Dark cloud, meet seven-foot wall of sunshine.
We’ve been friends for almost a year, we both volunteer at my brother-in-law’s gym for combat vets, and the chemistry between us is undeniable. So, getting together should be a no brainer, right?
Yeah, not so much.
Pairing up the joyful refugee NBA hero with me—the grumpy wanna-be artist who cracks jokes about being waterboarded—has got to be the … cracks jokes about being waterboarded—has got to be the mother of all bad ideas.
An even worse idea? Let’s add a splash of kink to the mix.
We’re all going to need a little therapy after this.
Surrender is a post-military, hurt-comfort MM romance with gentle power exchange, a therapy office set next to a sex club, and a gym full of scorching hot head cases.
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Oh, Jake and JP. *sigh*
Watching these two dance around one another was both endearing and incredibly frustrating. I understood the journey they had to take, but I wish they could have gotten there a little sooner. JP was adorable. I was enamored with him from the first time we met him in Book One. A full on ray of sunshine. He was the perfect match for the little dark cloud that was Jake. Jake needed all the hugs and love and I’m glad JP was there to give them.
This book explores their growing relationship beautifully and I enjoyed every last word of it.
Side note: foreskin play is hot. Who knew?
Jake and Jean-Pierre (who I’ll call J-P) was introduced in Scout and the Lavender girl, written under this author’s FF pen name K.C. Littleton (which I quite enjoyed). I have been eager for their story since then and it’s been a bit of an impatient wait on my part, but it was so worth it. This story is interesting and fun and sexy and romantic. I love love love that both Jake and J-P have their own pasts to overcome, which are similar yet so different, and they’re the perfect match for each other. They never have to go into the full details of what happened to them and exactly how it’s affected them. They never just connect over their trauma. J-P feels so much affection towards Jake and Jake needs the unconditional, tender love that J-P has to offer. And dang, they are hot together!
Also – thank you to Kelly for stressing the importance of, but hurdles associated with, seeking therapy. Deciding to pursue a therapist isn’t the true challenge (although acknowledging it can be hard); it’s finding a therapist you trust and who understands how best to help you. Jake’s therapist is pretty kick ass!
This can be read as a stand-alone, but the MCs from the first book are an integral part of this overarching world and I highly recommend reading the series in order. You do not have to read Scout and the Lavender Girl, but it’s a great story.
Welcome to the MM genre, Kelly. Your stories are interesting, your writing engaging and I so appreciate the accurate portrayal of Austin and Texas. Seriously, I usually cringe when a story is set in Texas because it’s usually full of poor stereotypes.
Jake has leftover emotional baggage from his last mission. He went off the rails but his life is on track now. He’s teaching yoga to veterans, paying down his medical bills, and he’s ready to find a new man. That man is Jean-Pierre, former NBA player, genocide survivor with his own emotional baggage. The man he wants may be as damaged as he, but he’s ready to claim him, ready to love him.
I love it when the emotional component of any story is so deep and substantial, and I love it even more if that emotional aspect is intertwined seamlessly with hot physical intimacy, as it is here in Surrender. Their kinks and their demons align perfectly, but it’s not easy for them to get past what’s haunting them, as well it shouldn’t be. Ridding yourself of demons is not easy in real life, and it’s always nice when an author mirrors that in their writing. So, an intense, loving emotional connection coupled with an equally intense, scorching physical connection, with shades of kink, and I am so there. I loved this story with its beautiful couple, and I cannot wait for more of the Wrecked world.
Jake and Jean-Pierre have a memorable meet-cute only to find that there’s a whole lot that could keep them from grasping every happiness together. When Jake’s past and their individual mental and emotional health combine it could spell disaster for their budding relationship, but with determination, patience, a fantastic community, and a bit of bedroom spice, they just might find the key to everything they’ve ever hoped for.
This dealt with a few heavy topics and quite a bit of attention was focused on it. I definitely thought it was important to be thorough in discussing exactly what was going on mentally for Jake so we could understand just what stood between him and the world he could have with Jean-Pierre. That intention meant well, but the execution became long and drawn out and quite repetitive after a while. It dominated the entire story and rather than letting Jake become who he was supposed to be, there was a whole lot of telling and no evolution until nearly the end of the story.
There was a bit of a subplot dealing with Jake’s past and how he became the way he was and it was a big surprise confrontation at the end that wrapped that up. The villain was a surprise, but the whole scene was kind of a jumble that didn’t work for me. A lot of build-up within the scene for both Jake and the situation itself and the actual action felt disjointed and unsatisfying for all the anticipation.
In terms of the more intimate encounters, there wasn’t a whole lot of that and what we got was a very loose application of their shared interests that wasn’t given enough attention to feel right and grounded. This could likely have been solved by more objective streamlining. Having their needs mentioned in the synopsis and then to have so little attention given to it in the story itself was a bit of a miss for me. I think it just needed a better overall balance. A better balance between PTSD, romantic progress, and character evolution was definitely needed.
The positives were the overall attitude of Jean-Pierre. His insistence that Jake is his heart’s home was so incredibly sweet and I loved his determination to give Jake everything he needed. And combining that with his honesty about his own struggles gave him a genuineness that was a bright spot in the story. The other huge bonus of this story was the community of Wrecked. I’m crazy about all these men and the safe environment they’ve created for everyone.
I liked the story as a whole, it just needs a bit more work to be great in my opinion. There are quite a few characters that I’m incredibly interested in and will likely be back for more, and I may even jump back to Sanctuary to dive in from the beginning. As a series I find this quite enjoyable, as an individual story, it likely isn’t the best representation of either the author’s work or the overall series’ intentions.
I find this to be an emotional read. Jean-Pierre is a retired basketball player and is a survivor of Rwandan genocide and suffers from PTSD. He has been in love with Jake but treats him with caution because Jake has PTSD traumas from his military career.
I loved seeing these two open up and pull at your heartstrings and they fight for the relationship they both want. They deserve their HEA. I definitely recommend this book!
While set in the same brilliant found family setting as book one, this story has a completely different feel! It’s an emotional journey of two wounded souls and the backgrounds created for the MCs are amazingly unique! The dynamics between the pair and the language used in the book make it a total binge read. I was unable to put the book down!
I fell in love with Kelly Fox’s writing with the first book in this series, and this book simply deepens the connection. These two characters are vivid and captivated me from the first page. You could probably read this without reading the first book, but don’t do that, because the first one is so good. There is some suspension of disbelief toward the end, but I’m not expecting a procedural here. One place that’s quite real and as good as portrayed is the Czech Stop in West, Texas. Slovacek’s across the freeway is pretty epic, too, but I digress. I’m invested in these characters and this community and can’t wait to read the next one!
Wings & feathers
The snark is strong in this one and I loved it all. Also, whoever said doctors are dull obviously hasn’t read this book. I must say really, really like all the creative nicknames in this series. They are in turns hilarious and sweet. What an intense and amazing read. Jake and Jean-Pierre are perfect together and scorching. I loved watching them orbit each other. They have such a powerful connection and I admire them both for everything they are. This book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster complete with twists and turns. It will leave you breathless and wanting more. My only question after reading this is, is it May yet? I need Roly’s story.
I loved book 2 of the Wrecked series, Surrender. It was a slower paced book, the romance really built in this story. I loved Jake and Jean-Pierre, they were a perfect mix together. The camaraderie between everyone in Wrecked is so enjoyable to read and Jake and Jean-Pierre were a great part of that. I loved their romance and how they slowly connected, and their romance was super hot, sexy and very thoughtful. I loved Jake’s dark character and Jean-Pierre’s lack of worry about expectations. I can’t wait to read more of these vets stories and definitely recommend this book.
What a great story, really enjoyed this well written fast reading friends to lovers book. Jake and I have been friend for a while, we met a Wrecked a gym that we both frequent, he teaches yoga and I volenteer helping with the other trainers and the vets who come here. There is just something about him that draws me in and now that he’s finially healing it’s time to explore our friendship to see if we can take it a lot further.
Oh my heart for Jake and Jean-Pierre, these two sweet and broken men stole my heart. Each man came from a traumatic past experience that shaped them to the men they are today. Jean-Pierre’s endless love for Jake was beautiful and once Jake was able to accept the love and acceptance, it opened his world up. I absolutely love this world and cannot wait for Roly and Heath!
I was already intrigued by Jean-Pierre and Jake reading the previous book in the series. They were so cute and obviously crushing on one another, the guys at Wrecked making bets on how long it would take them to admit their feelings.
allowed me, of course, to know them better. The speculations on Jake’s past were cleared and, in a way, his difficulties in dealing with the aftermath of what he’s been through were just another way he could connect more with Jean-Pierre. And I liked that neither of them denied wanting each other. Jake was waiting to be in the right mind set and Jean-Pierre for the perfect timing, but they undoubtedly were on the same page in wanting a relationship.
So, this book was about them making their way towards clicking perfectly together. It was an emotional ride, both of them giving and taking comfort, slowly falling deeper and deeper in love. There was an unexpected amount of sweet talking involved, with sugary terms of endearment, which added to the cuteness. The amazing thing, though, was the surprising side of kink the author gave to their dynamic, turning their passionate moments into hot and intense experiences.
What I liked most about was that Jean-Pierre and Jake were never alone. The author has written an amazing array of secondary characters: family members, friends and the Wrecked crew. And they were all meddling, giving advice or making bets, their interactions entertaining and showing how much they care about each other. Their participation and the development of Jake and Jean-Pierre’s relationship made it so that the book was fun and touching, keeping me always captivated and engrossed.
Recommended.