REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Walking Away
AUTHOR: Peyton Miller
PUBLISHER: Peyton Miller
LENGTH: 198 Pages
RELEASE DATE: December 5, 2016
BLURB:
When Carter Smith wanders into a rough bar on local band night he doesn’t expect to have to be rescued by Matt Hendel, the sexy bouncer with huge muscles. That chance meeting turns into a something so much more when Carter and Matt run into each other during a business meeting.
Carter finds freedom on the stage acting in a Broadway production, and Matt pushes his limits every day lifting weights and honing his skills so he can compete in the CrossFit games. Though they are different as night and day, Carter is drawn to Matt. When Carter’s dream calls him to California, Matt encourages him to move across country. Regret twists through Matt, but he can’t force his lover to stay and wither in a job he doesn’t love.
Unable to deal with the realities of a long-distance relationship, Matt walks away from Carter. Alone and hurting, neither one of them is willing to take the first step towards reconciliation. All it will take is one text, but can either of them press send?
REVIEW:
I jumped on this story because I really enjoyed Ms. Miller’s debut book, After the Snap. Unfortunately, one of the things that drew me into that story – the characters – was missing from this book. This starts out great; I loved the way the guys met and began their relationship. It was fun and fresh and so very promising.
Unfortunately, things shifted and were so up in the air that I couldn’t figure out why these guys were bothering at all. Matt was focused on his training for the CrossFit games, and with Carter’s contract with a Broadway show running out, his next opportunity is on a TV show in LA. Thus, they must continue with a long-distance relationship for the time being. Unfortunately, their relationship began with more sex and less getting to know you, so that when the time came that they had to part ways, there was very little communication holding them together
This story is told with a lot of little details, which is good, to a point. But it also prevents me from connecting with the characters. I know how they feel because the story tells me so, but it isn’t able to pull me into the story and feel it. This could very well be my own issue, and I did enjoy other aspects at the same time. It was a somewhat fast read, but as I didn’t feel that connection, I had a hard time keeping from skimming the detail parts to get to the meat of the story.
As with her previous book, Ms. Miller shows a lot of potential, from the blurbs and gorgeous covers to the basic story lines. Even though I was not blown away by this one, I will definitely be keeping her on my radar in the future.
RATING: 
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