Reviewed by Valerie 

TITLE:  Unwanted

SERIES:  The Unlucky Ones #1

AUTHOR:  Marley Valentine

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published 

LENGTH:  308 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 21, 2022

BLURB:   

Two halves of a whole, Arlo Bishop and I were both unwanted kids brought together by the foster system. Dealing with the aftermath of neglect and abandonment, we grew up side by side and found solace in one another.

We wanted. We needed. We loved. Desperately.

But somewhere along the way, Arlo wanted and needed and loved drugs more. So, I did the only thing I could and broke my own heart to save his.

Now, four years later, I’m back in L.A. and face-to-face with my past. Not only does the pain and hurt of our mistakes linger between us, but so do our feelings.

I didn’t plan on a second chance, fear of history repeating itself making it hard to forgive and even harder to forget. But with only one touch, one kiss, I was taken back to where it all started.

Two halves of a whole, Arlo Bishop and I were made for for each other. But we were no longer the unwanted foster kids.

We were grown men. And I wanted nothing more than him.

REVIEW:   

Marley Valentine’s Unwanted is the first novel in The Unlucky Ones series. It’s a beautiful, second chance romance between two men whose love wasn’t strong enough to conquer Arlo’s addiction the first time around.

I love the found family trope in which unrelated individuals come together to love and support each other, and the one in Unwanted is a beautiful example. Frankie and Lennox (biological brothers) met their foster siblings Arlo, Clem, and Remy in the system and promised to stay together forever. Frankie broke that promise four years ago after dropping the love of his life, Arlo, off at rehab and moving to Seattle. Now Lennox is in crisis and needs Frankie’s help. He returns to Los Angeles but after having deserted them all in the past, he now feels on the outside of his family. He’s jealous of the others’ relationship with Lennox. But the heart of this book are Frankie and Arlo’s broken hearts.

Arlo has just been existing, not living a fulfilling life. When Frankie shows up, he aches for him and misses him terribly but can’t forgive Frankie for walking away from him and the family. It’s too much to overcome. Time hasn’t healed his wounds; he both loves and hates Frankie and is distressed that Frankie left him because he was a junkie. Arlo is no longer the broken man Frankie left at rehab – he’s now healthy and beautiful, inside and out. He’s stronger, has set boundaries, communicates effectively, and had stayed sober.

Arlo and Frankie both know they are meant to be together but it remains to be seen whether they can work it out. Their romantic bond is somewhat iffy but the familial bond remains strong. Frankie has to consider if he’ll return to his life in Seattle which no longer feels like home. For now, they’ll take it one day at a time.

“For everything we’ve endured and experienced together, “friends” was inadequate. Whether I liked to admit it or not, he’d always been my other half in every way. And even after all this time, that connection was reignited the second I laid eyes on him. It didn’t matter that we’d done and said unforgivable things. I knew down to the marrow of my bones that he was mine and I was his.”

My only lament is that I wish the story had more angst. The men hurt each other terribly in the past and now they reconcile a little too easily. I would’ve enjoyed their troubles being expanded upon and their romance highlighted more. It all happened too quickly.

Lennox is set up to star in the next book with not one, but two men. I’m not big on MMM but I look forward to this book because I like all the siblings and Lennox’s love interests, plus I love Marley Valentine’s writing. Unwanted is a very enjoyable start to the series. Recommended.

RATING:

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