Book 702: Out of the Shadows – K.C. Wells

Does it matter why I grabbed this one? We’re firmly in double digit territory and rapidly approaching dozens in this random MM romance wormhole.

Wells wrote a couple of books I thoroughly enjoyed (The Senator’s Secret and My Fair Brady) and decent enough one (Under the Covers) and this was the final one on Hoopla by her, so I just grabbed it to read. When I got it, I didn’t realize it was set in Boston and when I did realize that, it gave me a lot of anxiety because a book set in your locale is very hit or miss when it comes to physical locations and I’m still bitter about Quietus. UGH.

Out of the Shadows is the story of Christian, a veritable recluse due to an accident that left him badly scared nearly a decade ago, and Josh, a happy-go-lucky jack-of-all-trades brought into the apartment complex to renovate the units.

In a somewhat traditional beauty and the beast story line, Josh draws Christian out of his room and into the apartment and slowly shows him what he’s been missing for the last eight years. They venture out to the Arnold Arboretum, Copley Square and the Boston Public Garden. Aside from mistakenly calling the Garden the “Boston Public Park” or some such nonsense—considering how many people who live hear get it and Boston Common wrong—I can’t really blame her too much. (Wikipedia.org links)

The love story is of course sappy and sweet and romantic as hell. There were a couple of breath-hitching scenes, but the swoon worthiness wasn’t there for me like in others by Wells.

Wells did however equitably spread around the sex and she has done this in other novels I’ve read. I’ve mentioned it before, but a lot of these authors (predominantly female) write that both main characters are open to topping and bottoming, but then when it comes to getting hot and heavy they don’t switch it up. This is acceptable if there is only one sex scene in the novel, you assume that during their HEA they spend time fully exploring their sex lives. However, when there are multiple sex scenes and it’s the same characters performing the same roles with slight variations, it’s like WTF practice what you preach!

Recommendation: A fun read set in Boston that didn’t drive me too nuts with the descriptions. (I almost got mad that they “drove” into Boston from Jamaica Plain, part of Boston, but then I remember we’ve definitely done it from Southie and we’re a lot closer – ha!). The beauty and the beast trope worked well enough. I really enjoyed reading as Christian and Josh’s relationship grew through Christian’s slowly increasing confidence and Josh’s caring and loving personality.

Opening Line: “Christian Hernandez stared at the letter, his gut clenching.”

Closing Line: “So what are you wearing under there?” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)