Reviewed by Dan
This is a Series Review of Belonging (Books 1 – 3)
AUTHOR: A. M. Arthur
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
SERIES REVIEW:
I am so very happy that another reviewer at Love Bytes had to take some time off and I got to pick up this series, as well as A.M. Arthur’s other series, Cost of Repairs. The only book I had read previously by the author was “No Such Thing” which is included below. I knew that I really enjoyed that book the first time, but hadn’t had a chance to read anything else by the author. I’m glad to say that I have become a HUGE fan of A.M. Arthur.
Give this series a shot, and I’m positive you will enjoy it! There is some dubious content in the third book of the series, dealing with a prior captivity/imprisonment by an ex, and some related prior non-consensual sex/rape. The scenes are told by the character to a therapist, and are integral to understanding the character’s psyche. That book, of the three, was my favorite, and received my highest rating.
SERIES RATING: 
TITLE: No Such Thing
LENGTH: 221 Pages
BLURB:
Twenty-two-year-old Alessandro Silva knows that returning to tiny Perch Creek to help his foster mother was the right thing to do. With no degree and a delinquent’s reputation, he’s lucky to have landed a job waiting tables. But not everyone is happy he’s back, and the only thing keeping his move home from being a total bust is his boss’s hot brother.
Jaime Winters spent most of his life watching the world go by, first from a series of hospitals and then from behind big stacks of textbooks. Studying is easier than facing the fact that years of heart failure means he’s still a virgin at twenty-three. Until the new waiter in his sister’s diner awakens desires he’d long ago given up on.
The last thing Alessandro wants is to fall for someone as fragile as Jaime. And Jaime may have a new heart, but he’s scared of what giving it to another person would mean. Their no-strings-attached, instructional approach to sex keeps emotion safely at bay, until a secret from Alessandro’s past forces them to confront their feelings in the present…
REVIEW:
I originally read this book the week it came out and really enjoyed it. Happy to say with this re-read I liked it just as much!
Alessandro or Alè has come back to the small town of Perch Creek because his foster father has just passed away, leaving his foster mother alone with two young foster children. Alè got out of town as soon as possible after he graduated from high school and hasn’t looked back. But since he feels responsible for the woman who gave him a home and raised him, who he considers his mother at this point, he comes back. He gives up his job in Wilmington and sublets his apartment full of Ikea furniture and heads back to the small town. Once there, he needs to find a job. He was a juvenile delinquent who was always in trouble when he lived there, so it will be hard to find a position. On his way to inquire at a chain restaurant about openings, he notices a sign in the window of Baker’s Dozen, a small local bakery/hangout that reads “Help Needed!!!”. Intrigued, he goes in and inquires and is instantly put to work for his “job interview”. A couple busy hours later, the owner of the bakery, Shannon tells Alè the job is his.
Shortly thereafter, a young man about Alessandro’s age comes in the front door. He has the most kissable red lips Alè has ever seen on a man! Unfortunately, the bakery has just closed and he tells the man that, but the man replies back that he is Shannon’s brother Jaime.
Jaime Winters is the same age as Alè, but never knew him because he had a heart issue and didn’t go to high school, instead doing home schooling. His heart was so bad that he had a heart transplant when a heart became available.
Alè and Jaime are both attracted to each other, but neither knows if the other is gay. And Jaime, although gay, has never even kissed another boy! Alè has quite a bit of experience, so once they hook up he becomes the “teacher”. He knows he isn’t as good as Jaime though, and that Jaime deserves someone better, so he vows to not develop feelings for Jaime. Like that ever works!
I really enjoyed this story. Along the way we have some homophobic violence, we have some drama that resurfaces from Alessandro’s high school days, and we have a little foster brother spouting anti-Gay propaganda from his “friend”, the local pastor’s son. I recommend this book, alone or as part of the series!
RATING: 4.5
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TITLE: Maybe This Time
LENGTH: 168 Pages
BLURB:
As a regular at gay hotspot Pot O’ Gold, Ezra Kelley avoids his tangled emotions with the simplicity of one-night stands and attachment-free hookups. Until the night bartender Donner Davis picks him up off the floor after a misunderstanding and too much tequila. Ezra can’t remember the last time someone was…nice. It’s more than he deserves.
Witnessing his lover’s death two years ago has Donner trapped in a holding pattern—living in his sister’s basement, working at the Pot and flirting with the customers. He’s not above spending a night with the gorgeous Ezra, but love is not in the cards. That’s more than he’s ready for.
A passionate night leads to a connection neither man expects, and they take the first steps to something that looks like a real relationship. But Ezra’s been running from himself so long he doesn’t know how to live any other way. And Donner can’t risk his heart just to lose everything again. They’ll both need the strength to let go of the past if they want to get it right this time.
REVIEW:
In this installment of the series, we revisit Ezra, the friend of Alè and Jaime from book one. I loved this book. Ezra, as we learned in book one, only does one night stands. He avoids getting involved with anyone, and now we learn why.
Ezra was at university when he met his ex, Bryan. He took Bryan home to meet his homophobic parents and it went over like a lead balloon. When Ezra told them he was quitting school and moving to Wilmington, Delaware, clear across the country, they were furious and told him it would never last. They did though, through guilt of something that happened eight years previously, continue to pay his rent and expenses. For two years they have believed that Bryan is still with Ezra, when in actuality Bryan split for someone with “less baggage” four months after Ezra moved to Wilmington.
Ezra has now come to the attention of one of the bartenders at Pot O’ Gold, the same bar we visited in book one. Donner Davis is one of the night bartenders and has had his eye on Ezra. Donner finds Ezra in the bathroom with his pants half down and it is obvious that Ezra has been throwing up, and it looks like he might have been roughed up by another bar customer. Donner isn’t the sort to not help someone, so he helps Ezra home.
Donner isn’t that forthcoming about himself. We as readers don’t even know much about him until about half way through the book. All we know is that there was something in the past with a guy, but we don’t know the details.
When the truth about Donner’s former partner, who was killed in the street comes out, it brings the two men closer together. I loved the side stories in this book. When the dog had to be put to sleep, I honestly got teary eyed thinking of animals we’ve had to do that with. And the whole homophobic mess when Ezra and Donner go to Seattle for Ezra’s brothers high school graduation…..
I very highly recommend this one as well. Since the characters flow from book to book, I’d recommend it be read after book one.
RATING: 4.5
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TITLE: Stand By You
LENGTH: 222 Pages
BLURB:
Three months after his rescue from an abusive boyfriend, twenty-two-year-old Romy Myers has landed his first legitimate job—bussing tables at his friend’s new coffee shop. The job has brought him some stability after years of abuse have left him feeling damaged and broken. He’s working hard on his panic and social anxiety, and those things are often tempered by the big, burly presence of Brendan Walker.
From the moment ex-football player Brendan helped rescue Romy from his ex’s abuse, he’s wanted to protect him. And he does, from a distance, with joking text messages, a new gym routine to toughen him up and a genuine friendship. So far it’s been easy—but Brendan’s feelings aren’t just friendly anymore…
When an argument spirals out of control, a hot and heavy make-out session causes Romy’s friendship with supposedly straight Brendan to reach a new level. The last thing Romy wants is to fall for another guy who could potentially shatter him, but Brendan also wakes up a part of him he thought had been destroyed by violence—his heart.
REVIEW:
This was by far my favorite of the series so far. That said, I’m hoping this isn’t the end of the series, because I would really like more! I really like the characters in this series!
In this installment we get to the story of Romy and Brendan. I was hoping this book would be about them. Poor little Romy has been through so much, and big old Brendan is just what he needs to help him work through his issues. But Brendan is straight.
Three months have gone by since Brendan, Ezra and Donner rescued Romy from the clutches of Carlos, the super abusive man who had kept Romy chained to a filthy mattress while he was out at work, and controlled all his actions. When rescued, Romy was extremely broken. His psyche is damaged and he is afraid of people. He also has some pretty hefty OCD.
Romy has landed a job at the new “Baker’s Half Dozen”, a coffee shop/bakery that Ezra and Alè have opened, using Jaime’s sister Shannon’s concept and recipes, thus the name. If you were reading this book as a standalone, you would have no idea who these people were. I would highly recommend you not try to read the books as standalones, or out of order!
Romy has also been living with Ezra and Donner in their spare room since he was rescued. He still has violent, to the point of waking up screaming, nightmares every night. The only thing which seems to calm him down, is Brendan!
Brendan feels super protective towards Romy. Although he didn’t know him at all at the time of the rescue, he bonded with him instantly. When the two start working out together, at Brandon’s place, things start to simmer.
Is any sort of relationship possible between the two? Can anyone help Romy through the issues he has with the imprisonment and torture he received from Carlos? And what will happen when his ex-boyfriend shows up from Philadelphia?
One word of warning. This book contains references to the severe sexual and physical abuse that Carlos inflicted on Romy, which some might find bothersome. I felt the author did a great job writing in those scenes, and that they were integral to explaining Romy’s psychological distress.
I loved this book, and recommend it!
RATING: 5.0
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