Heart
It's going to be hard to review this without giving anything away. If you know any of Kol Anderson's work, you know going into this that it won't be typical hearts and flowers and happy ever after. What you will get are characters you love, characters you hate and those you feel both for. Roman is wealthy, working for his father, does too many drugs, is self-loathing and pessimistic. While on a trip to Vienna, he meets Luke and they spend their last night in town together. Luke is older and a bit more optimistic, and enjoys being with Roman. Three years later they meet again and strike up a friendship with benefits(Roman doesn't do relationships) but Luke falls in love with Roman, who seems to be bending his rules and developing feelings for Luke as well.
One night out clubbing Roman meets Daniel Jones. This is the beginning of one twisted relationship. What Roman doesn't know is that Luke and Daniel have past dealings and he is likely just a pawn to at least one of them. Luke sees Roman is on a path of self-destruction but as much as he loves him, seems unable to help him, especially once his past comes back calling.
Roman's character is complex and I had a love-hate relationship with him through a lot of the story. While seemingly hopeless and self-destructive, he still manages to save Jeremy, a young prostitute, from the streets, setting him up in his apartment and providing him with anything he will need to build a future. We get another glimpse of this need to help others again later in the book, but for some reason Roman seems unwilling to treat himself the same way. While there are hints dropped as to why Roman may act as he does, and why his father tries to keep a tight leash on him, it is not until the end that things finally seem to make some sense.
Luke's character baffled me a bit. While he loves Roman and wants to help him, it seemed he could have easily, by the sake of his job description, saved him from Daniel especially once he sees the toll the meetings with Daniel take both physically and mentally. Jeremy is a ray of sunshine, becoming a good friend to Roman and his father.
I'm not even sure this review makes sense since it's hard to say anything plot wise without giving things away, but I'll end it by saying this book had me thinking about it long after I read it. If you like reading something dark, that unfurls slowly, with each character having their own secrets you'll probably enjoy this one.
(Fair warning to those who have concerns, this book contains scenes of rape and dubious consent.)
