Publisher: Self Published
On the surface, Ben seems to have it all: money, influence, good looks. He smiles and jokes in all the right places, but it’s all a façade. Inside he’s a wreck, and it’s only getting worse. With his Congressman father using Ben’s recent kidnapping for his own political agenda, and Ben still struggling to get over the only guy he’s ever loved, he feels like he’s losing his grip on reality and he’s quickly spiraling out of control.
Then he meets Dante, an enigma of a man with as much self-hatred as Ben has. In Dante, Ben finds what he didn’t know he needed: Dante’s control, his power, is the only thing that clears the fog in Ben’s brain. For the first time in his life, Ben has a lover who just might need Ben as much as Ben needs him. When they’re together, the demons from their pasts don’t lurk so heavily on their shoulders.
But Dante can’t fix him. Not when a memory from Ben’s past is haunting him in ways he doesn’t understand, waiting for him to put together the missing pieces in his head…and what he discovers just might have the power to break him for good.
This is the continuation of the Broken Pieces series and picks up telling Ben’s story. If you are looking for a story that’s sweetly romantic with lots of sizzling sex, this is not what you’re looking for. If you’re not s fan of stories filled with angst, this is not what you’re looking for. But with that, I will strongly suggest you step outside your box and pick this book up. If you haven’t read the previous two in the series, I would strongly suggest that you do as to have a greater understanding of what is going on with Ben.
Ah, Ben. Ben: the beautiful, confident, wealthy and powerful, sussessful defense attorney who has it all together. On the surface. But underneath that polished surface is a man in a tremendous amount of pain. Pain from his childhood, pain from an unrequited love of the past and present, pain from his family’s betrayal, pain from the horrific crime committed against him, the list goes on. Ben is a mess, mentally and physically. He realizes this but is powerless to stop it. In one of the BSDM club he frequents, he sees Dante for the first time and something about this man calls to Ben.
Dante, like Ben, is a man who is broken. He too has his demons from the past that he unable to shake. But one night, he looks up to see the gorgeous blond man who is struggling. There is an instant attraction but Dante does not want to get involved with Ben because he can’t save him. But that’s exactly what Dante did to a certain extent.
These are two men, both with demons who need to be exorcised. They’re two men who are lost. Both adrift in their own seas of misery. Their pasts eating away at them gradually.
Neither man is in a position, emotionally to embark on any type of relationship but they are drawn to and falling for each other.
This book was hard for me to read, but not because it was badly poor written; no, it quite the opposite, actually! It was heartbreaking to read Ben’s ordeal. Poor man was sinking into the depths of alcoholism, fueled by his obvious and untreated PTSD. Being with Dante helped, but with both men being so damaged, neither was equipped to save the other. This story’s ending was quite a surprise. I’ll give you a tiny spoiler: Ben’s family will get their just desserts towards the end. It was one that I was quite satisfied with.
Both men get their HEA, I am glad to say. Considering the pain that they had to endure, it made their HEA all that much sweeter. This series and this author is definite worth reading.
Rated it: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️