Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Love and the Real Boy
SERIES: Coming About #2
AUTHOR: J.K. Hogan
PUBLISHER: Wilde City Press
LENGTH: 65,983 Words
BLURB:
How much heartache can one man take before he breaks? Rich Langston asks himself that question every day.
A Seattle advertising exec who uses his designer suit and showy car like a suit of armor, Rich refuses to let the world get to him. His traumatic childhood has ruined any faith he had in people, friendship, and love. After a meltdown that led to him alienating everyone in his life, Rich agrees to help with the restoration of an antique sailboat as a form of penance.
Roped into heading up with the boat repair by his mother, marine restorer Patrick O’Dowd finds himself having to babysit a moody, spoiled rich boy with absolutely no carpentry experience. His easy-going nature is sorely tested, but he quickly realizes that things are not always what they seem; sometimes a fancy suit is nothing but an elaborate deflection from what’s real.
Through unavoidable personality clashes and fierce attraction, both Rich and Patrick explore their hidden pain and inner demons, and they end up finding with what really matters—love.
REVIEW:
I reviewed the first book in J.K. Hogan’s Coming About series earlier this year and since then I’ve been keeping an eye out for the next in the series. So I was a touch excited when I discovered Love and the Real Boy on the Wilde City coming soon list. But then I read the blurb and immediately had a problem. But I’ll get to that later.
Firstly, yes, I know Rich is an absolute asshole in I Survived Seattle. Some would say irredeemable, but I like to see the A-holes changed by love and I had a hunch this author was up for the challenge. I was happy to see that Rich was one of the main characters. I went into this story prepared to forgive Rich, I didn’t expect to spend the first few chapters mired in the struggle of Rich’s childhood and crying over the loss of his little brother. Now, not only was I prepared to forgive Rich but I was blaming Rory for unknowingly upsetting Rich in the previous book and I was pissed at Justice, one of the MCs in I Survived Seattle, for innocently being best friends with Rory when Rich wanted to be Rory’s best friend. Because I was suddenly feeling like poor Rich’s champion and if anyone ever needed some good friends and a big hug it’s that man. I have absolutely no idea how the author managed it, I was hating all over Rich in the last book but – well done is all I can say.
Patrick is the perfect man for Rich. He’s confident and forceful enough to get through the layers of snarky, nasty protection that Rich surrounds himself with but at the same time he’s a genuinely nice guy. Though the men start off by being dicks to each other, it doesn’t take too long before the attraction between them reaches undeniable levels. And then, holy shit! I don’t know why, but I just didn’t expect the sex between them to be so damn hot. Maybe because Rich is usually such a cold and controlled person I just didn’t imagine him being wild in bed but I can assure you that they have no trouble getting along between the sheets.
Just like in the first book of the series, the author has included a fantastic supporting cast of secondary characters, including Patrick’s rather extensive family, a couple of new friends who I’m guessing might pop up in future stories and also Justice and Rory from the previous book. And this might be a good time to explain why the blurb did not make me happy. After the end of the first book I desperately wanted Rich and Rory to get their own book and end up together. Yes, yes, the first book was based around Rory’s wedding to Maia (a woman) but divorce is a sad fact of life so I figured, boohoo Maia, you can just find someone new. But no, in waltzes some guy named Patrick to steal Rich away from the man who in my head is meant to be the love of his life! The nerve! Lucky for Patrick he’s a pretty hard guy to dislike and though I was a little disappointed before I began reading, there’s no denying that the author did a brilliant job of matching these two characters to create passionate and intense relationship that I thoroughly enjoyed reading about.
It’s hard to say, because I’ve read both, but I don’t think it’s necessary to read I Survived Seattle before reading Love and the Real Boy. However if you’d like to experience “Rich the Prick” before you learn to love him then the first book is definitely a good read too.
RATING: 
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