Friend. Saviour. Lover.
Finding the courage to end his abusive relationship with his vicious boyfriend, Jamie turns to the one man he can rely on to help him get his life back on track. Ed’s not only his oldest and closest friend, he’s also the man Jamie has secretly loved for years.
But Jamie’s life isn’t getting back on track. Instead, a series of increasingly disturbing events force both … increasingly disturbing events force both Jamie and Ed to ask a stark question: is someone playing a dark and sinister game, or is Jamie’s losing his mind?
As fear and danger escalate, Jamie and Ed are running out of time — not only to uncover the truth behind what is happening, but also the truth about their feelings for one another.
Perilous Hearts is a friends to lovers romance intertwined with dark psychological suspense and is the third in the Deviant Hearts series. It can be read as a stand alone.
Note: this book was previously published under the name of A E Ryecart. The cover and description may (or may not) have changed, but the book title and contents remain the same as before.
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Shes done it again, written an incredible book. I started listening about midnight and had to finish it before I went to sleep.
We meet again the characters from the first two books, but only as cameos, you can still read as a stand alone.
Ed and Jamie the 2 main MC are childhood friends. The twist to this story are amazing and keep you listening.
It’s more a murder mystery with love, angst and a very good writer. A slow burn but who needs all the action in the first chapter. Brilliant book.
Jamie has had the most unfortunate run of luck with men, and after his breakup with his nasty ex-boyfriend, he is being stalked and gaslighted. He’s got his best friend Ed to lean on – Ed has always been there for him and always will be – the sparks are there between them, and they both wonder if they could be more for each other long term, or if they shouldn’t risk ruining a great friendship. I was on the edge of my seat, as the tension and danger factor slowly ramped up as the story progressed. I really liked Jamie’s relationship with Ed and their chemistry, and the brief appearances of other characters from the Deviant Hearts series in this story. Highly recommended!
I was gifted the audio file of this book.
My review for the audio bit of this book might well merge into the book bit, rather than be separate!
This is book 3 in the Deviant Hearts series, but can totally be a standalone to books one and two. So not necessary to read/listen to them but 5-star listens people! 5 stars!
And this one is too! This, I think, is my favourite of the three. Can’t pinpoint why, but hey, who cares! I bloody loved it!
How Jamie was still standing towards the end, I don’t know. Things were messing with MY head, and I was just strolling down the street listening to it all, poor Jamie and Ed were in the thick of it.
I must admit my spidey senses went off when a certain someone turned up, I think it was his voice that rang alarm bells and Mr Dan Calley (again narrating) NAILS the creepiness of that person, he really does.
Actually, Mr Calley nails the whole damn book!
He gets over all of Jamie’s spiral downward, his descent into a dark place, cos he doesn’t know if he’s losing his mind or something else is going on. He gets over all of Ed’s despair at not being able to help Jamie as he wants to, as much as he NEEDS to. He gets over all of the shiver that the certain character brings, Lord I’m shivering typing this up!
Ed and Jamie’s friendship moves into more slowly, it’s a gradual thing but once they decide to do it, they are all in. Once they jump all in, it’s obvious they were meant to be together, and the love they have for each jumps out all the time, even BEFORE they move into a physical relationship. They just didn’t see it for what it really was.
I will also admit, when things went down at the end, it went down differently to what I was imagining would be a conclusion. I have no idea WHAT my conclusion was gonna be, really I don’t, but you know I’m all about the book feelings and that’s what I felt!
It’s quite hard to write a long review, ranting and raving about how amazing this book and narrator is, while watching every word I type, cos one single tiny word could send things into spoilers for some and I don’t do spoilers!
I bloody LOVED it! So much so, I might even return to some other books Mr Calley has narrated that I had to leave off for a bit.
So, I’ll just leave you with this:
5 star book with
5 star narration so
5 stars overall!
Thank you, Ms Ryecart for my copy, I have loved all three of these, shame there won’t be any more!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
The third and last book in the Deviant Hearts series, Perilous Hearts dives into the realm of psychological suspense and mystery with a heart stopping, thrilling climax. Like the other two books in the series, this book can easily be read as a standalone, but familiar characters from book one and two make their appearances.
Jamie always falls for the wrong guy. First he falls for his best friend Ed during college, but Ed isn’t interested in relationships. Then he dates Tom, a level ten clinger, before he finally ends up with Callum, the charming turned abusive boyfriend. When that relationship ends, Jamie finds himself single for the first time in a while. It isn’t being single, especially with Callum being so vindictive, but Jamie has his best friend Ed to lean on for support. Everything is finally going right in Jamie’s life, until strange things start happening. Jamie doesn’t know if he’s going crazy from stress, or if someone is out to get him. The plot slowly builds, intensifying the feeling of living within a fractured reality, as well as ramping up the sexual tension between Jamie and Ed, until the thrilling conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat.
This was a fun, psychological thriller, with a strong slow burn romance. The relationship and connection Jamie and Ed with each other was intense, and watching them finally get their heads out of the sand and actually acknowledge the love and lust they had for each other had me cheering.
Dan Calley narrated the audiobook version of this novel and did a fantastic job. Dan’s voice is delicious and gorgeous, plus he has a gift for narrating different characters and making them sound distinct. I love the different types of British accents he did, and as an American listener, I had no trouble at all understanding the accents. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite new narrators.
5/30/20 Edited to add my comments on the audiobook performed by Dan Calley
Audio Review:
Story – 5
Performance – 5
Overall – 5
Fantastic performance, kept me on the edge of my seat.
I’ve now listened to about 8 audiobooks performed by Dan Calley and they just keep getting better and better. I’ve admitted before that it took this American girl a little bit to get used to his voice but once I did I really learned to appreciate all of the wonderful accents he does for the various characters in the books he performs.
I loved this book so much when it first came out as an e-book just over a year ago. Listening to it brought back all of the suspense and chills I felt when I first read it. Below is a copy of the review I wrote when the book was first published.
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Kept me on the edge of my seat!
Wow! I’m not really sure where to start. I’ve been reading books by A E Ryecart for a while now and I think her writing just keeps getting better and better. Perilous Hearts is the 3rd book in the Deviant Hearts series but it can be read as a standalone with no problem. You won’t feel lost at all if you haven’t read the first two books but I do highly recommend them as they are such great stories.
Perilous Hearts is a great psychological and suspenseful thriller. While you might guess who the bad guy is fairly easily, the thing this made this such and edge of my seat book for me was not being able to guess what he was going to do next.
The story is also a great friends-to-lovers one – which is one of my favorite romance tropes. Jamie and Ed have been best friends for years but never crossed the line to become lovers; one of them always seemed to be in a relationship when the other was free or else they’d sworn off of relationships all together in favor of just not involving their hearts.
When things start going bad for Jamie, Ed wants to protect him at all costs and he finally comes to realize how much he wants to be more than just friends. Jamie has always wanted to be more than friends but the timing was never right. Now he is leaning on Ed more and more as it becomes apparent that someone is after him and trying to drive him out of his mind.
While I was reading Perilous Hearts I wished so much that I could read it straight through. Unfortunately, real life just wouldn’t allow me to do that so it took me a couple of days to finish it. When I was able to settle down and read, I didn’t want to stop. The story was gripping and just wouldn’t let me go. I knew that there would be an HEA for Jamie and Ed but the author sure put this reader through the ringer to get me there – in the best way, of course. I can’t wait to see what A E Ryecart comes up with next.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
4.25 stars
Heat Level: 2.5
What a twisted thrill! A great psychological thriller with very slow-burn friends to lovers trope.
I liked this story and it kept me guessing as to how it would end! I loved the psychological aspects as they were so subtle and I could see the characters second-guessing themselves. Very well done.
It is a longer book and it felt both slow and fast in different parts. Best friends Jaime and Ed seemed to be a couple already, that did everything but sleep together. As they progress to lovers very slowly in some ways as they were basically already in love, some elements seemed faster. I could feel for Jaime as he second-guesses himself and his sanity. I felt for him every time he had to deal with his dirtbag ex. Ed is ever the protector and wants to protect and care for Jaime but I liked how Jaime stood up for himself even when it was a little foolish. I loved the secondary characters and I’m guessing they have their own story I now need to read!
I’ll say it again but the psychological elements were so twisted and well done I was on edge for much of the book. It’s a twisted ride and I’m still reeling from the thrill!!
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One of those books that I started reading and couldn’t put down. The heat factor was lower than in most of this author’s books, but the love between the main characters was still really enjoyable to read about. Although I guessed early on who was behind the “goings on”, the storyline is excellent and I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Getting out of an abusive relationship can often become more difficult than anticipated. Jamie has help and support in his best friend, Ed, and with his care and concern Jamie begins to live his life again. Watching them navigate the tricky waters of second chances and friends becoming more, Jamie and Ed show just how much they rely on one another, just how deeply their hearts have always been connected. I enjoyed them when they finally got on the same page. What was harder to watch was Jamie’s stubborn refusal to set appropriate boundaries at the same time as accepting the help that was offered. While they eventually got it together and worked things out, I struggled with how long it took to get there.
Jamie and Ed were made for one another and their friendship was truly incredible. I loved watching Ed’s support despite swallowing his feelings for Jamie. It’s obvious that his first real foray into love and commitment crashed and burned, so his fear of trusting his heart to someone else was believable, and yet he couldn’t help his deep affection for Jamie. Timing was just not on their side over and over again, but when Ed finally offered everything to Jamie it was so sweet and simple that I cheered when they finally took the plunge.
Jamie was hard for me to connect with right from the start, unfortunately. At virtually every turn he shut out those that could help him, those that could truly love him the way he craved, and ran headlong into difficult situations. His desperate need to be independent cut him off at the knees and put him in harm’s way over and over again and I found myself continually disappointed by his behavior. I did feel that he could be the best partner for Ed, but it took me nearly the entire book to warm up to him as an individual.
Ed’s paranoia turned out to be legitimate and while appreciative of the Devil’s advocate position Lee took with his concerns, it bothered me that that became the focus rather than making strides to find out who was covertly tormenting Jamie. On the other hand, Lee really did have a life of his own and can’t drop everything each time Ed has a concern. In that way, I couldn’t argue with how events proceeded. Overall, though, the way the plot was pushed forward was the most difficult thing to enjoy because it made Jamie seem weak, Ed seem paranoid, and Lee seem unhelpful. None of those things were actually true, but I don’t think that was articulated as best it could have been.
The ending was sweet and full of healing in an alternative way that didn’t include counseling. I felt it worked quite well since everyone’s coping and healing paths are different. It was refreshing and fitting and so full of hope. Jamie and Ed found their happiness and a way to move forward together and heal from all the pain their tormentors caused.