Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: How to Heal

SERIES: LOVESTRONG #5

AUTHOR: Susan Hawke

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 277 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2019

BLURB:

Take one former bully, unable to forgive himself for the sins of his past…

Clark Danvers is a wild twenty-one year old who’s trying to prove he’s an adult. With a two-year degree in hand, he manages the family car dealership and seemingly parties by night. Given the amount of times he’s been pulled over for speeding by Deputy Rick Matthews, public opinion seems to be right. But what people don’t see are the scars he carries both inside and out. Scars from a past he can’t run away from and will never be able to atone for, no matter how many times he beats himself over it.

Add one no-nonsense cop who longs to be a Daddy for the right boy…

Jericho “Rick” Matthews never expects the bratty kid who gets on his last nerve to pull at his heartstrings. When he finds Clark battered and fighting for his life in a motel room, Rick’s Daddy mode is instantly engaged. Before he can think of anything else, he must first comfort this hurting boy.

To equal a pair of men who might just be what the other needs.

The two men who thought they couldn’t stand each other are drawn together after a date gone wrong. While Rick tenderly cares for Clark, he decides what this brat needs is a Daddy… someone to help him break free from the past and embrace the promise of many happy tomorrows.


This is the fifth book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town. Intended only for 18+ readers, this is an mm romance full of all the sweet feels you’d want from an S. Hawke book.


Note: Possible trigger warning for mentions of self-harm and a scene involving a man who’s consented to having himself tied up. What he didn’t agree to was being left that way for an entire weekend. This highly emotional scene is the catalyst to evoke “Daddy’s” protective mode in a tale filled with themes of hurt and comfort and the struggle of overcoming a difficult past.

REVIEW:

Please note the blurb. Possible triggers. This is Clark’s story so it also deals with self-loathing, mental and emotional abuse from his father. And in the end, physical. It talks of PTSD of a bullying issue, so if anything affects you, please be careful.

I was so happy for this story. So, so happy. After all that Clark had to endure from that pig of a father of his, I’m ecstatic to see him get a story and that it involves healing, forgiveness, and a man who can help Clark be the man he needs to be.

Clark has been working on getting better. The problem is, he feels so guilty, he thinks he needs punishment for penance. So he’s looking for a Dom to give him some. He thinks he finds one, but the guy leaves Clark tied with ropes, no way to free himself for a whole weekend. He almost died from dehydration and many other things. And the one person he really didn’t want see him like that, was one of the ones who found him and started helping. Rick. Rick is a cop. He’s seen things in his life. So has his new partner. But nothing prepared him for how he felt seeing Clark tied up, laying in his own vomit, piss and shit, almost dead. It nearly destroyed him. It was even worse when he saw the stripes marring Clark’s back. His daddy mode kicked in more than ever before and he knew he needed to take care of this boy. Especially when he finds out why the stripes are there on his back. It’s going to be a hard, long road, but Rick is now invested and wants to see Clark be the man he wants to be. If they can just get past the hurdles of life and lack of communication.

I’m not going to lie. When I first met Clark, I hated him. Despised him for what he did to Grayson. But when I started finding out about who his pig of a father was, I felt sorry for him and wished he could get out of that situation. Thankfully, after a bad incident, Clark’s mom woke up and got rid of the pig and divorced him. Clark was finally free and got to come out. But the said part in all of this, with small town life, comes small town mentalities and gossip. Clark is trying to do better, but some people won’t let him forget who he was. And it breaks my heart. If people understood what Clark was doing to himself for penance, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to judge.

I’m just glad it was Rick that got to him. I’m glad Rick became the daddy for him. Rick began to show things to Clark to make him understand. He didn’t need penance. He did his time for his mistakes and it was time to forgive himself, ask for forgiveness, and move on. And Rick never let him do that on his own. He always had Clark’s back. Which was funny, considering he never though he would be anything to Clark but the cop that writes his tickets.

It’s been a long, long road for Clark. You will see when you read. It has a bad past, but a future full of Hope, second chances and a new life. If he can just let himself let go.

RATING: 

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