Reviewed by True
TITLE: I’m Not in Love
SERIES: Don’t Let Go #1
AUTHOR: Mia Kerick
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 264 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2022
BLURB:
I’m not in love…
I’m not in love…
I will never let myself fall in love with Tristan Wilder.
And maybe if I tell myself this a thousand times, I’ll believe it.
Having lost his parents to a tragic accident when he was a child, wealthy hotel heir Remi (Julian Remington III) refuses to form intimate emotional bonds, fearing a repeat of the crushing loss that destroyed his youth. This means no deep friendships, no heartfelt family ties, and God forbid should he ever fall in love… Well, it’s safe to say he will never let that happen.
However, as a senior at the most prestigious art college in Garner City—his last year of freedom before he’s required to take his place at the top of the Remington family empire—Remi freely explores sexual intimacy with “distractingly” beautiful men. And he does so with enthusiasm—how better to distract himself from the temptation to experience tender human connection?
Remi’s plans for emotional isolation are shook up when he meets Tristan Wilder, a nude model for his life drawing class. Stunningly beautiful from head to toe—and inside his heart, as well—Tristan struggles to scrape together enough money to support his twin sister, Tara, and her three young children. Like Remi, “Uncle Tris” is unwilling to enter a romantic relationship—his responsibility to family is all-consuming. As the men take a chance on casual friendship, Remi comes to admire Tristan’s devotion to his family. And with Remi’s surprisingly doting attention to Tara’s children, he works his way into Tristan’s heart.
Tristan is finally all in, but can commitment phobic Remi lower his walls enough to allow Tristan—and the entire Wilder family—into his heart?
REVIEW:
Remi (Julian Remington III, yes he’s coming from money) has a goal, to get Tristan, the beautiful model of his art class, into bed. Nothing more. Remi has distanced himself from every form of bonding, never get too close so you’ll never feel hurt again, ever!
It worked, he’s lonely but that’s just okay, he guess. Only one-night stands with guys works for him. Getting Tristan into bed is harder than he expected, the guy wants to be friends, oh well, he can do.
First friends, then hop in bed, then retreat.
Tristan works his ass off to support his twin sister and her three kids, they are his world.
The guy in the art class is lusting after him. He has no time for distraction. Still, he’s kind and even wants to be his friend, just friends he can do.
From a social point, they are opposite, Tristan has no money to spend and Remi has too much.
Tristan has a beautiful busy family, his sister, three small kids, a sight to the eyes. Remi has just his grandparents on a monthly phone call.
Emotionally they have many similarities, they aren’t aware of!
Dang, Tristan is everything Remi is avoiding his whole life, friendship, family, fun, feelings, so many feelings.
Emotionally Remi is complicated and that’s an understatement, he’s not the only one.
What we can witness is a struggling friendship (romance is the forbidden word), sometimes awkward and uncomfortable, especially Remi, when he reacts immediately there’s a whole different guy than when he has time to think. Tristan letting himself fall in love with Remi is asking for heartbreak.
A lot is going on in terms of content, read it yourself!
What I can tell, there’s a mountain of hurt to overcome, and it’s all well developed.
Luckily the author excels in writing hurt comfort and I loved it all very much! My heart did break more than once. I loved how the characters were portrayed, sweet, flawed, emotional, lovable, even when unreachable and hidden behind walls, trying so hard not to get hurt and by that attempt getting hurt anyway!
Hurt comfort is one of my favorite topics and this one didn’t disappoint in any way!
All in all a captivatingly written hurt/comfort romance, with a comfortable pace and lovable characters!
RATING: 
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