MM Romance/Second Chance
370 Pages
Book 3 of the West Village Series
Published by Bindi K Publishing (30th January 2024)
Purchase from | Amazon AU* | Amazon US | Amazon UK |
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Teddy has always known who he is, and he’s never apologised for that. After saying farewell to his best friend, Scarlett, he is struck with loneliness and a sense of feeling lost. When a chance encounter has him running into the man who still held the shattered pieces of his heart, all Teddy wants is a second chance. When he starts to question whether he should let Asher back in, and whether this time will be different, he decides that the best thing he can do is be the best friend that Asher has ever had. Will Asher and Teddy be able to deny the attraction they both still feel? Or will they lose themselves in each other in the hopes that they won’t crash and burn?
I have been waiting for this instalment of the West Village series since I ARC read Secrets in Love earlier last year. I haven’t read Rules in Love yet, but I’m aiming to get to it sometime soon. Secrets stole my heart, and I fell in love with Kennedy’s writing, the world that she’s created and the characters that she’s brought to life. Kennedy is the first author that has made me physically laugh out loud, in two different books now, and that is amazing.
I’d met Teddy in Secrets briefly, and he was such a strong, domineering character that I couldn’t wait to get to meet properly. He didn’t disappoint. He is so full of sass that I’m worried he will explode, and his humour and wit just had me shaking my head. The blurb doesn’t lie, he is unapologetically himself and doesn’t censor anything. He is crass, he is sexual, he is rude, and he is loud. And I love everything about him. He puts on such a strong front that has you believing that nothing can break him, that everything just rolls off his back like water on a duck. But as the story progresses, you get to see behind that front, and see how vulnerable and caring he really is. I want to protect him from the world. Asher, I’ll admit, I didn’t like him in the beginning of this book. I wanted to throttle him for what he did to Teddy. As the story moved along, however, I got to see who Asher really was and by the end of the book, I loved him just as much as I did Teddy. Getting to watch Asher grow and evolve throughout this story was something that I’m not quite sure I have words for. Learning about him and why he made the decisions that he did, it really broke my heart for him. I’m still mad, but I know I’ll get over it, I’m sure that Teddy has, so I’m sure that I can as well.
The story was one that, initially, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy as much as Secrets. Teddy is chaotic, so it makes sense that his story felt a bit that way as well. But as I read on, I became as enamoured with this story as much as I did with the previous one. I love how the two books I have read by Kennedy now; both have a different feel about them. They have their own vibe and their own…flavour, if that makes sense. Where Secrets is like fruit tingles, Lost is like fairy floss. I’m not expecting anyone to be able to make sense of that, hahahaha, my brain works in mysterious ways. What I’m saying is, even though these stories are set in the same world and the characters are all intertwined and cameo in each other’s stories, the stories are not the same. This one was a solid second chance, finding ones-self, learning to trust again, overcoming fears, all in spicy romance with tablespoons of humour spread throughout. The front door scene, when Asher is drunk, absolute gold! I’m still laughing about it.
All in all, this was a fantastic instalment in the series, and I can’t wait to finally get into Rules and see where it all started. If you’re looking for a spicy but sweet MM romance that still deals with heavier subjects in a gentle but honest way, give this one a go. I will scream about Kennedy’s books from the roof tops because I did not expect to love them as much as I do. With rich stories, and real characters that have depth and personality, how could I not.
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