I canNOT get enough of fairytales and retellings and princes. Here's Hayden Hall's latest: "Romeo vs Romeo." Its the second novel in his new series: The Boys of Hudson Burrow.
["The sexy newcomer at Neon Nights hates me. I’m not too thrilled about him, either, except that those hungry eyes full of hateful desire do wild things to me.
I know I shouldn’t meddle with a closet case. Good Catholic boys are nothing but trouble and heartbreak.
Except that this Catholic boy is a foot taller and a foot wider, with dusty blond hair and piercing blue eyes. My legs turn to jelly whenever he comes near me. And all of a sudden, I’m messing around with the exact type of guy I should avoid. My time would be better spent protecting our safe space from demolition, but my obsession with Everett consumes my body and my soul.
If only things were as simple as all that.
Just when I think that Everett and I could have something a little like a future together, I discover who he really is. Everett Langley is the son and heir of the very man who is trying to build a luxury hotel after he ruins our neighborhood.
Neon Nights is at risk and I am never scared to be the first line of defense. But this time, standing up for the bar that shelters all the outcasts and runaways in the neighborhood means fighting the very person I am falling in love with."]
This book was heartbreaking, right from the very start. Everett was poetic in his self-hate and guilt filling him to the brim. He was so alone and lying to himself and turning to anger to help him cope. He was depressed over the simple fact that he liked men, unable to leave his bed after falling to the urge of /thinking/ of touching Roman (touching in the most innocent of ways). Until Roman told him he wasn't alone.
Roman had his friends, his found family, his neighborhood bar, and his social/political fights. He was alone and coping by throwing himself at project after project, even if he was constantly hurt and threatened in the process. He left his anger- and guilt-filled past behind and embraced a life of hook-ups instead of HEAs. Until he saw the emptiness in Everett's eyes.
These two were fast to fall. They made up for the meet-ugly and multiple less-than-kind encounters by embracing their passion and connection with two hands. Parts of it were romantic as hell.
Parts were a smidge too fast though. I mean, Everett went from not even being able to innocently touch Roman to full on penetrative sex with a hint of dom/sub in there. And these two scenes were only a few days apart. Then again, this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and those two horny fuckers moved fast, too. Then again (x2), completely accepting yourself and your likes/wants/needs can be freeing, especially in the face of losing the one place you ever felt yourself.
I delayed myself in reading this book because of the perceived angst, knowing that I would end up sobbing. I did. It's fine (it's not). On a side note, it's nice to know that in the fictional world, bigoted assholes get what's coming to them.
Trigger Warnings: internalized homophobia, homophobic family, looooots of self hate and guilt, a lot of negative emotions fueled by organized religion, and more.
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