Shattered Pieces – K.M. Neuhold

Synopsis

I was sure my heart had withered away years ago, but then you smiled at me, and I felt it beat again.

Years ago, I fell in love with my best friend’s little brother. Then, he took his own life, leaving me shattered and unable to piece my heart back together. I’ve been a zombie for nine long years. Until a crazy, gorgeous man walked into Heathens Ink and injected color back into my world of gray. No matter how hard I try to resist Beck, he just won’t give up on me. I would need steel willpower to withstand his gorgeous long legs in those high heels and his drawer full of lacy lingerie. But is this just a kinky hook up or does it have the possibility for more?

**Shattered Pieces is the fourth book in the Heathens Ink series, each book in the series CAN be read as a standalone. This is an steamy and emotional M/M romance with a guaranteed HEA

My Thoughts

Gage lost the love of his life in a tragic way and has been at a complete standstill ever since. Beck lost his twin more recently, and is doing his best to move forward while honouring her memory. When Beck walks into Heathens Ink for a tattoo, the two meet and find themselves on a similar path of grief and mourning.

Gage never thought he’d heal from Johnny’s death. He never wanted to. Not really. But Beck changes all of that.

Beck is still grieving, but he’s vibrant, and full of life. He wants to live a life that would make his twin, Bri, proud of him. But he also feels the pressure of parents with very specific expectations and ideas about his life path.

Where Gage needs a jumpstart to start moving forward, Beck needs a kick in the ass to live the way he wants, not the way he’s expected to. And that’s more or less exactly what they give each other. They give each other the space to mourn in their own ways, but they also want to build something together that would allow them to heal and move forward.

It’s a slow burn that creeps up on both of them. They just fit well together, and support each other when they need it most. But there’s also a deep level of understanding that they have for each others’ grieving processes. Grief and mourning isn’t a cookie cutter formula. There’s no time frame or goalposts when it comes to the process. Which allows them to communicate where they’re at in that process effectively, and honestly.

As their relationship progresses, and as they learn to be open and vulnerable with each other, they also take steps to move forward in their professional lives, too. Beck decides to follow his own path, and Gage decides it’s time to take over more ownership of the shop, just as he and Adam had planned when they first opened.

I found it so refreshing to see grief treated with such raw honesty. I loved it. And I love this series, so very, very much for its approach to incredibly difficult topics, and the dignity and respect with which those topics are treated, while still feeling very real and raw.

~ by Aubrey Smith on June 21, 2024.