The hardest thing a rebel can do isn’t standing up for something–it’s standing up for himself. Life takes delight in stabbing Gus Scott in the back when he least expects it. After Gus spends years running from his past, present, and the dismal future every social worker predicted for him, karma delivers the one thing Gus could never–would never–turn his back on: a son from a one-night stand … one-night stand he’d had after a devastating breakup a few years ago.
Returning to San Francisco and to 415 Ink, his family’s tattoo shop, gave him the perfect shelter to battle his personal demons and get himself together… until the firefighter who’d broken him walked back into Gus’s life.
For Rey Montenegro, tattoo artist Gus Scott was an elusive brass ring, a glittering prize he hadn’t the strength or flexibility to hold on to. Severing his relationship with the mercurial tattoo artist hurt, but Gus hadn’t wanted the kind of domestic life Rey craved, leaving Rey with an aching chasm in his soul.
When Gus’s life and world starts to unravel, Rey helps him pick up the pieces, and Gus wonders if that forever Rey wants is more than just a dream.
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Rebel is the first book in Rhys Ford’s new series 451 Ink. Centered around a group of men who’ve worked to make a safe place for their extended family, the novels will tell their stories. Coming from broken homes, these guys have all been through horrific events, which results in some intense relationships and a dynamic that promises to never be dull. Knowing the writing of Rhys Ford, I think it’s safe to say that future books in this series will be as heart-wrenching and compelling as Rebel.
There are some exceptional factors that play into this group of men, and there’s so much damage my heart just went out to these guys. We get to see some of the support networks they’ve set in place, and they’re all looking out for each other, but I can’t imagine how anyone can truly overcome the horrors they’ve lived through.
Three years after their painful breakup, Gus Scott and Ray Montenegro bump into each other when Gus moves back to town. Their friends and family are completely intertwined, so these two have got to find a way to co-exist. Their intense attraction is clear from the moment they meet, and it’s almost as strong as the animosity and the bad memories.
Communication between Gus and Ray is direct and honest, which turned out to be one of my favorite parts of this story. A slow-burn doesn’t work for me when the characters are constantly misunderstanding each other, or failing to just say what the heck the problem is. Gus tells Ray how much it hurt when Ray kicked him to the curb. He explains why other factors in his life make it impossible to consider getting back together right now. Likewise, Ray publicly vows to win him back.
As the horrific events of Gus’ life come to light, it becomes clear that anyone looking for a relationship with him is going to need patience and understanding. The abuse, neglect, and downright cruelty he lived through as a boy made me cringe. Please note the trigger warnings if you’re sensitive about stories of child abuse. Rhys Ford has created an intense backstory for Gus and she doesn’t spare the details.
Ray realizes right quick that he screwed up. Gus is everything Ray wants and he goes all out to prove he can be there, in whatever capacity Gus needs. While Gus welcomes all the support he can get, and admits the attraction to Ray is still there, he stresses he can’t become involved with someone who is going to distract him or kick him to the curb when the going gets rough. A true partner for Gus is going to have to learn the details of his damage, accept it, and incorporate that knowledge into becoming the person Gus needs in his life right now. Ray is going to have to do some serious work to prove he’s the right man for Gus.
The sexual tension between Ray and Gus mounts continually throughout the story and waiting for them to get together wasn’t easy. After all, what would a Rhys Ford romance be without the smokin’ hot sex? Well trust me when I tell you that, WOW was it worth the wait!
Rebel is filled with the beautiful writing I always expect from Rhys Ford. Her descriptions of everyday things always make me smile. The color of the sheets on an unmade bed are dark, “a blue found in the fold of twilight and shadows.” Isn’t that a moving way to describe a messy bed?
There are some seriously fun, lighthearted moments in Rebel too. There were a couple good Easter eggs for us die hard fans, and I probably missed a few, distracted as I was by Tristan James’ soft, sultry, sexy voice. The low rumble that naturally comes out when he reads the romantic scenes? Gah, I’m a molten puddle on the floor. Let’s just say Tristan James could read me the phone book, but when he has the opportunity to read the beautifully poetic writing of Rhys Ford, I’m a goner.
Vodka and tissues required.
Rhys Ford is probably the most well versed Author in the genre. Seriously, the woman can write an entire chapter on why the sky is blue and keep you completely enthralled. At the end of the chapter your heart is racing, eyes damp and you almost rip the page from the book quickly flipping to the next chapter.
Gus Scott is fuuuuuuucked up! Seriously, he’s lived a very hard, bitter life. He has trust issues, hell, his trust issues have trust issues. Allowing himself to love Rey would only cause more pain so Gus does what he does best, he runs.
Rey Montenegro wants so much more from Gus than he can give so when Gus walks away, Rey doesn’t fight for him, for them. So, when Gus rolls back into town, Rey is still hurt and far from ready to talk. But these two men are cut from the same cloth, opposite sides of the same coin.
I can’t say much more for fear of giving something away. All I’ll say is everything you’re expecting from this book because it’s written by Rhys Ford, it’s so much more. Heart breaking, gut wrenching, stab you in stomach and tear out your insides, tie them in a knot then shove them back inside and staple your wound shut. But it’s also a story about family, the kind of family you make with the people you love and trust that have bled the same shit as you. There’s also the intense, passionate love between two men that deserve to happy.
IT’S SO GOOD. I am a sucker for found family, loyalty, lost boys, the weight of mistakes and mis-steps, and second chances, and Rebel delivers beautifully, packed in Ford’s brand of texture and color – infused prose.
For those who are Sinner’s Gin fans, there are references all the way through, and that… was more poignant than I was prepared for. There are other references, too, adding if you know, not detracting if you don’t. Beautifully done.
For the first time ever, I’ll buy the book when it comes out, too. I want the polished version when I read it again. 🙂
Re-read finished the end of March 2018: I loved it even more. Now I am VERY ready for the next book!
Rebel is a book about second chances, family bonds, and love. Gus is a tattoo artist who’s been bounced from foster home to foster home until his brother-cousin Bear finally gets custody of him. Growing up in a family forged by love and hardship, Gus has experienced horrors no child should ever experience. These traumas have left their mark on his soul and color the decisions Gus makes as he makes his way through adulthood. Rey is a firefighter who was pulled (literally) into Gus’ family one fateful night when Rey’s father set his house on fire. Bear and Mason, another brother, pulled Rey and his mother out of the flames, and in the glow of the blaze, Rey lays eyes on Gus for the first time. At first, Rey’s and Gus’ love for each other is strong and intense as any fire, but it soon gets out of their control and they end up burning each other. Stung from the pain of the end of the relationship Gus runs away. The plot really starts with Gus coming back ready to heal and move forward with his life.
I’m a little conflicted with this book. I liked the writing style and storyline, but I disliked the plot structure. I felt like I was constantly working trying to figure out what was going on and why all these characters had such deep and heavy baggage. There were points where the book became really tedious because I just didn’t understand why the characters were so damaged. Instead of constantly making each character trauma some big reveal, I feel like the book would have been much more enjoyable if I the readers had more of inkling of what’s going on sooner in the book. There were points where I skimmed ahead so I could FINALLY figure out why a character was acting the way they were, before going back to read the story. The end of the book got really good, and I enjoyed it immensely, but since the first part was so tedious I can only rate this 3 stars overall, although the last portion of the book felt like 4 stars.
4.25 stars
“Rebel” by Rhys Ford is the first book in the ‘415 Ink’ series. The story follows Gus Scott as he reconnects with his brothers of the heart and steps up to assume responsibility for the son he made on one of the darkest nights of his life. As he tries to rebuild his life, he must find a way to deal with his ex, who is still very much integrated into Gus’ family…and his heart.
This intense adult contemporary gay romance provides an introduction to a fascinating family made up of brothers who have been through hell and come out with an unshakeable bond. I love that they accept each other for who they are (despite grumblings and disagreements) and that they are supportive. Everyone in this story has a painful past and demons they are fighting, which tends to lead to sometimes very heated disagreements and the need to remember who the real enemy is or is not.
I like getting the flavor of some of the distinctly ethnic areas of San Francisco (and was frequently hungry after reading some of the scenes, lol). I understand that this is the beginning of a series, but I had the feeling that I was coming in on the middle instead of the beginning, so I wonder if there is a series that preceded this novel. Occasionally I felt a bit overwhelmed by trying to follow the various threads of these guys’ lives and wondering about past events. Despite that, I enjoyed getting to know these men and I look forward to reading more about them in subsequent stories.
A copy of this title was provided for review
I’ve read and reviewed another book in this series before – Savior. It was a brief review, because talking too much about that particular plot would have been full of spoilers. Suffice it to say I loved the book, loved the characters, loved Mace more than I’ve loved any male not biologically related to me, and loved the world Ford created. Naturally, I’d read the second in the series. I went through a whole six-month period where I kept doing that, I don’t know why.
Anyway, I finally read the first book. I figured enough time had passed that I wouldn’t be accused of turning this into a Rhys Ford fan blog or something.
The funny thing is, Gus and Rey show up in Savior. They seem to be made of chill and I quite like them. In Rebel, Gus has no chill at all, and he’s a lot harder to love.
None of this takes away from how much I love the world Ford has built in the slightest. (Or how much I love Rey, the small child involved, the rest of the brothers, Ivo, or especially Mace…. You get the picture. Plus – bonus for fire!)
Here’s the thing. Ford has constructed a series in which all of the characters come from troubled backgrounds and have some pretty big obstacles to overcome, which is frankly singing the song of my people. I don’t think I could ever give one of these books anything less than a four-martini rating. These are a bunch of complex guys and I love to watch as they find a way toward their own kind of happiness.
In Savior, Rey has his work cut out for him. He’s known the brothers since they saved his life, and his mom’s life, back when he was a kid. He and Mace live together now, and they work together as firefighters. He and Gus had a relationship, but Rey ended it because Gus just couldn’t get his s*** together enough to convince Rey he took the relationship seriously.
Gus went wandering, Rey stayed in San Francisco and became a firefighter, and our story picks up several years later.
What’s that I smell? Second chance romance? (mmmm…. Again, singing straight to me here.)
The situation is complicated by the discovery (which is news to poor Gus) that Gus seems to have fathered a child during a drunken one-night stand after he and Rey broke up. Gus is determined to do the right thing by his child, which is admirable. He’s also not sure he knows how to do the right thing by the child, because his own background shows every extreme of bad parenting and bad adult behavior I’ve ever heard of. (Which isn’t to say it doesn’t happen. It does, I’m sad to say. His story is all too believable.) I understand his fears completely and I don’t fault him for them. In fact, I admire him for his determination to do right in spite of his fears.
Here’s the thing. Gus and Rey broke up back when they were younger because Gus just couldn’t manage to get himself together enough to have an actual relationship. Some of that is the result of his background, but most of it is just… Gus. He couldn’t show up on time to dates, ever. He couldn’t remember things he’d agreed to do.
Somehow Rey was the bad guy, for not just swallowing it all and putting up with it because Gus had had it rough.
Sorry, I’m not okay with that. Sure, Rey could probably have handled it better – this is all stuff that is discussed, instead of shown playing out on screen. At the same time, if you’re always late for plans with someone, you don’t respect that person. Period. If you can’t be bothered to honor your commitments to that person, you don’t love them and you don’t care for them. Once in a while – things happen, you’ve got things on your mind.
When it’s a consistent pattern, just admit you don’t care and be done with it.
It’s not like Rey’s background was sunshine and roses either. I could have lived the rest of my life without seeing Rey shamed for standing up for himself and taking care of his own needs, rather than setting fire to himself to keep Gus warm.
In the end, them being together is still a happy ending. It’s something they both want, and even if I died a little inside every time Rey’s needs or issues were glossed over I already knew they’d be happy together further down the road.
Get this book. It has everything. Murder (okay the murder isn’t fun it’s scary, and deserves a content warning, but still), fire, an amazingly complex romance, and brotherly bonding. Also tattoos.
Wow. What a great start to a new series. We’re introduced to all of the brothers and the tattoo shop. I am in love with all of them. This story is about Gus and Rey. It’s a second chance story and done so great! I love the build of what happened to Gus. I won’t say much as I don’t want to ruin the story. No spoilers. You find out what happened to Gus. Why they aren’t together anymore. I could only think… oh… Gus. I wanted to hug him. Throw in a cute kid and you’ve got me. It was a great story from beginning to end. It made me laugh. It made me cry and it made me happy. Read the book!
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4.5 stars
The writing in this book was captivating! It was extremely descriptive and that first scene set the stage for the whole book. I wanted to know more about that scene the entire time I was reading. This book was written so differently than what I am used to. A lot of the times we learn what happened to the MCs at the start of the book. In this book, the author slowly reveals pieces of Gus and Rey’s past a little bit at a time.
Every conversation with Rey and Gus had me feeling some emotions. The dialogue was brutally honest and I just felt when reading it. Even though they were pretty much pouring their hearts out, I loved the scenes because of the emotion it invoked in me. Also, when Gus first meets Chris, my heart exploded a little with the emotion leading up to that meeting and then the meeting itself. I wish we would have gotten a little bit more of Chris and Gus interacting. All of those scenes were really sweet.
There was a lot of sassy banter between pretty much all of the characters in this book that I really enjoyed. It kept things interesting and made me want more from those side characters just as much as the main characters. Getting a hint of Mace’s POV at the end of the book was a great way teaser that left me wanting his story.
The is Gus Scott’s story. He is a tattoo artist in a shop he owns with his brothers, one of which is Mace, a firefighter. Mace’s best friend, and fellow firefighter, is Rey Montenegro. The beginning is quite convoluted so I am just going to tell you that the flashback at the beginning is Mason pulling Rey out of the fire, and him seeing Gus for the first time. This story has a dual POV, but it is mostly all Gus’s. In order for him to be a good partner, he really has to work out some of his childhood issues so this has an angsty vibe.
This book is also the start of a series about five brothers, some of which are blood related and some of which aren’t. At this start, it’s difficult to suss out, but we are eventually told who, what, when, where, and why, so hang in there. All five of the guys are gay. There is Bear, the lynchpin who is cousin to brothers Gus and Ivo, Luke who was brought in by Gus, and Mace, who was brought in by Bear. They have all worked at the tattoo shop 415 Ink at one point, but Luke is now a child advocate attorney and, as I said, Mace is a firefighter.
Gus is a hot mess, with very good reason. Because we have his POV, we trust it first, but start to realize that his version of events…are not always correct. For instance, his view of his relationship with Mace, which other POV doesn’t match; or, his being less talented an artist than Ivo, which Ivo certainly doesn’t agree with. I’m glad we get to see that Mason loves Gus and wants the best for him. Their relationship is complicated and with him being Rey’s best friend, I felt he picked Rey over his brother when they broke up three years ago. Gus is not over it and so travels a lot being a guest tattooist at shops in other states. When we start, he has been away for 6 months this time, but finds out he has a kid from a one night stand with a tattoo artist that used to work at his shop when he was devastated by Rey dumping him.
The things is, all of these guys are damaged in some way, likely all kinds of ways, from their childhood and foster care. That’s all you need to know. They survived. They made a family for themselves. They are successful. Dating them though? Not a walk in the park. Almost all the issues here are because of lack of communication, or misunderstanding. There is not really anything to spoil with spoilers, not much happens in the first place. For me, it is always about how Rhys Ford tells a story so it’s the writing style more than anything that matters here. There are some shocking things, but only to those who do not understand growing up like this. Some may say this was a bit of a quick resolve, but I say it was decades in the making and the fact that Gus shared so much of himself meant he knew he could trust Rey in the first place. Sometimes, timing is everything.
I would rate it higher, but I thought the writing was hard to follow at the beginning and then got better and then we are thrown into the setup for a later book about Mace, which was also abrupt. That said, I like these guys, their world, and their fortitude.
I would rate this 3.5 stars.
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Angie –
I have to be honest, I almost bailed on this book. The first half there wasn’t much dialogue and that is a huge pet peeve of mine. I need dialogue. Plus, the first half just seemed to be the same thing said over and over. After saying that, I am so glad I stuck with it because I ended up really liking the story and all of the characters. Gus and Rey are two characters you can’t help but love after finding out their back story and following their story. I also love all of Gus’s brothers and can’t wait for their stories.
Rachael –
For me, this was a lot tougher to get into than Rhys Ford books normally are. I’m not sure why other than maybe because we were jumping in where there was a whole lot of backstory that we needed to get caught up with in order to feel the emotions the characters were feeling from the get go.
I will say, the further into the book you get, the more you learn and the more you will love the characters. My heart hurt so many times through this book as secrets are reveals or I suppose, more of the story is revealed.
I have to say that I’m glad I stuck through the beginning so that I could get to know the guys and really cheer for them to find a happy ending.
Sarah –
This is the best kind of angst fuelled romance. As children attempting to survive chaotic and abusive situations, a small group of men claimed each other as brothers and their bond pulled them through the horrors of their early years.
The first story is Gus’. When he finds out he has a child, he finds himself struggling to adult and overwhelmed by memories of his own childhood traumas. Gus and firefighter Rey have a long and tangled history as lovers. But Rey needs security and Gus has never been able to settle down or grow up.
This is a difficult and quite graphic read. Gus’ experiences as a child are horrific. I like that the writer doesn’t allow any quick fixes or easy solutions to Gus’ trauma. The relationship between Rey and Gus isn’t an easy fix either. The angst in this story feels real. The emotions are raw and honest. Love doesn’t fix Gus. Being a father doesn’t either. But both are catalysts for Gus to reevaluate and attempt to create a future that is different from his past. I found parts of this story hard to read. I blubbed through way too much of this book but I loved Gus and Rey fiercely and I couldn’t put their story down.
I love these brothers and I’m really excited for future books in the series. But I have to admit that I found the writing style of this story really difficult to get into. This is the first book in the series, but readers are plunged into complicated relationships between characters with more than twenty years of history between them. The story starts with a series of flashbacks and snippets that don’t easily fit together. It took me some time before I understood who the five ‘brothers’ were to each other and figured out how the other men fit into their lives. This series could benefit from a list of characters or a family tree of sorts at the start of each book.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Rebel (415 Ink #1) by Rhys Ford to read and review.