Thursday, April 27, 2017

Book Review & Excerpt: TIED TO YOU by Riley Hart


TIED TO YOU
WILD SIDE BOOK 2
by Riley Hart
Genre: M/M romance

Cover Design: X-Potion Designs
Cover Photo: John Karrer
Artwork:  Sarah Jo Chreene

Blurb
Miles Sorenson prides himself on his brutal honesty. Facts and logic are a hell of a lot easier to deal with than emotions. He’s got his career and a small, close-knit group of friends, and he doesn’t need nor want anything else. The total opposite of Quinn Barker, who doesn’t take life too seriously and thinks a good laugh can cure anything.

When Quinn takes Miles home, it’s supposed to be a one-time deal. Except they really click in the sack and end up spending the weekend together, enjoying each other's bodies as much as their company…to Miles’s dismay. Matters get even more muddled when, months later, they run into each other at the popular West Hollywood bar, Wild Side, and pick up right where they left off.

On the surface, Quinn and Miles are like oil and water, but the draw between them is undeniable. As their lives further entwine, they realize there’s more to their connection than the way they singe the sheets together.

But demons from the past have a way of catching up, and no matter how strong the link is tying Miles and Quinn together, the pressure may be enough to make it snap.


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EXCERPT
They made it to Miles’s car and to the 101 freeway before his cell rang again. “Oh f*ck.” Miles rolled his eyes after looking at the screen.
“Your mom again?” Quinn asked from the passenger seat, snickering. “She offered to bring you chicken soup while I was blowing you. That’s some funny sh*t.”
“No,” Miles replied. “Worse. It’s Chance.” Who he had no doubt called because he’d gotten notice that Miles called off work today. Maybe this whole close-friendship-like-family thing wasn’t such a good idea after all. “What?” Miles said into the cell.
“You better be dying.”
“I’m not.”
“Oh, well your mom thinks you are. She’s convinced you’re somehow dying. I thought she was going a little overboard, but then she said you called off work, and I had all sorts of crazy thoughts—cancer, heart attack, but then I just remembered it was early as f*ck and I’d gotten woken up because you’re suddenly a normal human being who doesn’t go to work once in a while. Then, I just wanted to kill you. It’d be easier if you were dying on your own.”
Miles gripped the phone tighter. “You’re all mental. Every single one of you. I don’t feel well. That’s it.” Was it really such a big deal that he didn’t go in to work today? Apparently, it was. Quinn was right. He was boring.
“You’re in a car. Why are you in a car, Miles?”
“I’m running away,” he answered. He probably should. It was the only way they would leave him alone.
Chance sighed. “Seriously…you okay, boo? Does this have anything to do with what had you upset Friday night?”
Miles looked over at Quinn, who stared back at him. He considered playing it off, making up some kind of excuse, but then he remembered that he demanded honesty from everyone else. What right did he have if he didn’t give it himself?
“I’m fine. I’m…going to the beach.”
“You hate the beach,” Chance replied.
Yeah, he usually did. He was looking forward to it today, though.
He risked another quick glance at Quinn whose brows were pulled together. Just as he thought. Quinn could hear Chance.
“I’m going with a friend,” Miles admitted. Should he have said boyfriend? Dude he was banging? Dating? They’d decided they were boyfriends.
“You hate friends…except us.”
F*cking Chance. “I don’t hate friends, you jackass. I’m driving so unless you really want me to die, I’m going to go.” He paused, then added, “And I’m bringing someone to Wild Side on Friday.”
“What? You’re—”
“I’m hanging up now,” Miles told him.
“Don’t you end this call, Miles! You’re bringing someone to Wild Side and going to the beach? Who are you and what did you do with my best friend? I—”
Miles hung up before Chance could continue.
“You hate the beach,” Quinn said. “I mentioned the beach our first weekend and you said you didn’t hate it.”
It was then Miles realized that’s why Quinn had chosen it. For him.
Miles looked at him and gave Quinn another truth. “I don’t hate the beach today. With you.” And it hadn’t been as hard to say as Miles thought it would.
“We haven’t gotten there yet.”
“That part doesn’t matter.” Brutal f*cking honesty.


Carra's Review

The relationships that form when characters are least expecting it, where they don’t realize it’s happening and that turn them upside down—those are some of my favorites. What I loved about Miles and Quinn was that even though they started off as a hookup, there was always a connection between them and their relationship wound up developing over time, becoming more and more intense. This throws Miles for a loop since he has a very hard time trusting people he doesn’t know, and the feelings he has are difficult for him to reconcile.

There’s absolutely no question that Miles and Quinn have scorching hot chemistry together from moment one; their intimate scenes can be raw yet with a touch of sweet, then ranging back to naughty with a bit of kink. It’s enough to have readers reaching for their fans and ice packs because their heat level is at the top of the charts. But they don’t only have chemistry in the bedroom—I hate to use a cliché, but they honestly do fit together like two puzzle pieces, complementing each over perfectly. The banter between them held my rapt attention, and at times had me laughing out loud.

Miles and Quinn have a lot in common, at least to a certain point. This makes it easy for them to understand each other, and is also a factor in how comfortable they feel together. While there is some tension that comes and goes in the story (primarily from Miles’s uncertainty and hesitation at opening up to someone outside his small, tight inner circle), for the most part it is relatively low angst. There is a bit of conflict between them near the end, but other than that the story is more about the development of their relationship and Miles coming to trust and both of them coming to love each other.

I did have a small issue with the source of the conflict as it is not explained how some information that comes to light was obtained, and given the nature of the information it was like a sign blinking at me saying “how did that get uncovered?”. But other than that, I felt the story was powerful and was fully character driven—and those characters were so…REAL, strong and well developed to where I was fully invested in their lives and the outcome of the story.

Tied to You was a 4.5-star read for me, and I do highly recommend this story to any M/M romance fan. It can be read as a standalone, but once you’ve read it you’ll find yourself wanting to go back and read the other stories that the supporting characters have appeared in so you can find out their tales as well. This book is meant strictly for readers 18+ for adult language and explicit M/M sexual content.


About the Author

Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together. 
She loves reading, flawed characters, and hanging out with her husband and children, who she adores. She and her family live in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine, while also missing seasons. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful she gets to wake up and do what she loves. 
Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.





WILD SIDE SERIES

DARE YOU TO
WILD SIDE NOVELLA 

GONE FOR YOU
WILD SIDE BOOK 1



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