Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Typhoon Toby
SERIES: Forces of Nature #2
AUTHOR: R.L. Merrill
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 233 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 22, 2019
BLURB:
On the surface, Toby Griffiths appears to have it all—talent, money, a brilliant mind, and model good looks. With his best friend, Reese, he’s built an empire as a singer/songwriter.
But beneath that glittering exterior, Toby suffers the lasting effects of abuse. To keep his tempestuous past where it belongs, he insists on anonymity with lovers—no names, no personal information. But a vacation fling in Bali changes all that, and he can’t get his recent playmate out of his mind.
Therapist Spencer Hart left Bali with a bad case of pneumonia and a broken heart. Although he’s recovering, he’s shocked to find his secretive partner on TV, and he’s determined to see him again. Spencer arranges to attend one of Toby’s fundraising galas, and their reunion is tense.
Toby tries to stick to his rules… until a New Year’s kiss with Spencer washes away the last of his resistance. But Toby is a man with secrets, and when the storm comes ashore, it could devastate not just his professional life but his fledgling love affair and his longtime partnership with his best friend.
Will Spencer stand by his side and help him weather the storm as Toby faces his worst fears?
REVIEW:
I fell in love with Hurricane Reese and I’m back in love in this series with this book. There are very serious TRIGGERS in this book. Abuse, rape, suicide attempts, etc. This book is just amazing but please be so careful if any of this is a problem with you.
In the first book, we get to meet Toby. Best friend and partner to Reese. Cocky S.O.B. But there was always something lurking underneath with Toby. He was always there for Reese. Always has been. In his way. And in this book, there’s a whole different side to Toby. And that cocky attitude? All a front. And my heart ached for him. I was so excited to see how much his vacation got to him. Someone was getting through under that hard shell he wrapped around his heart. And who more perfect than a therapist?
Actually, Spencer is perfect for Toby. With all Toby has been through, he needs someone who is patient, understanding and knows when to back off. Anyone who has trauma, PTSD, or something else, they need time to process it and deal with it. If they ever do. Some people can’t. For a long time, Toby couldn’t. He buried himself in work, drugs, alcohol, men. Whatever he could do to still the thoughts. He wrote in his books. Songs, poems, whatever. But the more he got involved with Spencer, the more he wanted to better himself. Which meant he had to get help. He had to stop burying what happened to him. And Spencer was perfect through it all. For him anyway. He never pushed. Well, he did one time but it was necessary. Very much so. He listened. He didn’t judge. He let Toby be who he needed to be and deal how he needed to. And it was hard as hell some days. But Spencer never gave up. And Toby finally had someone in his life who loved him. Scars and all. But Toby had to make up his mind if he could continue to face his past or cave and let it wash him away.
When you see someone you love hurting, you want to do everything you can to fix it. And sometimes our way of fixing things is dead wrong. Sometimes we have to push a little, but everyone has a way of dealing with what they have to deal with. It may not always be ‘right’, but maybe it’s right for them. For us, like Spencer, we have to be patient. We have to keep our mouths shut and just let them know we are willing to listen and be there when they are ready. As hard as that may be. And for Spencer it was hard. We all want to take the pain away. Go beat the hell out of whoever hurt our loved ones. But we can’t.
I love this book. For Toby, with Spencer he found something he hadn’t had in a long time. Hope. And love. He found someone who believed in him. Someone who he could just be with. And for Toby, that was the world.
RATING: 
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