Reviewed by Cinnamon

TITLE: Gone For You

SERIES: Wild Side Book 1

AUTHOR: Riley Hart

PUBLISHER: self published

LENGTH: 224 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2017

BLURB:

Oliver Hayes wears his heart on his sleeve, and his friends never let him forget it. Every Friday night spent at Wild Side, their favorite West Hollywood bar, Oliver’s lack of hookups becomes the hot topic. It’s not that he doesn’t want a good time. He just wants it to mean something, which is a lofty goal when he’s still pining after his childhood crush, Matt, who left ten years ago to start a new life in New York City. Matt Daniels has always felt most at home seated at a piano. He might not have entirely fit in with his family and friends, but he was always able to find himself in music. Or at least he did before he gave up his dream a lifetime ago. Now, he has a successful modeling career and should be enjoying every second of it. Yet nothing feels right, and Matt fears he’s losing himself. Just when Oliver decides to get over Matt for good, Matt waltzes back into LA. As Matt struggles to understand what he’s missing in his seemingly perfect life, he falls right back into leaning on Oliver for support. Things aren’t what they used to be between them, though. They tumble into bed together, and it’s hard not to continue ending up there. For the first time in years, Matt’s inspired to compose again, reigniting a spark he thought long extinguished. But as always, Oliver can’t keep his heart in check, and soon Matt realizes he’s gone for Oliver too. The biggest question is, can he fully give himself to someone if he still hasn’t figured out how to love himself?

REVIEW:

Gone For You is Riley Hart’s newest release and the author shows a new layer of her talent with this story. It takes a lot of guts to step out of one’s comfort zone. I believe the risk of showing a different kind of writing style was totally worth it and I think most readers will enjoy the depth and inner struggles we see while getting to know our wonderful MCs here.

This is a slow burning, thought provoking, analytical story of two best friends who are trying to rebuild their friendship after the corrosion it went through the past ten years. Oliver has always been in love with his best friend Matt. They come from totally different backgrounds, have different ideas of the world but also share a passion for art, Oliver for literature and Matt for music. Despite their differences, they accept and understand each other no matter what. Matt has always loved Oliver, but was always scared to acknowledge it even for himself. To get away from his insecurities and with the goal of fulfilling his dream he leaves his friend behind after graduation and moves to New York City. Ten years go by and when Matt’s life comes to a standstill he goes home to try to find himself, and his destination is Oliver. The whole story is based on Oliver and Matt’s dance around each other, their feelings for each other, woven together with Matt’s hesitation and self-doubt. The writing is amazing. The reader actually feels the distance, the gap Matt is building around himself. Almost throughout the story I felt clearly detached. I understood their love, saw their actions but still felt something is missing. The writer created this amazing atmosphere where she could manipulate us to feel the way her characters felt.

I love the slow build-up, and when I finally started feeling, getting all the emotions I needed, I understood the writer’s intent all too well. Way to go, Riley Hart. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

Highly recommended.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon