REVIEWED by Jen B.
TITLE: Beast
SERIES: N/A
AUTHOR: Jason Collins
PUBLISHER: Jason Collins
LENGTH: 215 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 11, 2020
BLURB: CAMPBELL:
Love and secrets don’t mix, but I’m already in too deep.
Ever since the war, I’ve been too hardened to feel desire—until Brent appears. He gets my pulse up, and he’s twice as passionate as anyone I’ve ever met. He’s not trying to be my therapist, either; he’s taking me for the man I am, and that makes me want him even more.
It all feels too good to be true.
But my PTSD and night terrors make it difficult to have a love life. Who wants a boyfriend they can’t share a bed with? If I can’t even stay one night, I’ll never get what I most want: Brent’s body against mine, every night.
I don’t know if I can keep Brent safe and keep him close at the same time.
BRENT:
I’m falling for him, but I know he’s keeping a secret.
Campbell and I don’t just connect, we collide. I invite him to my place, but I’m stunned when he’s gone the next morning. He thinks his past makes him hard to love, but I’m not afraid of his demons—or his touch. Campbell’s a medic whose hands do more good than harm.
The problem? He doesn’t trust himself.
I want to change that, but I don’t know if I can get through to him. With any other guy I’d just move on—but not Campbell. The connection between us is too powerful to let go. I want a future with him; we just have to make it through our first night together.
If he fought through a war, I can fight through his past.
REVIEW:
I admit, I’m a sucker for military guys – both active and civilian. I love to read about these guys overcoming or finding ways to deal and/or cope with their combat-related issues, including but not limited to, PTSD, and how their significant others do the same. So, I grabbed this story when I had the chance.
Campbell has accepted PTSD is a part of his life, but he is ashamed of it and has no interest in subjecting anyone else to his nightmares. Therefore, he does not let anyone get close. He keeps to hookups where the chance of a sleepover is minimal, if non-existent. This works fairly well for him, aside from his lack of an actual social life, and putting aside the fact that he isn’t actually doing anything to help himself other than taking meds. That is, until he meets Brent.
Brent helps his friend out by moonlighting as a doorman for said friend’s club. He is immediately drawn to Campbell who doesn’t look like the typical clubgoer. As it turns out, he is nothing like the typical guys Brent is used to meeting. Campbell is sweet, honest (mostly) and just generally seems like a nice guy. But Brent begins to question that as their hookup turns into a second and then a third, etc. and Campbell begins a habit of sneaking out before the sleepovers can occur. Clearly, Campbell is hiding something, and Brent doesn’t put up with it for too long, although he does keep getting drawn back in.
One thing I struggle with in my stories is back and forth inner dialog. It tends to drag me down when characters repeat themselves about their issues with rehashing the same things. There was a little bit of this going on here with Campbell for a good bit of the story until he hits close to rock bottom. Thankfully, Brent pulled me up as he pushed once more and got to the bottom of things giving this a satisfying finish. It was a smooth reading story with some warm fuzzies and steamy sex rounded out with a nice epilogue. I’ve enjoyed other stories from this author and plan to keep him on my radar for future books.
RATING:
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