Unwanted, a m/m second-chance romance, by Marley Valentine is live!
Buy on Amazon
Free in KU
Blurb
Two halves of a whole, Arlo Bishop and I were both unwanted kids brought together by the foster system. Dealing with the aftermath of neglect and abandonment, we grew up side by side and found solace in one another.
We wanted.
We needed.
We loved.
Desperately.
But somewhere along the way, Arlo wanted and needed and loved drugs more. So, I did the only thing I could and broke my own heart to save his.
Now, four years later, I’m back in L.A. and face-to-face with my past. Not only does the pain and hurt of our mistakes linger between us but so do our feelings.
I didn’t plan on a second chance—fear of history repeating itself making it hard to forgive and even harder to forget. But with only one touch, one kiss, I was taken back to where it all started.
Two halves of a whole, Arlo and I were made for each other. But we were no longer the unwanted foster kids.
We were grown men.
And I wanted nothing more than him.
Review
3.5 stars
This book is the first in The Unlucky Ones series, about a close-knit group of ex-foster kids all grown up and figuring themselves out. First up is a second-chance m/m romance with drama and a gorgeous love story.
Frankie and Arlo were the oldest kids at their foster home. They became best friends, and then lovers, falling deeply in love before Arlo developed a drug abuse problem, and it all fell apart for them. It’s been four years since Frankie left Arlo at rehab and left town, and the guys haven’t seen or spoken to each other since. But a family emergency has brought Frankie back home, where he’s going to have to face his past once and for all.
The book is written in dual POV, so we get to see all that the two men are feeling, and they are both full of apprehension knowing that they’re going to come face to face for the first time in four years. But from the moment they lay eyes on each other, it’s clear that their feelings from all of those years ago are still very much there.
He’s looking at me the way he always has.
Like time hasn’t passed.
Like nothing has changed.
Like he needs me.
Like he loves me.
There’s so much love between Frankie and Arlo. Neither of them wanted their relationship to end, but their situation at the time was so complicated, and they just couldn’t make it work. We get to see all of the ins and outs as the story progresses, and I could truly understand how both of them felt, and how things ended up the way they did. And though they’re both feeling hurt, guilt and grief, their sheer longing for each other overwhelms everything.
He’d always been my other half in every way.
And even after all this time, that connection was reignited the second I laid eyes on him. It didn’t matter that we’d done and said unforgiveable things. I knew down to the marrow of my bones that he was mine and I was his.
Slowly and cautiously, they begin to talk. Both men are surprised by the depth of the connection that still exists between them, and rather than hide from it, they tentatively explore it, slowly opening themselves up to each other again and allowing themselves to feel it all.
“You broke more than my heart when you left … You broke me.”
Their chemistry is irresistible, and it’s not too long before all of that emotion and sexual tension brings them back to where they were always supposed to be – together.
Arlo and I were a match made in heaven on paper, we’d just pit stopped in hell first.
These two are gorgeous together! They’ve been through so much, you can see the depth of their feelings for each other, and as they come back together it’s sexy and intense, and they’re feeling so much for each other. I loved how demonstrative they were with everything they were feeling, and the love story is so swoony.
“You taught me how to love,” he exclaims. “Before you, I didn’t know what it was like to be loved, let alone to love someone in return. I love you … I always have and I always will.”
There’s a lot of pain from the past that they still need to address, and will they risk their future by rehashing their past? And then there is the fact that Frankie is only in town temporarily. But while he’s exploring things with Arlo, Frankie is also reconnecting with the people that he considers his family, realising everything that he left behind. They both have soul searching to do to figure out what they truly want.
I love a second-chance-romance, and I loved watching Frankie and Arno find their way back to each other. They are both great characters – strong yet vulnerable, and immediately loveable. I also loved meeting the rest of their group. The dynamics there are a lot of fun, and there are some intriguing stories set up for them. I am definitely keen to read their books as the series continues.
My issue with this book is that I didn’t feel it as much as I was hoping. We meet Frankie and Arlo in the prologue in a brutally heartwrenching and emotional moment. The scene would have had me in tears if we had gotten a bit of background and build-up, but I felt like we were thrown right into the middle of it before we had any connection with the characters, or any clue about their relationship. Then we fast forward four years, and we’re thrown into a second-chance-romance where I felt like I was on the back foot. It took me a little while to truly get invested in Frankie and Arlo as a couple, but once I did, I was fully on board and ready for the ride to come. I just wish this book had been a little bit longer to provide a bit more background so that I could have felt it even more.
“I have never stopped loving you … I don’t think there’s a world in which I ever will.”
I really enjoyed this one.
3.5 stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author
Living in Sydney, Australia with her family, Marley Valentine is a USA Today bestselling author and a former social worker who uses her past experiences to write real life, emotional and heartfelt contemporary romance.
She enjoys mixing it up with both M/F and M/M Romance incorporating all forms of life, lust and love as her characters embark on their journey to their happily ever after.
When she’s not busy writing her own stories, she spends most of her time immersed in the words of her favourite authors.
Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Facebook | Facebook Group
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Bookbub | Pinterest | Verve Romance | Newsletter