Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Perilous Hearts 
SERIES: Deviant Hearts #3
AUTHOR: A E Ryecart
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 269 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2019
BLURB:
You can lock your door, but can you lock your heart?
Finding the courage to end his relationship with his manipulative and vicious boyfriend, Jamie Wheeler turns to his close friend Ed Corrigan to help him get his life back on track.
Jamie and Ed have been inseparable for years, and all it would take is a small step to cross the divide from friends to lovers.
It would be the biggest mistake they could make.
Jamie seeks the security of a settled long-term relationship, but Ed vows never to put his heart on the line again after a devastating betrayal. Anything beyond friendship is a risk, and could break them forever.
As Jamie’s vindictive ex causes trouble from the side-lines, a face from the past makes an unwelcome return. Jamie’s life isn’t getting back on track, it’s coming off the rails, as a series of seemingly random events lead to only one of two conclusions: either somebody’s playing a dark and sinister game, or Jamie’s losing his mind.
Tensions rise and danger approaches, drawing Jamie and Ed closer than ever. But time is running out as they race to discover not only what is happening, and why, but also what they truly mean to each other.
The third book in the Deviant Hearts series, Perilous Hearts is a slow burn friends to lovers romance intertwined with dark psychological suspense. It can be read as a stand-alone and there is no need to have read the previous two books in the series. No cliff hanger, and HEA guaranteed.
REVIEW:
The tensions racks up again in this, the third book of the Deviant Hearts series. Unlike Book 1 where physical violence provided the tension, here it’s more mental/psychological abuse, but it had me on the edge of my seat just as much. The author is so good tying the reader up with knots, not knowing what’s going to happen on the next page and waiting for it to be bad.
Jamie and Ed have been friends forever. They like each other-a lot, way more than friends, but neither is prepared to admit it. Jamie comes out of an abusive relationship and Ed helps him put himself back together. The problem is that it’s hard to fit pieces back into a jigsaw puzzle when a recent ex, a past ex and someone who may or may not be messing with Jamie’s head keep changing the picture.
I felt so sorry for Jamie. The stress and tension were full on from the first page. The sad thing was, the more situations that arose to rack up the stress, the more he believed the stress was caused by the situations. Ed wasn’t always helpful, suggesting Jamie’s imagination was working overtime.
Just when I thought the pieces were coming together, something would happen to throw me off again, and when my main suspect was taken out of the picture, I was thrown for a while. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t work out who was responsible before the end, or that I didn’t have a fair idea why, but nothing about the book was predictable and even though I knew who was responsible I had no idea what he’d do next and my blood pressure racked up by the page at the end.
The climax is explosive and nasty, but very satisfying.
Overall, this book was a quick but stressful read (not in a bad way). If you like sweet romance, mixed with edge-of-your seat suspense of a psychological nature you’ll love this one. It has much the same “feel” as the others but like both of its predecessors it’s unique.
WARNING I don’t want to give anything away, but I have to mention there are some snippets that make you flinch. I’m not suggesting this is in any way a bad thing, but it is shocking and if you’re squeamish, prepare yourself.
RATING: 
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