REAWAKEN
UNDER MY SKIN SERIES, BOOK 2
CHRISTINA LEE
M/M ROMANCE
RELEASE DATE: 11.02.17
Cover Designer: KANAXA
BLURB
Losing his adoring husband shattered Tristan Rogers world. For
the past few years, he’s been going through the motions, running their dog
grooming business while hiding the loneliness he feels down to his bones. When
he witnesses an ugly breakup between a pretentious customer and his boyfriend,
Tristan can’t help but intervene. Something about the unassuming younger man
calls to him, and he can’t help wondering if he’s experienced some heartache of
his own.
Life took a tragic turn for Jonas “West” Hollis as a teen, and
he’s felt indebted to his overbearing lover ever since. Tristan’s kindness
draws him from the start, but with his dreams finally in reach, West can’t risk
getting close to someone else. Not now that he can live his life and stand on
his own merit.
From innocent texts to companionable rides on Tristan’s boat,
what starts as an unexpected friendship between the men sparks into undeniable
attraction. Neither are ready for anything deeper than a couple of passionate
nights wrapped in each other’s arms but their connection becomes too intense
for either to ignore. If Tristan and West want to heal their broken hearts,
they’ll need a considerable amount of trust and courage—not only in themselves
but also each other.
Review
I am relatively new to the work of Christina Lee. I’ve read some of her collaborations with
Nyrae Dawn, but will admit that I hadn’t read any of her solo work until “The
Sweetest Goodbye”, originally part of the “It Was Always You” anthology. (By the way, that one is now available
separate from the anthology). “Regret”,
the first book of the “Under My Skin” series is one of my favorites, so I was
excited when “Reawakened” was announced.
The title is appropriate.
Tristian’s lost his husband three years previous. Since then, he’s gone through the motions of
living, but hasn’t really lived. He runs his own dog grooming business, but
then goes home to frozen dinners and mundane television. He’s in a rut, until he helps out the
boyfriend of one of his more arrogant clients, West.
West is in a rut too, only if a different sort. He was taken in by Michael after a family
tragedy, and a relationship developed soon thereafter. But he too has never been actually able to live.
Anyone who has read any of my reviews knows that I have a
tendency to steer clear of discussing how “hot” I think a book is. I prefer to focus more on the relationship
building, the connections between characters.
To me, that emotional and psychological connection is much deeper than
anything physical.
Christina takes her time in actually building a relationship
between Tristian and West. She doesn’t
rely on physical chemistry to build the couple.
It’s there, just not at the forefront.
I appreciated that. So much of
M/M romance is built on the physicality first then the emotional. This was a nice change of pace. They develop a real friendship first, trading
text messages and phone calls. Tristian
feel a certain amount of protectiveness toward West. They are in similar places in their lives,
albeit for entirely different reasons.
This helps them develop in equal footing.
I loved the slow burn of this. The care that was taken in developing both
characters as both individuals as well as a couple. I’m always a little nervous when the second
book to a series comes out and I absolutely loved the first one. With “Reawakened”, I needn’t be. It’s a beautiful story of learning how to
live your life on your own terms, and I’ll gladly be back for the third book.
EXCERPT
“Promise
you won’t let me drown?”
“If
I did, I’d miss out on whatever meal you promised as payback,” he replied with
a smirk. “And believe me, I’m all for that.”
A
nervous laugh jumped from my throat, even though the idea of cooking for
him—for anybody, really—thrilled me. I pulled the sticky orange life vest over
my neck and fastened it, figuring I’d bob around at first and get used to the
water.
After
I jumped in, I stuck close to Tristan, still nervous that I’d somehow float
away from him and feel abandoned in this giant body of water.
“You
ready to try without the life vest?” he asked in a tentative voice.
My
pulse pitched, but I still nodded. I knew he wouldn’t leave me stranded or let
anything happen to me.
“We’ll
just practice floating.”
Tugging
me closer to the edge of the boat, he helped unsnap the vest. As he fished it
over my shoulders, his gaze met mine. “It’s okay. I got you.”
He
placed the vest on the platform, where my fingers were digging into the edge
for dear life.
Tristan
moved behind me, his hands winding around my waist, and I immediately felt
goose bumps line my skin. Just like I did when I was lying in bed with him. His
lips found my ear, and it made all the hair along my nape stand on end.
“Breathe, West. It’s going to be okay.”
Mother, wife, reader, dreamer.
Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son--her two favorite guys.
She's addicted to lip balm, coffee, and kissing. Because everything is better
with kissing.
She writes MM Contemporary as well as Adult and New Adult Romance. She believes in happily-ever-afters for all, so reading and writing romance for everybody under the rainbow helps quench her soul.
She writes MM Contemporary as well as Adult and New Adult Romance. She believes in happily-ever-afters for all, so reading and writing romance for everybody under the rainbow helps quench her soul.
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Loved this book
ReplyDeleteLove Christina’s books!
ReplyDeleteLoved Regret - can't wait to get into this one!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Christina, and thanks for the good review, Michael. The cover looks great, and the story sounds intriguing. I liked The Deepest Blue. The set up did a good job, of well, setting up a good story.
ReplyDeleteChristina Lee is a new author to me. Thank you for the review, I become intrigued by the book now.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Congrats on a great read Christina. Reawakened is my fav so fat - loved it! Thought the cuddling scenes and swimming lessons were adorable. I hope we get to hear more about them in later books. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
ReplyDeleteI can wait to read this story. Older/younger stories really appeal to me!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis author is still on my TBR list.
ReplyDelete