Eddie Alexander never meant to go to Cherry Creek.Faster than he could unmake a bed, Eddie’s life is turned upside down and he’s out of school with nowhere to go but a home that’s never been his. When he gets to Cherry Creek, the first face he sees is Charlie Motel, his best friend’s brother and also his lifelong crush.Charlie has always been the caretaker of his family, filling the roles of … filling the roles of absentee father, loving mother, shoulder to cry on, tolerant husband, and whatever anyone else asked of him. He’s tired, he’s alone, and then Eddie shows up in need of help with an offer Charlie never saw coming.
Charlie’s answer is yes.
Eddie takes control and, for the first time in years, Charlie feels like he can breathe. He’s free of other people’s problems, he’s living his own life, and under Eddie’s thoughtful guidance, he can truly be faultless.
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Faultless is #3 in the Room for Love series. It is a 69,000 word romance that explores a childhood crush being made real, learning to trust, learning to let go, and finding love where you least expect it. Faultless has EVERYTHING you would expect from a Kate Hawthorne book…and more.
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I waited for Charlie’s book and it was perfect 🙂 Especially the twist of his love interest. Hot and sweet, Charlie definitely deserved this story!
When Eddie gets kicked out of school for sleeping with one of his professors, and with his dad, Luke, and his boyfriend, Cameron, are away on a cruise, the only person Eddie can turn to is Charlie, Cameron’s older brother. The man that Eddie has had a crush on for quite a long time. Charlie carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, but Eddie just might be the one man who can help him forget, even if it’s just for a little while. This is a great age-gap, best friend’s brother story. It was a great low-angst read that fell in line nicely with the rest of the story. I really love this series and I really enjoyed reading Charlie and Eddie’s story. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.
Eddie and Charlie were everything I’ve been waiting for and so much more! I adored this book.
Wow! I thought I knew what I’m in for with this story. I was SO wrong!
This story was so beautiful! It’s hot as sin, but first and foremost, the dynamics between Charlie and Eddie were so beautifully crafted! There are so many difficult emotions here and all explored with skill and amazing depth! Loved every second of the guys’ growth!
Wow I knew this book was Charlie and Eddie’s story but the dominant character surprised me! Well done on another great story in this series!
Yay for KU releases allowing me to read read read!
This story was so good! While everyone else brought all their problems to oldest Motel brother Charlie, it was wonderful to see Eddie wanting to take care of him. In return, Charlie helped Eddie to figure out what he wanted his next steps to be in life, as Eddie still tried to adjust to his father’s relationship with Charlie’s baby brother. (Luke and Cameron’s book was Heartless.) The age gap between Charlie and Eddie didn’t bother me at al, and these two were so good together!
I really enjoyed getting to see all the characters in Cherry Creek from different points of view. This series, and the intertwined stories from E.M. Lindsey, all set in the lovely small town of Cherry Creek, are engrossing and full of love. I loved Eddie and Charlie’s romance, and I look forward to the next book in this world.
I adored Cameron and Luke in Reckless (Book 1). Then I read Heartless (Book 2) and was convinced that Levi and James would be my favorite couple in this series. But Eddie and Charlie stole my heart completely and now I’m wondering how wrecked I’ll be after reading the last two books in this series. These books are incredible, and I love that as I read each one I’m understanding the Motel brothers’ family dynamic more and more.
Charlie is the oldest Motel brother, the father figure to the rest of the brothers. He’s a caretaker and a helper, and he spends all his time worrying about everyone else and trying to control everything around him. He’s made it his job to fix everyone else’s problems so that his mind stays busy and distracted from the mess his personal life has become. The only selfish thing he ever took for himself was Marius, his emotionally manipulative ex-husband who had a long string of affairs before their marriage ended. At the beginning of this book, Charlie is lonely and worn out from life.
Eddie is Cameron Motel’s best friend and Luke’s son. When I met him in Reckless, I made a bunch of assumptions about what kind of person he is and I’m blown away by just how wrong I was. Eddie presents a carefree, confident persona to the world but in reality is struggling with abandonment issues. He’s had a string of hookups that make him feel validated and valued but has never let anyone get close enough to hurt him when they walk away. He’s very aware of his own emotions and fears, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to make himself important enough to not be left behind. When this story picks up, Eddie’s just been kicked out of college for fucking his professor and needs a place to stay.
When Eddie shows up at the Cherry Creek hotel, Charlie swoops in to solve all his problems. What he doesn’t expect is for Eddie to seduce him and see straight through him. In just a few hours, Eddie exposes how toxic Charlie’s life has become and demands that he take a break from shouldering everyone else’s burdens. With Eddie’s help, Charlie is finally able to relax and let go of some control.
I absolutely loved the dynamic between Eddie and Charlie. Eddie is dominant and caring without being controlling or overbearing. He gives Charlie the safety to tell other people “no” without feeling guilty. Neither man expects their relationship to be more than a temporary indulgence, but as the days go by they fall deeper and deeper for each other. Just when it seems like they’re ready to open themselves up completely, Cameron comes back from vacation and all of Charlie’s bad habits re-emerge.
Eddie and Charlie have to do some serious soul-searching before they’re ready to give their relationship a real shot. Charlie has to learn how to put himself first without using Eddie’s dominance as a crutch and let everyone else live their own lives. Eddie has to come to terms with his fear of abandonment, anger towards Luke, and self-loathing. In some ways, I think the time that Charlie and Eddie spend apart is more important than when they initially come together. Without space to sort themselves out, Eddie and Charlie would never have talked about the painful, messy parts of their lives. Only after some self-reflection could the two of them explore the deepest, most intimate parts of their love.
Though Eddie and Charlie’s romance is definitely the focus of this story, I felt like so many other important things happened in this book. The tangled mess of Luke and Cameron and Charlie and Eddie finally reached a breaking point, and they all had to talk it out instead of ignoring how complicated their lives have become. Eddie had one last confrontation with Kevin to seal off any chance of him coming back into Eddie’s life. The one-year contract to stay in Cherry Creek ended and each brother had to decide if they’re going to stay or leave. Best of all, Andy is finally back! I’m absolutely dying to see what comes next for these brothers. While a lot of their issues were resolved in this book, there’s still so much more I want to know about this family!
**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.
Charlie and Eddie aren’t what I expected but they are oh so much better for it. This book is very much about growing pains, accepting new/changing roles and setting boundaries. With Eddie its not completely surprising that a young college guy would still be learning all these things, even when he’s wise for his age and thinks he’s got this adulting thing down. But Charlie had put his life on hold so he could raise his brothers, forgot how to let go when they grew up and never does anything for himself. There’s a wonderful give and take to their relationship dynamic. It’s not strictly defined, its just who they are and what they need from each other at any given moment.
Emotion ruled this book. Charlie learning to balance prioritizing his own needs and finding the boundaries that let him enjoy being a brother. Eddie reaching a breaking point over his feelings of abandonment and inadequacy. Some of these feels were loose ends from Reckless, Eddie’s relationships with his dad Luke and his best friend Cameron. Charlie’s steadiness helps to settle Eddie and in return Eddie gives Charlie permission to let go and be a little selfish.
We’re now over halfway through the quirky Motel brothers and I love everything about them and Cherry Creek. The vibrant personalities of the town help to keep these crazy brothers grounded. Small town life has never held so much appeal and I can’t wait for more.
Oh the growing pains of being a teenager….or nearly 40! Book #3 in the lovely Motel brothers series is another hit! This time a look inside the father-figure/caregiver eldest brother Charlie and his pretty naughty interludes with his youngest brother’s best friend Eddie.
Oh, where could this even go, because alk about opposites attract – younger/older, dominate/more submissive, More carefree/very careful…but when Charlie and Eddie come together there’s no doubting it. They worked for each other in such an unexpected and seamlessly beautiful way. After the first two books in this series, I knew that unconventional relationships had become the prevailing theme of the series. I’ve come to appreciate this the most about the brother’s books and this time Hawthorne chooses to take a sweet approach to a power exchange; and boy was I happy to read something like this book.
These men don’t really have a contract or are necessarily kink-minded. They just need certain things in a partner, that they may not have fully understood till meeting each other again, and it ended in an exchange of power that was so uniquely fluid. They didn’t dictate their relationship based on modern dynamics, and they didn’t question the roles each of them took with one another. The give and take was a healthy exchange of love and care that they both so desperately wanted to give one another. It was incredible to read two thoroughly different men intuitively understand the masks the other showed to their families and the world. And when they took them away from one another, it allowed both of them to grow individually towards understanding their own needs, emotions, and boundaries for the first time. The result was this beautiful story of Charlie and Eddie finding the place they are most comfortable ‘being’ in the world.
So, I can’t wait to see what else comes of the brothers in the next few books. As Brad and Andy, the least talked about brothers, will get their time to shine. Though Charlie’s book does start giving hints as to the changes they may be experiencing and leading to their own growth.
10/10 – another wonderful addition to a stellar series and a little obsessively consumed, because I love the town of Cherry Creek as much as I do the residents. 😉
Side note: Parker was teased as a bulldozing, train wreck of a town comedian. I can’t wait to see him trying to give himself a high five in an upcoming Cherry Creek Universe book!
This story wasn’t what I expected from these 2 characters but that is NOT a bad thing. Charlie and Eddie were a surprise behind closed doors and what we had seen in previous books. Eddie has grown a lot since book 1 and I can’t wait to spot him around Cherry Creek in more books.
Faultless is the third book in the Room for Love series by Kate Hawthorne. This contemporary m/m romance has a best friend’s brother theme with an age gap. This story has angst, humor, sweetness and steam…along with family drama. I loved seeing the dynamics between the brothers for the over arching plot of the series. And the main plot of this book was fun and sweet, with just enough heat. Charlie and Eddie are great and I loved them together. Cant wait to read more books in series, so far they are all fantastic.