Trusting your instincts can have unexpected consequences…
Craig is a website designer. He spends much of his time happily chained to his desk and, as a boyfriend, he looks after the home while his partner works. It’s all about balance.
Alex is a workaholic doctor, often covering others’ shifts because a busy hospital is where he is most comfortable. He doesn’t have much of a social life even … have much of a social life even with his best friend dragging him out. He knows nothing about balance.
But Craig’s life is not as picture perfect as it appears… And when Alex has to patch him up, he realises something is amiss with Craig’s relationship. Craig is just another patient, but Alex can’t let him go back into a dangerous situation.
But when Alex reaches out, Craig’s boyfriend sees him as a threat and Craig’s carefully balanced life falls apart – under the fists of the man who has promised to love him.
As a doctor, Alex can heal Craig’s body, but it is up to Craig to learn to heal his own heart… and maybe, give love another chance.
This book contains sensitive matieral that could be a trigger for some
Books can be read as standalones.
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This is something close to my heart. Domestic abuse is hard to deal with. Eloise does a really good job with these characters. I was surprised because people don’t recognise it when their in the middle of it. And most authors don’t realize how true that is.
This was a slow burn build up of the relationship that developes between Craig, the abused and Alex, the doctor who wants to save him. They have to build trust and friendship first. I loved it.
MM hurt/comfort romance with male domestic abuse featured in the storyline. Easy to read, page turner, slow burn, emotional story. When Alex attends to Craig in A+E he knows something bad is happening to his patient, he finds himself drawn to Craig and feels protective towards him. An emotive storyline that some may struggle with, written well and sympathetically.
M/M
Doctor/patient
Warning Graphic physical abuse
I had a really hard time getting into this book I was not expecting the whole first 50% to be “the past”. I have no patience for people who stay in bad relationships. I prefer to read books where the person is already out of that situation at the start of the book. I probably should have checked to see what it all entailed before I agreed to read it but I love Elouise writing and just blindly said yes. I did however love the second half. I’d probably rate the first half 2 stars and second half 5 stars. So about a 3.5 overall.
I loved Dr. Alex right from the start. He was so sweet and had all those protective and caring swoony characteristics. They were the perfect match. They had great chemistry. Despite not being a fan of this topic I thought the authors writing was fantastic as always and I was definitely interested in the story and couldn’t put it down. Even in the beginning when I wasn’t that into the topic I just had to keep reading to get to get to the good stuff cause I knew with this author that it would turn out fantastic. This is very low heat and very angsty but was also a nice quick read.
What I loved most was the world building and the group of friends. It just makes u want to read all the books in the series to get to know the other characters that all just a fabulous bunch.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Even though contemporary isn’t my favourite M/M genre, it had a lot of the things I personally love to see in any M/M romance, especially when it comes to stuff one (or both) of the main characters has to go through to get their HEA (what can I say, I’m a sucker for physical angst and hurt/comfort). If I’m honest though, the characters and especially the dialogue felt a bit unrealistic at times. I just couldn’t imagine people talking like that IRL – it didn’t feel very natural to me despite the realism of the situation overall, if that makes sense – and that brought down my experience as a whole. Even so, it was an interesting read.
This is a GREAT story. This is Book #4 in this AMAZING Crush Series. It can be read as a standalone but this is an amazing cast of characters. Alex who is a doctor meets Craig when he is brought in on a stretcher. Something about him calls to Alex. Craig may never be the same. ELOUISE EAST did an outstanding job of showing that life changes take time. Change takes place through perseverance and determination. I thought this was an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL story. Both of these men were determined that Craig make a full recovery. Alex and Craig’s story was magnificently written with care and love. I really enjoyed this book. I was thrilled to see the gang from Crush to see how they are now. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND THIS IMPRESSIVE SERIES!!!!!
Wow. This book had me all up in my feels but I m rating it high because This my 1st book from Elouise East and knocked my socks off .
This book is not a typical romance, since the characters are not together for the vast majority of the book. They do meet early on, and they have a strong connection, but Craig has to get out of an abusive relationship (and admit it’s abusive) and go through a lot of emotional growth before he can be ready to try love again. Alex has his own growing to do, but he pines after Craig constantly. I really liked both me, as well as their friends and families. This wasn’t an easy road to happily ever after, but it was a strong story of healing with some terrific feels. I now want to read the other books in the series, since I need to know more about the couples I got to see here.
Withing this series all stories were great, but this one takes the lead! A heartwrenching subject and great characters make for a binge read position you won’t want to put down!