Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE Rebuilding Year
SERIES: Reconstruction
AUTHOR: A.M. Arthur
PUBLISHER: Briggs-King Books
LENGTH: 282 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2024
BLURB:
Can two very different men fake a relationship for the sake of a life-changing inheritance?
Angelo Voltini can seduce anyone he sets his eyes on, but now that he’s forty, his hookup habit is wearing thin. He wants something real but doesn’t know how to get it. When his mentor dies and a business-saving inheritance hinges on Angelo being in a committed relationship, he impulsively nominates his newest tenant for the job.
Bryan Gillespie is recently paroled and still finding his footing in the outside world. He barely has time to be a good brother, uncle, and employee, never mind think of romance. Angelo’s shocking proposal—fake it for a percentage—catches him off-guard. And intrigues him. Bryan is attracted to Angelo in all the right (and wrong) ways, but he’s leery of dating his landlord—even if the relationship is supposedly fake.
Their chemistry is real and explosive, and neither man can resist the other’s pull. But what kind of future can two men have when what they’re building is set on a foundation of lies?
Rebuilding Year contains an uptight home renovator with commitment issues, an ex-con with a lot to prove, lessons in secrets and forgiveness, and adult sexual situations that include voyeur/exhibition role-play.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the second book in this series and does contain major spoilers for the first book. While technically it could be read as a standalone, I think it’s much better to have read the first book for context around Bryan, Angelo, Russell and Patrick. And Frog 😉
Bryan Gillespie has recently gotten out of prison. He’s keeping his head down, working construction for Angelo at one of his projects and trying to repair his relationship with his brother Patrick and “nephew” Frog after being gone for 6 years. He’s keeping to the straight and narrow – no drinking, no drugs, no anything. He’s got several months left on his parole and he does not want to go back to prison. The reason he did what he did was valid, but he still shouldn’t have done it. It changed the trajectory of a lot of lives. He’s getting used to the quiet and being alone, but he doesn’t love it especially since before he was in prison, he was a musician who travelled and make a lot of money and didn’t have a lot o responsibilities. Now his mother is gone and his brother has taken on a lot. Bryan is just grateful that Patrick has stuck by him and is helping him get back on this feet – even allowing him to stay with him. Patrick has since moved into the big house on the property where they live with his boyfriend Russell as has Frog, Patrick’s son.
Angelo is Russell’s best friend. They met in college and have been together through thick and thin. Russell has been renting the house he lives in for some time and now he has his boyfriend and son with him. Angelo is feeling a little bit jealous and out of sorts that he doesn’t just have free reign of Russell’s time any more. He’s not into relationships. He loves his family – his aunt and his cousins who he grew up with – but he holds them at arms length. He’s also dealing with some financial difficulty as he’s fully leverages with the houses he’s flipping and the freelance work he as relied on for renovations/designs has dried up a bit. The real estate market is slowing down and he’s quite worried. Then his mentor Joe dies. His relationship with Joe became complicated when Joe did some shady stuff to support a gambling habit he’d hidden from everyone and he ended up in jail. Angelo couldn’t believe it. He has really missed Joe and now he’s gone.
When Angelo meets Joe’s lawyer, he discovers that Joe had an offshore account and Joe is the sole beneficiary. But he can’t get the money until he’s in a stable relationship for at least 6 months. Angelo has never even had a real boyfriend or girlfriend! But he blurts out that he’s been seeing someone for a couple of months so hopefully he can get the money in 4. The person whose name he blurts out is Bryan Gillespie. Hilarious since the first time they met, Bryan decked him. He has no idea what led him to say that name, but there you have it. When the then goes over to Russell’s, he’s hoping to have time with him to vent about the Joe situation and drink, but there is an incident with Frog that has Russell and Patrick taking him to the ER. Bryan and Angelo end up together at the house and he finds out that a) Bryan does not drink and b) he is bi. He ends up exploding with the whole terrible awful day and telling Bryan what he told the lawyer. Bryan is taken aback and says the first thing that jumps into his head which is “why don’t you make a deal with someone for a cut of the cash” which Angelo takes to mean Bryan would be interested. He’s really not though – at least not in a payday per se. Again, keeping his head down and finishing his probation.
When Angelo ends up injured and seems to be needing some help. Bryan and Angelo embark on somewhat of a friendship. Then a friendship with benefits with the additional bonus of fulfilling the stipulations of the will and getting their hands on the money that Joe has left. But of course the way is NOT smooth. Angelo is pretty set in his ways and has plenty of his own baggage. He and Bryan have to work on themselves individually as well. Both are guarded although for different reasons. Angelo is blustery and Bryan is quiet so they have very different personalities. Their friendship grows to something more over the time they spend together and it’s a good thing.
I enjoyed this second story in this series although I did kind of want to slap Angelo upside the head more than once. He’s stubborn and he very much has a public persona that hides his softer side. He’s been through a lot and it’s understandable, but he takes a while to get it together. Bryan is really trying to learn from his mistakes and he doesn’t want to jump into anything when he’s so close to getting his life back and rebuilding his relationship with his family. Russell is a great friend and he and Patrick are supportive when these guys need it. I’d love to see Nat, Angelo’s “ex” get his HEA and see more of Angelo’s family. As usual with an AM Arthur story, there is a lot of personal growth and love and found family to be had. Recommended
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