Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: Yours To Be Forgiven

SERIES: The Long Way Home (Book 1)

AUTHOR: Hayden Hall

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 246 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2021

BLURB:

Cold-hearted Max Cullen is incapable of loving anyone but himself.

Ruthless, arrogant, and, unfortunately, hot as hell, Max has a way of bringing out my worst self. He also happens to be the branch executive of the financial firm I work for, as well as the last man I would ever want to be snowed in with. Oddly specific? Yeah, about that last part…

Max’s petty vengeance makes me break a Christmas promise to my children and gets us both stranded in his remote cabin. To make matters worse, the jerk has the nerve to look even hotter when he takes his suit off.

As if being stuck with him isn’t bad enough, it turns out we’ll have to share the bed.

Is it the crackling fire or the burning taste of whiskey or something else altogether that’s heating up the space between us?
His annoying bickering and his rotten heart make me want to punch him, if only he would quit looking at me like that.

We’re hurling toward the breaking point. If the storm doesn’t kill us, we might just kill each other. Or do something else, equally disturbing.

I swore I would never swoon again, but I’m starting to think I’m on a promise-breaking streak.

Yours To Be Forgiven is the first in my new trilogy. Though the romance between Max and Ethan reaches a happy ending here, there is a subplot that continues in book 2, Yours To Be Forgotten (available for pre-order). This book was written for the fans of enemies to lovers, damaged millionaires reformed, broken hearts healed, and snowstorms trapping two opposing men in one cozy cabin. Give yourself an early Christmas gift with Yours To Be Forgiven and get immersed in the age-old tale of unexpected love.

REVIEW:

Fabulous start to a brand new series by Hayden Hall!

All Ethan Baxter wants is to wrap up this horrible last day and head out on his three weeks back at his Mom’s place to spend time with his 6 year-old twins Hannah and Elliot he hasn’t seen in person since June. It’s been a long, tough year that started with his husband cheating on him and getting caught because he couldn’t keep it in his pants literally while driving down the road with his boy toy happily giving him a blow job that resulted in an automobile accident and almost unmanned him. Then the job he was a shoo-in for when he transferred to the Chicago office was given to that arrogant prick wonder boy Max Cullen. Now the jerk is taking away his time with his kids to work on a project that anyone could do! But did Max trust anyone else to look close enough to see between the lines?

This book features several of my favorite tropes:

• Single dad with adorable younger kids ✔️
• Enemies-to-lovers ✔️
• Christmas romance ✔️
• Forced proximity ✔️
• Dominant and submissive sex ✔️
• Workplace scandal/corruption ✔️

I loved that even though neither man wanted to admit it, even to themselves, that they thought that the other was hot and had checked them out, they did. It was inevitable that when sparks flew they would be scorching hot and on fire for each other. But both men had a lot to overcome before they could even start to let down their guard and let someone in. Ethan had every right to be leery and guard his fragile heart and ego after his ex did all that crap to him. And poor Max. The people that were supposed to love and protect him after choosing him to adopt literally tossed him out when he came out with practically nothing except words that continued to haunted him when ever he pursued another man. Ethan was the one to finally clear those voices from Max head and let him enjoy a healthy and safe relationship filled with love. Something Max had no experience with.

I really enjoyed that the author didn’t let either man stay in his head too long before the other called him out and pushed him to speak out with what was on his mind. And these were not weak men that always second guessed themselves. They had baggage and they owned it. From Max’s abandonment issues to Ethan’s broken heart by his cheating ex-husband they earned their skepticism. However, it didn’t cripple them but made them cautious to try to trust that was worked through with a bit of nudging and a short amount of reflective time.

I am eager to hear Max’s brother’s story and if the two men actually reconnect and accept each other. Also, why they were separated at such a young age?  And I want to know more of what happen when Max and Ethan band together to expose what they have discovered at work. I do expect to have some of those questions answered hopefully 🤞 in the next book in the trilogy.

I really liked this new book and can’t wait for the rest of the series!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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