There's a thin line between love & hate...or so they say.



Mercy Celeste - damaged cowboy, enemies to lovers style with a rape-happy villain/creature/twisted fuck. And a ginger MC! And damaged rent boy MC! All the ingredients for a story sandwich with my name all over it!!



Can I say I'm on the fence with rating this? Because I am. I both almost loved and almost hated this story. I might come back and rate this 3 stars. I might come back and rate it 5. Right now it's in the middle with 4. (I'm just going to write down my thoughts as I go)

Oh ho there's drama, babes! The drama tidal wave crashes in Non-Con Island many times (which I'm fine with). [Note: The rape happens both in the past and presently so if that's a trigger, this is not the one for you. And there's abuse both of the physical and sexual kind. So yeah not so light.]

Mercy Celeste is known for having some drama for everyone and your mama, so I knew what to expect but I seriously couldn't believe I got to a HEA.

Creed and Eli have hated each other for about ten years, both competing in rodeos, both damaged young men who grew up to be even more damaged adults. Once I learned Creed's entire history, I was hooked on him. I felt sorry for the life he had and could see why he had to make the choices he did. I think the author did a great job describing Creed's backstory. His horrible parent...he's fucking vile. Eli's uncle...he too is vile. Not the worst villain I've ever read but he's up there. What a maniacal son of a bitch.



My biggest issue with the story is about Uncle Owen. Why did he show up out of the blue with no contact in over 3 years? I get the MC's reaction because there have been trained to react the way they did. The power he held over both men...I can understand it but on the other hand...why? Why was he still allowed to carry on the way he did? I would have been just as happy (maybe a little more) if he never showed up and the story focused more on both MC trying to rebuild some semblance of normalcy. I can't beat up on victims, so I'm not going to gripe (too much) about the MC's reactions to abuse. I think the author laid enough evidence to support why the characters reacted the way they did. Sometimes it pissed me off but I was intrigued throughout the entire story.

Creed and Eli when they had sex...boy was it hot. One scene irked me...One of the MC's was raped and proceeded to have sex with his lover the day after...no hesitation. I mean the MC was portrayed as being durable and easily adaptable to whatever shitstorm came his way but come on. Really?



The drama/hurt/damage was peppered throughout the story. By 50%, things progressed so nicely. Both men were working their way to a satisfying happy ending, no pressing issues impeding their way or so I thought. The flashback to both MC childhood and years apart was heavy with pain but it just added to how these men got to where they are today.

By 60%, I was a little fearful.

By 70%, I was nervous at what other tricks the author had up her sleeve.

At 80%...I was like:



At 90% -

By the time I got to the end, I almost thought it was a trick and there was more story hiding somewhere ready to make a magic appearance and kick the HEA down the drain with another hurtful plot twist.

Luckily it was the actual ending and the epilogue was a nice enough 'snapshot'.

Would I recommend this story for everybody? NO! See the triggers I describe above. This is a dark story with (off page) incest, rape, abuse, hurt and a boulder-sized angst nugget. I think it was a great story, even when I was mad. I loved Creed.

Not my favorite story by her but certainly not my least favorite.



ETA: *snaps fingers* Remembered one more thing: The overuse of the phrase Let It Go" in the last 20%. Look, I get it. Really I do. The first time an author uses a title in the story, I usually smile(or something to that effect). But after 15-20 times...let go of using "let it go".

And I didn't care for Sly even after the epilogue. He's an ass." ( )

Reminiscent of SJD Peterson's Whispering Pines series, but in Florida instead of Texas. Lots of angst and twists and turns, and two interesting protagonists. ( )

Let It Go was not at all the fluffy cowboys gay romance you could imagine from the cover; at a time gritty and dirty, at a time sweet and romantic, it was an odd mix that worked almost in a perfect way, and the almost is there only since, sometime the gritty parts made me uneasy, but actually that is a bonus for the story and kudos to the author.

Eli and Creed were always competitors, since the time Creed, 17 years old, won the horse competition against Eli, 18, there was a feud between them that is difficult to solve. Eli even moved to the bull competition to avoid to be face to face on the rodeo with Creed, but nevertheless, every time Eli meets Creed on the road, he is the first to start a fight. But this time he made a mistake, since the fight took place in Eli’s hometown, and the judge who is called to fine them, his Eli’s godfather and he wants to teach Eli a lessons: he forces the two men under house arrest together, and or they kill each other, or they learn how to cohabitate.

But Eli and Creed do more than cohabitate, they discover the tension between them had a long-lasting sexual origin, that both Eli and Creed are gays and they are attracted to each other. So far, you classic cowboys romance, isn’t it? But at this point the gritty I was talking about raise its ugly head, and child abuse, violence and rape are few of the hidden secrets you will learn about. For Eli and Creed is not simply a question of falling in love and live happily ever after, they need to trust each other, enough to be able to come clear of their past, and deal with it. It’s not even a question of acceptance, at least of the other past, is more a question of acceptance of their own, understanding that surviving was not a fault but a merit.

Despite everything, when Eli and Creed are together, they manage to be almost tender, happy, and probably for the first time, young: while they are together, you realize they are still boys more than men, or better men that have never had the chance to enjoy their young age, and a little piece of that lost youth is reliving in their lovemaking.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009G9T87W/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Holy angst-fest! Hot m/m action I love with extra angst. Loved it! ( )

Holy angst-fest! Hot m/m action I love with extra angst. Loved it! ( )