Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: James – Uncontrollable
SERIES: Man Up #5
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
PUBLISHER: self-published
RELEASE DATE: September 30, 2018
BLURB:
It’s time to travel with James and Malcolm through their twenty year history as they battle each other and struggle to hold on to a lifetime of secrets.
James
Never good enough.
Not the real son.
I will prove him wrong—prove everyone wrong.
I am someone.
I will succeed.
I don’t need my brother to help me.
I don’t need anyone.
My enemy holds my secret.
He teases me.
Taunts me.
Follows me with his eyes.
Our hot, angry kisses keep me up at night.
I don’t want him.
I hate him.
But I can’t stop thinking about him.
That there’s more to him
I want to discover him.
The truth is unexpected.
My enemy might not only be my friend but the love I never thought to have.
Malcolm
Live, love, laugh.
Life is too short to worry when you don’t know how long you’ve got.
I want every day to be my best.
Like it’s my last.
My friends see what I let them.
Not the real me.
Only one man has ever crawled beneath my skin.
He drives me crazy.
Makes me wild.
Makes me care.
A night of bad decisions changes the course of my life.
Everything I’ve known no longer makes sense.
My enemy now stands by my side.
I’m no longer running.
I want to stay.
I want a future.
Hate has changed to something new and wonderful.
Something terrifying.
Uncontrollable.
Love.
REVIEW:
Well, I’m not going to lie. Frankie is still my overall favorite person, but I think this is my favorite book out of them all. And they’ve all been spectacular. But something about James. You always knew there was a history, and bits and pieces of it, but to really see everything……shew. James is a very complex guy. But then again, so is his ‘so-called enemy’, Malcolm. I gotta tell you, the more Mal showed up the more I wanted to throat punch him. But as the old saying goes, “You should never judge a book by its cover.”
This book was steamy from the get go. The sparks these two put out, it’s a wonder they didn’t set things on fire. And when they did finally kiss….I think EVERYTHING melted. Dear heaven. And that was a HATE kiss.
But in this book, we go back in time a bit. We see what crap James had to deal with for a while until his mother died, and then that scared little boy, meeting his father and half brother for the first time. And it was not smooth sailing. We get to see what James went through. How he was treated like basically a dog. He was hated. And every time Mal would try to shower attention on James, James couldn’t trust him. He was Rhoades’s friend. He always seemed to take Rhoades’s side. So even to someone else, he felt hated. But James would show them. He would show them all. He would make something of his life just to spite that douche of a father. He’d prove everyone wrong. Even Mal. But what no one knew, Mal had secrets of his own. And all he was ever trying to do was reach out to that lonely, hopeful boy. Bit everything always backfired. So James went on his own way, and Mal kept most of his life hidden. He knew he was reputed to be the manwhore. He didn’t care. He was going to live his life.
Dear heaven these men. You don’t know whether to shake them, kick them in the seat of their pants or plead and beg with them to just PAY ATTENTION. Good grief. The most hard headed, obstinate, stubborn men. BUT. I understood every bit of why. James because of his past had no reason to trust. Mal was scared for people to know his secrets. And both were afraid to be open with someone else. To feel that vulnerability with someone. To fully let go. Wasn’t happening. And if you read this book, you will understand why.
Life sucks ass on a good day, but trying to move on and let go of all that resentment, etc., you have to grow a set. It takes true courage and strength to truly let go and forgive, to let go and move on, to let someone see you at the worst. These guys are no different. But I loved how they grew. Like anything in life, anything worth having is worth fighting for. There are harsh words, constant digs, hurts thrown at each other, but you have to keep going. James and Mal we’re terrified in their own ways, but to see them blossom into better men was beautiful. Warts and all.
All the men of Man Up are complex guys. They have pasts, they have hurts, and all of them have had to grow up. And each transformation was just as amazing as the next. Because when it came down to it, they wanted it. They fought, they bled and cried, but they wanted to be better. To prove themselves. And it gave us all some amazing stories to keep close to our hearts.
Pick this book up. This series. It’s amazing. But just as a warning…..bring tissues. And lots lol.
(And as a side note, I hope there will be a little side story maybe with Angel and Gus. I would love to see how they end up.)
RATING: 
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