the story beautifully. His poetic voice lulls you along with so much emotion, ...