Tragedy brought us together, but something stronger made me want to stay.”
Julian was the boy next door. My brother’s best friend, he fit with my family in ways I never could. While he and Rhett went on to play house, I left the only life I knew, desperate for a fresh start.
Until everything changed.
Heartache came along, and the aftermath of my brother’s death was here to stay. I was now face … to stay. I was now face to face with Julian more than I ever wanted to be.
Being around him brought up all my insecurities, forced me to deal with hard truths, and conjured up feelings I had no business entertaining. He wasn’t the man I thought I knew. He was complex and layered, and inherently beautiful in all the ways I’d never noticed.
Not on another person.
Not on another man.
Not until him.
more
These two broken men had a long and difficult road to find their happily ever after. They had a lot to overcome including difficult pasts, inconsiderate family and living ten hours away from each other. But through it all, they found the love both deserved and family who accepted them as they were. This was a beautiful story about healing and finding love in your darkest hour.
“Sometimes I wonder if death really is the worst thing, because being alive and feeling so empty and hollow seems to be much worse.” ~ Julian
An amazing whirlwind romance between Deacon and Julian. Love their connection with each other and how the author brought their story to life.
My heart! My HEART! Julian and Deacon have my heart! Without You is a deeply emotional story about loss, guilt and over-coming self-doubt to accept love. Deacon and Julian are both beautifully complicated characters written with poise.
Deacon has been suffering his entire life, trying to stay visible and relevant in his loved ones hearts while constantly being pushed to the side. His heart is good and pure and he takes the dejection stoically. His brother’s death intensifies his feelings of loneliness and widens the gap within his family. Julian is heartbroken and living day to day in a fog. The last thing he expects is his dead boyfriend’s brother to come back into his life in a much more meaningful way than ever before. Their reluctance to open up to something more is understandable and heart-achingly lovely. The two stubborn yet vulnerable men slowly start to realize their draw to each other is too powerful to ignore. Once they each accept their own self-worth, it’s incredibly moving that neither of them think twice about embracing their growing feelings. Even in uncharted territory, Deacon never once acts ashamed or embarrassed by his adoration of Julian. Cue all the heart eyes!
There are still bumps along the road but Deacon and Julian find themselves filled with joy and love from a few close friends and family. This story ends with hope for the future. Marley Valentine has not just written one of my new favorite MM romances, but one of my new favorite romances, period. 5 plus stars for this heart-hugging gorgeous story!
MY heart was soaring as I read the final pages of this beautifully told story.
Marley had me totally captivated with her words, I felt emotionally connected to Julien and Deacon, rooting them on as they struggled through pain and heartbreak together, leaving me an absolute mess at times.
This book is right up there with my favourite reads ever!!!!!
I Absolutely loved this story…..
Wow. Another brilliant book by this amazing Australian author. I could not get enough of Deacon and Julian. My heart beat for them and only them while I read. Each word kept me hooked, each line was like my cat nip! I needed more. And if I didn’t have to adult at some points and rest, I would have devoured it completely in only a couple of hours. THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING.
My heart ached for both characters, but it ached so much for Deacon, for how he felt. He broke my heart completely. I wanted to hug him so much and tell him everything was going to be ok. God I love him. This book was an emotional ride, but it was steamy as well.. hot hot hot!!
I loved the way the angst pulled at me, how the anticipation made me feel. This book was just magnificent. I love it!!! I need more M/M romance from this author. I can not wait to read more of her beautiful words.
Loved! This book totally tugged at my heart strings! I had so many feelings on these 2. There was also so much family dynamic that really had me wanting to jump in the story and back hand a person or 2… or shake people until they get their stuff together. And the way that they got together was just so beautiful! And the finding happiness in the least likely person! It was just great and I think that everyone should ready it. It was just so great! The feels were so strong!
Julian and Deacon will absolutely steal your hearts. Both having so much pain, regret and guilt in their lives. Both living some of the same pain at the loss of someone so loved and so young. One who has had what he believes to be the only love of his lifetime and the other who feels he’s never truly known love, not even from his own family. One who is gay and one who is not. One who has in no uncertain terms shown the other that he doesn’t even come close to liking him as a person, gruff and tough to get to know. When a tragic situation brings them closer, neither is ready for the sparks and the feelings that come along their lives as they know it. There are characters I’d just as soon throw out the window and others who I want to meet and be friends with in real life. Marley Valentine has proven again that she can write M/M and write it really well (and yes…I loved ALL the steam).
Absolutely amazing! This author blew me away and that doesn’t surprise me one single bit. Marley Valentine can write heartbreak like no body’s business. This, hands down, is my favorite book of hers. Brilliantly written with such obvious attention to detail. The author takes this story to a colossal level of poignancy and you have to wonder, because of that, how will she give us the happy ending we desire. Well, she accomplishes that and so much more. Without You is an unforgettable story of two amazingly beautiful people. Behind their broken and tormented hearts are two men who deserve the world. And while they will find love, loyalty, and undoubtedly happiness, Deacon and Julian’s journeys a very difficult one.
While you can infer much of the premise from the synopsis, there is so much more going on mentally and even morally. Guilt is heavy within Deacon and Julian’s hearts and the path they need to traverse is difficult as well as unfamiliar. While the relationship development is a slow burn, it needed to be that way for this book to be believable.
I am being purposely vague with my review as there is so much complexity and depth to this story. I will not ruin any of it for you. If you have read any books from Marley Valentine before, then you know she will give you an amazingly written story with all the feels. If you haven’t read her books before, I highly recommend that you do; whether you are a fan of MM Romance or not. This book was very far from smut. It was beautiful.
One more element I want to add is that once I started this book, I knew it was one I wanted to savor and not devour. I purposely took my time reading it over the course of a few days so it could be with me longer. I cried in relief and happiness after reading the last page. And I was so disappointed when the book was finished. That said, I know I will carry Deacon and Julian in my hearts for a long time coming. It won’t be easy to replace these characters.
Marley Valentine…..thank you for such an incredibly, touching and heartwarming novel!
This is my honest and unbiased review. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 🙂
Without You is one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time.
Marley Valentine has worked her magic yet again with Deacon and Julian’s story. She ripped my heart out and destroyed it before painstakingly putting it back together.
I give Without You all the stars. What a truly magnificent story.
I knew I would be destroyed going into this book. Marley did not disappoint. The fact that Deacon and Julian are able to find love is amazing. They are both gutted at the loss of Rhett and they shouldn’t be together. But love does amazing things. Thank you Marley for this adventure. I loved it so much.
Oh my goodness……I definitely was prepare for this one and I mean that in the best possible way. I absolutely loved the storyline and characters. It was heartbreaking and beautiful. I couldn’t put it down once I started.
Deacon Sutton’s life flipped upside down the day his brother, Rhett, died a year ago and although he hated Rhett’s boyfriend, Julian, he was there for him after the funeral until Deacon escaped back to Seattle.
Now it is the anniversary of Rhett’s death and Deacon must once again return home and face his family where he feels like he is a disappointment to them, especially his mother. To Deacon’s surprise Julian is still included in all of the family functions and with Deacon just splitting with his girlfriend he’s surprised to find himself attracted to Julian.
But with Julian having a link to Rhett, can Deacon overcome his dislike of Julian to meet on neutral territory and will his parents be okay with him having feelings for Julian?
This was a great book that I really enjoyed from start to finish. The book was a little emotionally heavy with everyone dealing with the death of Rhett and how they were all doing a year later.
Deacon really struggled with the death of Rhett and he really seemed to feel misplaced within his own family. He hated Julian and we gradually learn why and really understand more of it and it is accentuated with an incident at the end that just completely shocked me. I understood why Deacon was a little jealous over Julian as Julian just seemed to fit into his family more than he did and there was definitely resentment from Deacon regarding that.
I liked Julian and knew it wasn’t his fault at how Deacon’s family seemed to be more concerned with how Julian was doing and not Deacon. Julian didn’t have an easy go in life and was happy to be accepted into Rhett’s family and he gave up a lot for Rhett.
There was definitely chemistry between Julian and Deacon but neither initially knew how to react to it. It was hard for Deacon as he had never been attracted to a man before and he struggled with how he felt, especially since Julian was with Rhett for so long.
I was happy with the events at Thanksgiving as I thought it was definitely a move towards something more serious and I also really understood why Deacon couldn’t get involved with Julian when he was inside the house Julian shared with Rhett.
The events at Christmas were so heartbreaking for Deacon and I was so mad and disappointed with his mom. I was so grateful to Julian for being there for Deacon and how he supported him and helped him through it all. I was glad that Deacon’s dad apologized but it was a little too late in my opinion as the damage had been done.
The letter to Deacon from Rhett at the end was awesome!
4.5 Stars
By Rebecca
Marley Valentine’s storytelling ability was absolutely flawless and she ignited every part of my body as I devoured this addictively captivating M/M romance. Ever since reading her very first M/M romance last year, I have been begging her to write more books in this genre and she FINALLY gave me…I mean us, exactly what we wanted!
Without You is a MUST read for all fans of M/M romance! Not a fan? Haven’t tried M/M before? I totally recommend diving into this story even if those obtain to you because by the time you reach the end, YOU WILL BE! Instantly I found myself falling into a deep connection with our two leading men, Deacon and Julian, and my heart wept for the loss they had to endured that led to their connection. The author’s storytelling ability was breathtakingly phenomenal and I couldn’t get enough of the emotional connection that was formed throughout the course of the story. Every moment that these two spent together had my heart swooning in overdrive the entire time. These two gave me LIFE and I don’t think I will every let them go! They are FOREVER and ALWAYS part of my heart. Their story was so beautiful and it had me smiling wide as I inhaled all of the words.
[Oh and in case you are wondering the name of that book I mentioned is DEVILRY and if you have yet to read it make sure to do so like RIGHT AWAY because this story proves how PERFECTLY matched she is with this genre and why she should totally give us more M/M romance…like yesterday ]
Phew. This book was insanely good. I don’t know how she did it, but Marley Valentine wrote a compelling story about people finding love in unexpected people.
Deacon Sutton feels like the family outcast, so much so that he flees Montana for Seattle at 18. He keeps his distance and only makes obligatory trips home to fulfill his duties as a son.
Julian has been an honorary member of the Sutton family since he moved in next door and became best friends with Rhett Sutton, Deacon’s younger brother.
Rhett has passed away and through their grief, Deacon and Julian, find solace and empathy within each other. They both struggle with their new relationship and must overcome their own hearts and minds to build a new future.
Tragedy brought us together, but something stronger made me want to stay.
This was such a raw, angsty and emotional read and I throughly enjoyed it. My heart broke for both these boys and the grief they were dealing with and the guilt they felt for moving forward with their lives.
Julian was so incredibly sweet, kind, caring and so beautiful. I loved everything about him
Deacon was broody, independent, heart breaking, so vulnerable yet he had such a big heart and loved fiercely.
Deacon and Julian had beautiful chemistry and I really felt the love they had for each other. I loved the support system they had from most people around them and my heart completely shattered for Deacon with the issues he was continuing to deal with on top of losing a brother.
This was such a quick and easy read and reminded me why I love reading MM Romance
I thoroughly enjoyed this emotional romance. Tissues are a necessity from the very start, and the emotion doesn’t stop. Congratulations to Marley Valentine for such a well written read.
Deacon and Julian have know each other forever but they never truly saw each other. When Julian’s bestfriend / boyfriend Rhett passes away, he barely copes. Deacon, Rhett’s brother was there, following the funeral, and again a year later, to support him, to be his friend. Which doesn’t make sense to anyone, them included, neither had barely spoken the other in the past.
Another amazing, emotional read from this author!! I have to say I love all her books but I’m so, so glad she’s writing MM! The story of Julian & Deacon is so intense & heartbreaking to see what these two go through.
Knowing each other in passing most of their lives, it takes a tragic event to bring these two together in ways they never expected. As confusion and guilt comes between them again & again, how will they be able to move on from the past together?
Julian and Deacon are raw and exposed, knowing what the other is feeling because they feel it too. They’ve gone through so much pain, shame & guilt because the one person that ties them together is gone. This book, with it’s gorgeous cover, is so beautifully written. I love all of Marley’s books & I’m not sure how she is going to top this one!
Without You was a stunning read that wrenched my heart and completely took me by surprise.
I was captivated by Julian and Deacon from the very start and they never let their vicegrip on my heart go. These two kept me hooked as I traveled alongside them through their journey of loss, growth and ultimately healing. The undeniable connection and chemistry they found as friends soon grew into a love that was absolutely beautiful. I loved watching their walls fall as they let one another in and learned to trust what they found.
Unforgettable, gutwrenching, and beautifully emotional Without You was a stunning and hopeful love story that is one of my absolute favorites ever. I honestly can’t recommend it enough.
Oh. My. Gosh. This book was beautifully written. It gripped me by the heart and had my eyes filling with tears before I finished the prologue and kept bringing the emotion the whole way through. Marley wrote this book in a way you could tell she poured her heart and soul into it and it bled out on ever page. I have no doubts Without You will stay one of my top reads for the year. It’s one that stays with you and lingers in your heart long after you read The End.
This book has so much emotion, so much vulnerability and I couldn’t help but fall in love with Julian and Deacon! Marley and her words each and every time I read them are something incredibly inspiring. You feel the need to live by them or the very least take them to your heart and learn from them.
I couldn’t help but get emotional each and every moment throughout this book! This story is just all heart and soul! You want to keep reading because Julian is so heartbroken or because Deacon is crazy angry! Something happens in each and every chapter you will stay awake for hours trying to finish this book! Mesmerized by her words you will not put this book down unless you absolutely have to.
From watching a family’s heartbreak to healing and then complete shatter of what you thought would happen will soak up your entire day full of book reading. Julian and Deacon’s banter is one thing that will make your heart soar! I absolutely love this book from beginning to end!