Successful financial analyst Michael Walsh leads a picture-perfect life that anyone would envy—unless they caught a glimpse beneath the surface. Haunted by failed relationships and self-doubt, Michael harbors a soul-deep loneliness that no number of casual hookups can fulfill. So why can’t he stop thinking about his New Year’s fling with a man whose quiet desperation matched his own?Barista … own?
Barista Stewart Jenkins has an abysmal track record with relationships, and no matter how hard he tries to keep things tightly under wraps, his life is spinning out of control. His hookup with the gorgeous Michael was only supposed to be sex—hot, dirty, uncomplicated—but that small taste leaves him yearning for more.
Every no-strings encounter that follows between Michael and Stewart peels away more layers, blurring the lines, until they’re left with a raw tenderness and acceptance they both crave. A relationship seems out of the question—they come from drastically different lives and are plagued by inexcusable sins. Being vulnerable is sure to reveal old wounds, and forgiveness seems out of reach, unless they can find a way around their fears on the road to redemption.
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Ok, so seriously, hiw can two hassholes you have despised for most of the previous books (Michael more so than Stewart) become so likeable? I guess that’s just Christina Lee’s magic…
Not that they suddenly become some exemplary embodiment of goodness, mind you, but as some of their backstory is revealed, they own up to their faults and mistakes, and they struggle to be a better version of themselves.
Lee’s writing flows like a refreshing river, and her stories always leave you feeling happy and sated!
So…I think this is my favorite of the series. Christina Lee took two characters that I SO did not like and turned them into real and relatable characters. Sometimes people deserve a second chance, and I really enjoyed watching these two get that chance.
Michael and Stewart were the villains of our previous stories but this book digs so much deeper into that. It made them real and allowed the reader to see it all from a different perspective and I really felt for them both. They both recognized their shortcomings and where they went wrong in the past and wanted to do better. It was so easy to root for them because you could see that they really wanted to do and be better and took actual steps to do so. It is SO hard to take a villain that readers have good reason to dislike and make them the hero of their own story and Christina Lee did that with two characters here in excellent fashion. I loved these two together, they fit together so well and were able to relate to each other in a way they both needed. And man oh man their chemistry is ridiculous. This book was FIRE, but it was also sweet. Nobody is perfect, but it takes a big person to recognize where they went wrong and to then take steps to better themselves and I think that is what I loved about this book. My only teeny tiny nitpick is that Michael is described to be a financial analyst, which is what I happen to be, and it is so hard to not nitpick and find all the things that are not accurate in his day to day job description, but this is something I am sure everyone does when they read about their own profession.
All in all, Redeem was definitely my favorite of the series and I just adored how raw and real and sweet this book was. It’s such an easy book to devour and speed through and if you enjoy redemption stories this one is for you.
Oh man…who thought the two biggest jerks from the previous books could be men we could learn to care about and root for? But that is exactly what happened here – making me so very glad I read this book! Here’s hoping this isn’t the end to these delightful group of men!
Well, hello…this was a bit delicious…
I’ve only read a couple of books by this Author but this is definitely my favorite. Book 4, but without doubt, it’s a standalone (I haven’t read any of the other books in this series.)
Right so, who doesn’t like a controlling asshole?
Michael is THE MAN…or so he thinks. He throws money about, he wants approval, he wants to be appreciated and noticed…And I absolutely loved him…he totally made this book work for me (and he’s got dogs-always a positive)
A dirty (and, yes it’s filthy), New Year’s hook up was about to be so much more.
Two men, both with deep issues…and this is something that’s been done to death in romance books but this really worked for me. The writing was truly engaging and it’s always a plus when you’re thinking just one more chapter and before you know it you’re almost done.
And it’s seriously HOT…it’s like take-me-now, I’m -desperate, man-on-man action at it’s dirtiest-push me against a wall and do all those filthy things to me…I didn’t skip any of those scenes…AT ALL.
But it’s not just sex at all. It might start off that way but the progression of Michael and Stewart’s relationship developed at just the right pace. Lust…Friendship…Love…Sometimes the simplest of stories can really work and this is definitely one of them.
I recommend this book!