Reviewed by Anna Lynn

TITLE:  Rayne: A True Lover’s Story

SERIES:  True Lover’s Stories

AUTHOR:  A.E. Via

PUBLISHER:  Via Star Wings Books

LENGTH: 413 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 22, 2022

BLURB:

He was the light to his darkness, the calm that broke through the storm.

Mike Stockley has taken care of himself since he was thirteen years old. Growing up on his own made him smart; joining the Devil Wreckers gang made him dangerous. He learned how to read a man’s intent with one look in his eyes, and he knew how to change it with one swipe of his blade. Mike’s street knowledge and f**k-all attitude made him notorious. His frightening reputation made him Big Mike.

Now at forty-eight, Mike has a successful landscaping business and is away from the gang lifestyle, but he kept the skills he learned and the mindset—meaning Mike is just as feared in the streets as he always was, making him a force to be reckoned with. But what it didn’t make him was relationship material. Mike is hot-tempered and quick to jump, but he’s capable of being talked down when he has the right person in his ear.

Rayne Montgomery grew up on the right side of the tracks. He was used to having money and the finer things in life. But after being shunned by his high-class family for being gay, Rayne had to learn how to survive on his own. He has the looks, charm, the suave voice, and the body to get whatever he desires, and Rayne knows exactly what kind of man to con in order to get it.

All destructive conditions come with challenges, and Rayne’s are no different. He knows he has to change his life but he’s terrified and lonely. With the help and support of his friend Wood, he knows he can beat this disease. He can stop making the same mistakes and live happily ever after as a recovered sex addict.

Rayne just has to find a man strong enough to truly love him.

REVIEW:

This is the third and final book after Bishop and Wood in the True Lover’s Trilogy from Ms. A.E. Via. It tells the lives and love stories of the Stockley/Montgomery men. We met Bishop and Edison in the first book, Trent and Wood in the second book, and this third book is the story of their Dad, Mike, and the man he met and fell in love with, Rayne.

Mike had Bishop when he was 15 years old. He (thought) fell in love with an older woman and before he knew it, he was dumped along with his son in a hospital room. He was just 15 at the time. He never thought he would have that kind of responsibility at that age, he didn’t know what to do. Luckily he found someone who decided to help him and keep him under her wings, along with his infant son. It was never easy for Mike, he treated Bishop like a younger brother rather than a son. It was the only way he knew how to treat him. He knew he should have done a lot of things differently when he look back at it now, and he will always try to make up for all those years.

Mike now owns a very successful landscaping business along with his best friend, Manny. His son, Bishop, has branch out on his own using his designs for landscaping as well. His son is very happy living and getting engaged with his boyfriend, Edison. Meanwhile, Trent has a successful construction business and is living with his boyfriend, Wood, in the trailer that used to be Mike’s home. Mike is happy and content. But one day, this guy ran into Wood’s shop seeking Wood for help. Mike was never the same after that. That was the day he met Rayne. What he thought were feelings buried a long time ago began to surface again, and this time he can’t and won’t stop it. He is too old for all those worries.

Rayne has his best friend Wood who will always be there for him. He was diagnosed as a Sex Addict because of what he used to do to men before his rehabilitation. He came from a “well-off” family. But things went bad when his father caught him in a compromising situation one day. He was given some money and requested to leave the family, for good. When his money ran out, the only way he could think of that time was to use men for all the things he needed, rent, food, clothes, travel, etc. When he realized what he had become, he sought help and ever since he has been trying to lead a new life.

These two people have had their own crosses to bear, committed some things that forever changed their lives but they are now determined to live a good life worthy of themselves. They both are looking for that special someone to fall in love with, grow old with and be happy and content with.

When things became complicated with his living arrangements with Wood and Trent, Mike swoop in and offered for Rayne to live with him. Things just felt right from the start. Although there were instances when one of them wanted to do something but due to their busy schedules at work, for Mike, and at work and school for Rayne, it didn’t stop them from finding ways to make it all work.

I have said this before, these characters are real-life people who face real-life challenges and they are navigating their way through it just like you or me. Situations might differ, but the feelings and the struggles are as real as what you and I face in our daily lives. I love the way that Ms. A.E. Via incorporated reality into these amazing characters’ lives. I love the feeling of family, friendship and love in these men who call themselves family. I love the struggles and coping mechanisms that these characters go through and how family factors in all of it. Found families are blessings, they are as real and true as your blood family, and sometimes even better than your own.

Congratulations Ms. A.E. Via, once again you have me swoon and fall in love!

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon