Sunshine and Happiness: Book FourIt’s never easy to find redemption. Carrying scars and regrets, River Darcourt avoids too much intimate contact. Among his friends, he is known as a quiet loner. Forget about love. It’s not something he will consider… until sweet, young, and tempting Morgan Hayes becomes his housemate. River closed his heart long ago, but the attraction is impossible to deny. … but the attraction is impossible to deny.
Morgan Hayes needs a change. He is moving out of his critical father’s home and in with his friends, including his secret/not-so-secret crush, River. Having feelings for River is a terrible idea. But what is a guy to do when the annoyingly sexy mechanic is just across the hall?
While Morgan has overcome ugliness and is ready for love, he’s just not sure River ever will be. They have both experienced pain in their lives. So Morgan dares River to take a chance, and love will either break their fractured hearts in more pieces or, just possibly, make them whole again.
more
And here, we close this series on a high note. In fact, while I loved book three and felt the series finally gelled, this is my favorite of the four because of the characters of River and Morgan. I loved Morgan for deciding to open up, tell River how he felt and basically dare him to give them a chance. He acknowledges that he understands how hard it may be for them, but knows River is worth it. Watching these two heal and get their HEA was heartbreaking in places but oh so sweet at the end of that rough road.
While all of the books in this series are very emotional this one broke me the most. I was ugly crying so much. And that isn’t just because of the main characters. Yes you could read this ad a stand alone but you’ll really understand so much more by reading the series. Omg where it’s beautiful it’s stunningly so. And do real you will see why I got so emotional.
Ohh! River’s story! We learned in the first story that River was in love with Brandon. When Brandon died, it broke something in River, I think. Morgan has moved in. He needed to get away from his critical father. Both are attracted to one another and River finally lets Morgan in. I loved their story!! I’m voluntarily leaving a review form an advanced copy that I received.
I finally get the chance to read River’s story, Secrets of You ii the last book in the Sunshine and Happiness series. River and Morgan story was very emotional, River is still struggling, he is being through so much, he always has been closed off but since Brendan’s death everything is even worse and harder, River find himself attracted to Morgan, but he feels guilty about it. He feels like he’s he isn’t worth it, that with his past he simply is bad news for Morgan. But he cannot deny that he is attracted to him and fell the chemistry whenever they are near each other.
Morgan is starting to feel like himself, lots of therapy and his friends have help him to be like his old self, since is assaulted he suffered of anxiety and River makes him feel safe and secure, both have issues but together they have become better, I love watching them became closer and trust each other.
River is starting to working letting Morgan in and he helps him understand that what happened in the past it wasn’t his fault, we finally learn more about it, but have a great relationship and I love watching them fall more in love with each other. This is a great final book!
I am so completely obsessed the lives of all these Guys in this series !! But I have so been waiting for River’s Story! River the quiet, mysterious & moody guy who just needed some hope and sunshine in his life! Morgan is just that for River, even though he has some emotional issues of his own to overcome. What I loved about these two is that they are both hurting but handle it in exactly opposite ways so when they come together they balance one another out. This is a very sweet, sometimes sad, sometimes happy slow burn romance. Morgan’s awkwardness of trying to attract River is Adorbs! It is told from both of their POV so you get insight to how they are feeling, growing and changing with one another! There is an instant chemistry between these two.. which River resists.. but only for so long.. and then sweet and steamy times begin!! I do not want to give a lot away as the story also contains side stories for all of our favorite couples from the Series!! I received a copy of this book for my honest review and I highly recommend this entire series! You will grow along with all of these couples, All the feels and emotions! I so hope that there will be stories for Logan and maybe Jonathan as well!
I so wanted River to have his HEA after experiencing so much tragedy and loss in his life. He deserve wand to be loved and be in love without being haunted by what he felt was past mistakes. I love a man on a motorcycle and he fit the perfect picture in my head. I was so glad when Morgan joined the house of brothers and so glad he turned his world upside down, they just fit. River had to fight for Morgan. Although, Morgan did have his share of emotional baggage too. Plus he had a very strong ghost he was jealous of, which made for emotional swings and insecurities. In the end they both fought for their love. What our minds put us through sometimes is so much worse than what it really is, but end the end here, they allowed love to win. I loved these two. Great book.
Finally we get River’s story, and it is quite a doozy. Morgan and River really work, although there were a couple of points in the story that there seemed to be big jumps that did cause some mental whiplash. While there seemed to be some kind of a good dynamic between Morgan and his father, it feels like that wasnt maybe addressed enough. Catching up with all the other characters was nice, too, though Cole and Ian’s wedding did raise a few questions. Were Ian’s parents or other siblings even there? Also, a Carnival cruise? Really?
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
The fourth book in the Sunshine and Happiness series belongs to secretive, bad boy mechanic River and his housemate Morgan. It is a darker and more challenging read than earlier books.
At the start, River is a frustrating character. Trapped in a past he won’t talk about or deal with, he is as irritating as he is handsome. It is only when his past is finally revealed that his silent brooding makes sense. It took me most of the book before I even liked River and there were several places where I struggled to understand Morgan’s attraction and his easy forgiveness.
In contrast, Morgan reads like an adorable, injured puppy. Initially, his perky rainbow twink persona is as irritating as River’s brooding but it doesn’t take long to understand the strength of character behind the glitter. I’m still not convinced that Morgan and River work as a couple. Their combined issues are huge – and there isn’t enough time in a single novel to sensitively unpack everything they’ve got going on. The result is a somewhat superficial treatment of life altering issues that didn’t quite work for me.
I really don’t understand why this book is included in a series called Sunshine and Happiness. Between Morgan’s horrific experiences and River’s heartbreaking past, the pain experienced by these two men is overwhelming. Add in River’s inability to communicate effectively and the story was sometimes too angsty for me.
This book does not stand alone. The cast of characters has been huge from the start of the series and the new couples have only added to the numbers. Readers reading the series back to back might be able to navigate through the characters without issue, but it’s been almost two years since I read the last one and I was a bit lost – especially in the beginning.
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Secrets of You (Sunshine and Happiness #4) by Skylar M. Cates to read and review.