This was my favorite book in the series. There was no virginal female being chased, stalked, or groomed by a much more sexually experienced and physically powerful man, and after reading four books that followed that script it was so refreshing. I loved that the love interests were on an equal footing, both physically and mentally.
Brandon King, younger twin brother of Landon, has felt inadequate for his entire life. He has always felt like he was living in the shadow of his much more artistically talented brother. Lan creates sculptural masterpieces, and Bran feels like his landscapes aren’t even close to being in the same league, even though his family, friends, and professionals in the field tell him that his paintings are indeed very beautiful. Bran’s confidence has also taken major hits over the years as women have used him in order to try to get closer to Lan, making him question any woman who says she wants to be with him. Bran loves his brother deeply, but he also feels inadequate by comparison, for many reasons. He has created a very scheduled, organized, normal life in order to try to fit in and keep his inner demons at bay.
But when Bran receives an anonymous text stating that he needs to go to the Heathens initiation to save his brother, his love for his twin overrides his fear of confrontation and violence which is what is to be expected at the event. As he runs through the woods alongside actual hopefuls trying to become members of the exclusive club, he decides hiding is better than trying to reach the finish line. Unfortunately, the most unhinged of the Heathens finds him and takes a great interest in him.
Nikolai is an absolute menace. Future leader of the mafia that his parents are current leaders of, he enjoys fighting, drinking, and sex. He is covered in tattoos, loves to annoy people, and has serious anger issues. Nikolai only knows who Bran is because Lan is the head of the Heathens rival club. And even though he hates Lan, he finds himself absolutely enamored with Bran. Nikolai begins inserting himself into Bran’s perfectly organized life, which irritates him to no end not only because it disrupts his schedule, but because Bran insists that he is neither gay nor bisexual and has no interest in becoming Nikolai’s next one night stand. But Nikolai is annoyingly persistent, as he starts to insert himself into all areas of Bran’s life.
From the beginning, we can tell that there is something disturbingly wrong with Bran. He seems to suffer from some kind of mental health issue, something very serious. He is hiding something, that’s why he has organized his life so strictly, he is trying to hide who he really is, but he also seems to have a secret beyond the fact that he is actually attracted to men. It takes the entirety of the book for that secret to come out, and it is a traumatizing event from his past. I definitely did not see that trauma coming, but I think it suited the story.
This book may be the only one in this entire series that I ever read again. There was so much passion between Nikolai and Bran, I really enjoyed it. Their intimate scenes were also very spicy, they are quite vocal. And these two are the definition of opposites attracting. Bran is basically the definition of posh boy from a good, wealthy family, complete with a wardrobe of khakis, polo shirts and button downs, who spends his free time volunteering. Nikolai is basically an obnoxious, tattooed, mafia brat, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, when he does wear clothing, who enjoys his motorcycle and nights at the fight club. If it’s not obvious, I find this very cute. I’m hoping I can find more MM romances as good as this one in the future.
Nonfiction and Nonsense 