Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Room For Recovery 
SERIES: Hearts and Health #4
AUTHOR: DJ Jamison
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 250 Pages
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2018
BLURB:
Beau James isn’t out, but he’s not fooling anyone. When he’s cornered by two bullies, he’s rescued by none other than the broody Wade Ritter, who he’s crushed on from afar. Despite their family connection, Wade has resisted all of Beau’s attempts at friendship — until now. His protective streak gives Beau an opportunity to get past Wade’s prickly exterior.
Wade considers Beau to be a quasi-cousin. He’s been careful to keep Beau in that box because he is too tempting to a gay boy determined to remain in the closet after his coming out went all wrong. But when Wade sees bullies harassing Beau, he offers to help. Little does he know this small crack in the walls around his heart is the opening Beau needs to move in and change Wade’s life.
After years off the rails, Wade realizes there’s room for recovery. If he can face hard truths about his sexuality and love himself, he might be able to love Beau too.
REVIEW:
High school teen, Wade Ritter, decided to come out to his dad. The man already had a gay friend, so Wade believed his sexuality wouldn’t be a problem. When Wade’s dad urged caution instead of love, he was hurt. Then the next day, Byron Ritter killed himself. The event put Wade firmly back in the closet and turned a grade A student into a bit of a high school fuck up.
Beau was a grade A student who wasn’t out of the closet to his mother. Wade knew Beau had goo-goo eyes for him. But, Beau was younger, and a family friend who believed that Wade was straight.
Told in the third person focusing on Beau and Wade’s viewpoints, the 4.5 hearts tells you that I enjoyed this tale. I am a sucker for friends to lover’s stories, but Room For Recovery was more than that, it’s a voyage of discovery, too. To begin with, Wade and Beau were not friends.
Through a couple of degrees of separation, they were related, but not by blood. Wade’s issues with his sexuality ensured that he kept Beau at arm’s length.
As the story progresses, information comes out to complete their mixed fortune backgrounds. Then drama unfolds so that Wade becomes Beau’s protector, while due to failing grades, Beau becomes Wade’s tutor.
The cast is an interesting mixture of characters and personalities. The people around him say that Wade is a fuck up, but compared to some of the spoiled, tantrums that are thrown by others around him, Wade seems like a pretty decent guy. It is this collection of souls that makes Wade immediately likeable and the story very readable. Wade is lost, and Beau helps him find himself again.
Room For Recovery is a slow burn college to adult story. It begins with admiration from afar – not acted upon. It then develops into a super read, full of ups and downs, drama, uncomfortable conversations, tear-filled moments and the inevitable outing. The latter part of the story, especially, is worth keeping reading for.
So, if the blurb piqued your interest as it did mine, this one is worth adding to the library.
RATING: 
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