Repaired
ARC provided by author to facilitate this review
Liam Davis is a man without a past. That’s what he wants everyone to believe, anyway. Hell-bent on erasing any memories of his previous life, he knows that starting over is all he can do. Hiding who he is, where he’s from, why he’s running, and especially who he’s left behind, Liam has run away from everything he’s ever known. His plan works perfectly until one day when Parker Ryan threatens to expose his carefully concealed world.
Parker Ryan is a man without a future. Sure, he’s a partner in one of New York’s most prestigious law firms, but he’ll never be more than a failure in the eyes of his boss, his father. Rather than break away from his father’s standards, he finds himself mindlessly pursuing them, in turn sacrificing anything that would actually make him happy.
When Liam’s and Parker’s lives collide, the ugly truth about who they really are, and who they hope to become reveals itself when they least expect it. As both of their lives become wrecked beyond all belief, they’ll learn how to rely on each other in their journey to become Repaired.
It’s a 4-Alarm read!
If someone were to ask me to sum up Melissa Collins‘ books, I’d have to say that she writes romance with soul. Repaired keeps up that tradition for me. With the combination of her impassioned, yet realistic writing, her imperfectly perfect characters, and the hidden depths and soul of her stories, she’s definitely an author you shouldn’t miss out on.
When I first started reading Repaired, I thought I knew what I would be getting. I was expecting a classic “opposites attract” story. While that theme was definitely woven into this story, Melissa Collins delivered much, much more with the story of Liam and Parker.
Parker and Liam come from two very different worlds, yet it becomes obvious that they couldn’t be more right for each other. As usual, Collins’ characters have a rich backstory that can captivate the reader all on it’s own. These two men fight their own personal demons long before they meet each other. Liam, with a traumatic past, who has fought tooth and nail to become a new man, a hard worker who just wants to leave the past behind. Parker, battling bigotry and rejection, doing what he feels is “right”, even though it’s plain to see it’s all wrong for him.
The two leads compliment each other so well. Parker is able to fill in the broken pieces of Liam, while Liam is able to give Parker the love and acceptance he’s always craved, but never received. Their connection really is something special, and it’s fulfilling for the reader to observe their story as it unfolds, getting to see each man finally become whole through the love of the other. The heat between the two simmers throughout the beginning of the book. Collins employs a slow, steady buildup as the two break down walls and let each other in, until they finally reach their boiling point. The heat between the two is explosive!
Elevating this book to a level that is more than just your every day romance is a heartbreaking sub-plot that slowly unfurls throughout the story. Melissa Collins doesn’t give it all away up front, she brings the reader along on a journey, and the destination is somewhere I never saw this story going.
Repaired is a powerful and well told story, and Melissa does what she does best, showcases the ability of someone else’s broken pieces to make you whole.
Great review!