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hijinx_abound's review against another edition
3.0
For a rockstar story, this book is rather quiet. This is more a story of resurrection and growth and fear and love. A man who gets everything he thinks he wants and then finds it's not what he needs. And a man who had everything but fell down into drugs and lost it all.
I loved this beautiful of two souls who breathe music and find one another in the notes of a dive bar. One on the rise and one coming back from the dead. Their relationship is not an easy one as one has never had a place he belonged and the other has smashed every relationship he ever had beneath a vial. I loved that they each have to figure out who they are and what they need whether they have one another or not.
There is drama but it is more emotional than fights and drugs and rock and roll. It is a story of longing and fear and love.
I loved this beautiful of two souls who breathe music and find one another in the notes of a dive bar. One on the rise and one coming back from the dead. Their relationship is not an easy one as one has never had a place he belonged and the other has smashed every relationship he ever had beneath a vial. I loved that they each have to figure out who they are and what they need whether they have one another or not.
There is drama but it is more emotional than fights and drugs and rock and roll. It is a story of longing and fear and love.
magicalrocketships's review against another edition
3.0
I suspect I've read far too many band-related stories over the years, and subsequently I wasn't as bowled over by this as I wanted to be.
jugglingpup's review against another edition
4.0
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I don’t go for the bad boy, rock star, or rich guy romance novels. I find them boring. I find them predictable. There has to be something large to draw me to them. The broken Caleb and the cover did me in on this one. I wanted to see how this played out. I am all about hurt/comfort.
Theo is a rock star, but doesn’t really understand what that means. He is the lead singer of a wildly popular rock band. He doesn’t understand that it means that people will recognize him in public, that his life is now living on a tour bus/planes, he doesn’t understand that all of his life is under the microscope. He hides from the fans, he hates touring, and he feels awkward with his band. The back story that he is given is magical. I loved how much pain and sadness Theo carried inside. I loved how much it bled out into his actions before it was revealed. It allowed me to experience his pain, instead of being told it existed. It was amazing writing and character building that led me to liking Theo.
Caleb is a recovering addict. His drug of choice seemed to be alcohol and heroin or meth. There are references to heroin and cocaine throughout the book, but I’m not sure if it is ever solidified as to which one he was doing. There is mostly needle references. I am also very much not into drug addicts, in recovery or not. I literally moved out of my hometown partially because you had two options: be a heroin addict or work with heroin addicts. So that twist on broken Caleb took some forcing myself to sit through at first. Then I realized that Caleb’s pain came from him punishing himself for the people he hurt and trying to stay sober through that pain, instead of just a desire to use again. It was a complex issue instead of a sensationalized one. Again, I have to give kudos for great writing and character development. Caleb’s sponsor is even a character that has lines, he is called, he is real. It made the whole thing feel more substantial and believable to me. It made it easier.
The romance was very up and down because of Caleb’s recovery and Theo’s childhood trauma. It was an amazing ride. The sex was generally hot, though I had the same issues I have with so many romance novels. The boys engage in oral sex without a condom repeatedly, but always use a condom for anal sex. This book goes a step further and a has a “conversation” about not using a condom for sex. It is like grunting, I didn’t really get the meaning until there was no condom. Then went “oh, that totally wasn’t enough communication and was totally not the right time to discuss it”. The author was pretty good about the use of lube outside of two scenes. One discussed using spit as lube, which in the right context can be super hot and possible so that scene doesn’t really count. The other scene it just wasn’t discussed at all for some reason which felt off considering how well Parrish did in all the other scenes. If there had been condoms for oral sex in the beginning then I would be praising this book as the best sex I have ever read in a M/M romance. Not all of the sex was penetrative. There was such range and fluidity that it was always a treat to get a sex scene instead of just a chore. I am impressed.
I got an ARC of this book.
I don’t go for the bad boy, rock star, or rich guy romance novels. I find them boring. I find them predictable. There has to be something large to draw me to them. The broken Caleb and the cover did me in on this one. I wanted to see how this played out. I am all about hurt/comfort.
Theo is a rock star, but doesn’t really understand what that means. He is the lead singer of a wildly popular rock band. He doesn’t understand that it means that people will recognize him in public, that his life is now living on a tour bus/planes, he doesn’t understand that all of his life is under the microscope. He hides from the fans, he hates touring, and he feels awkward with his band. The back story that he is given is magical. I loved how much pain and sadness Theo carried inside. I loved how much it bled out into his actions before it was revealed. It allowed me to experience his pain, instead of being told it existed. It was amazing writing and character building that led me to liking Theo.
Caleb is a recovering addict. His drug of choice seemed to be alcohol and heroin or meth. There are references to heroin and cocaine throughout the book, but I’m not sure if it is ever solidified as to which one he was doing. There is mostly needle references. I am also very much not into drug addicts, in recovery or not. I literally moved out of my hometown partially because you had two options: be a heroin addict or work with heroin addicts. So that twist on broken Caleb took some forcing myself to sit through at first. Then I realized that Caleb’s pain came from him punishing himself for the people he hurt and trying to stay sober through that pain, instead of just a desire to use again. It was a complex issue instead of a sensationalized one. Again, I have to give kudos for great writing and character development. Caleb’s sponsor is even a character that has lines, he is called, he is real. It made the whole thing feel more substantial and believable to me. It made it easier.
The romance was very up and down because of Caleb’s recovery and Theo’s childhood trauma. It was an amazing ride. The sex was generally hot, though I had the same issues I have with so many romance novels. The boys engage in oral sex without a condom repeatedly, but always use a condom for anal sex. This book goes a step further and a has a “conversation” about not using a condom for sex. It is like grunting, I didn’t really get the meaning until there was no condom. Then went “oh, that totally wasn’t enough communication and was totally not the right time to discuss it”. The author was pretty good about the use of lube outside of two scenes. One discussed using spit as lube, which in the right context can be super hot and possible so that scene doesn’t really count. The other scene it just wasn’t discussed at all for some reason which felt off considering how well Parrish did in all the other scenes. If there had been condoms for oral sex in the beginning then I would be praising this book as the best sex I have ever read in a M/M romance. Not all of the sex was penetrative. There was such range and fluidity that it was always a treat to get a sex scene instead of just a chore. I am impressed.
iam's review against another edition
4.0
This was absolutely lovely.
Content warnings include: talk about addiction (alcohol, drugs including heroin), mentions of: sexual harassment, emotional neglect of child.
For a book about musicians/rock stars it was very different from what I expected.
Part of that was that Theo genuinely hated being famous and didn't enjoy touring, along with not quite meshing with his band, while Caleb consciously stepped away from the business due to his addiction and subsequent recovery.
That said, the characters is where this book truly shines. I adored Theo in particular. He was such a fascinating character, and I loved reading about him both from his own POV and from Caleb's POV. I don't think I ever encountered a character like him before and it was great.
I also just love Roan Parrish's writing. I cannot describe it, but it's beautiful and unique and I love it.
The book did however feel too short. I felt like I only just got to know Theo and Caleb, like I only got a small unsatisfactory glimpse into their lives and personalities, and I felt jarred when the book ended and by how fast it passed by.
Content warnings include: talk about addiction (alcohol, drugs including heroin), mentions of: sexual harassment, emotional neglect of child.
For a book about musicians/rock stars it was very different from what I expected.
Part of that was that Theo genuinely hated being famous and didn't enjoy touring, along with not quite meshing with his band, while Caleb consciously stepped away from the business due to his addiction and subsequent recovery.
That said, the characters is where this book truly shines. I adored Theo in particular. He was such a fascinating character, and I loved reading about him both from his own POV and from Caleb's POV. I don't think I ever encountered a character like him before and it was great.
I also just love Roan Parrish's writing. I cannot describe it, but it's beautiful and unique and I love it.
The book did however feel too short. I felt like I only just got to know Theo and Caleb, like I only got a small unsatisfactory glimpse into their lives and personalities, and I felt jarred when the book ended and by how fast it passed by.
nicandbooks's review against another edition
5.0
The reluctant rockstar and the recovering addict
There are not a lot of books for me that I actually don’t want to keep reading because prolonging the ending means I get to spend a bit longer wrapped up in the world created by the author and I can pretend for a little while more that the characters are real and the story is actually something that happened. Riven by Roan Parrish is a book I really didn’t want to finish - and the fact I have devastates me and I know I’ll be doing a reread of this one again before Rend comes out in November.
“If you’re looking for a prize, you ain’t lookin’ for love. Love isn’t a reward. It’s not something you deserve or don’t deserve.â€
"Oh, yeah, so what is it then?â€
“Fuck if I know,†he said. “But I sure as hell know what it isn’t.â€
Theo Decker is the lead singer of rock band Riven and he is amazing at what he does - but, deep down, it’s not what he truly wants. Stumbling around New York late one night, he finds Caleb Whitman singing in a bar and this chance meeting brings about a connection neither of them can deny. Caleb and Theo have their own inner demons to battle - especially Caleb as a recovering addict, 12 months out of his fourth stint at rehab and hoping to not have to go back. What makes these two so good together… well it’s not only the palatable chemistry, the way they feel so comfortable around each other or the incredible sexual connection … it’s what they are able to bring out in one another… HOPE!! Hope to return to music, hope to do what they want for once, hope for a real lasting relationship, hope to start over… and it’s this sense of hope that I truly connected with. I shed some real tears as I read this story because the way in which Roan writes makes Caleb and Theo so real that I couldn’t help but feel what they felt and fall in love with them as they fell in love with each other.
"The hope on his face nearly tore me apart. Because it was all for me. This man, standing in front of me, was dreaming a dream for me, and it was humbling as fuck."
I wish I could better put into words why I loved this book so much! It’s not just a “rockstar romanceâ€, it’s not just a “mm romanceâ€, it’s not even just a “romance†novel…. it’s a book that will burrow deep into your soul and take you to a place where you, too, can truly believe anything is possible. Sometimes the right book falls into your lap at the right time, and Riven has been the book I needed for what is coming up in my own life right now… and I couldn’t be more grateful!!
nicandbooks rating â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸
Amazon/Goodreads rating âï¸âï¸âï¸âï¸âï¸
There are not a lot of books for me that I actually don’t want to keep reading because prolonging the ending means I get to spend a bit longer wrapped up in the world created by the author and I can pretend for a little while more that the characters are real and the story is actually something that happened. Riven by Roan Parrish is a book I really didn’t want to finish - and the fact I have devastates me and I know I’ll be doing a reread of this one again before Rend comes out in November.
“If you’re looking for a prize, you ain’t lookin’ for love. Love isn’t a reward. It’s not something you deserve or don’t deserve.â€
"Oh, yeah, so what is it then?â€
“Fuck if I know,†he said. “But I sure as hell know what it isn’t.â€
Theo Decker is the lead singer of rock band Riven and he is amazing at what he does - but, deep down, it’s not what he truly wants. Stumbling around New York late one night, he finds Caleb Whitman singing in a bar and this chance meeting brings about a connection neither of them can deny. Caleb and Theo have their own inner demons to battle - especially Caleb as a recovering addict, 12 months out of his fourth stint at rehab and hoping to not have to go back. What makes these two so good together… well it’s not only the palatable chemistry, the way they feel so comfortable around each other or the incredible sexual connection … it’s what they are able to bring out in one another… HOPE!! Hope to return to music, hope to do what they want for once, hope for a real lasting relationship, hope to start over… and it’s this sense of hope that I truly connected with. I shed some real tears as I read this story because the way in which Roan writes makes Caleb and Theo so real that I couldn’t help but feel what they felt and fall in love with them as they fell in love with each other.
"The hope on his face nearly tore me apart. Because it was all for me. This man, standing in front of me, was dreaming a dream for me, and it was humbling as fuck."
I wish I could better put into words why I loved this book so much! It’s not just a “rockstar romanceâ€, it’s not just a “mm romanceâ€, it’s not even just a “romance†novel…. it’s a book that will burrow deep into your soul and take you to a place where you, too, can truly believe anything is possible. Sometimes the right book falls into your lap at the right time, and Riven has been the book I needed for what is coming up in my own life right now… and I couldn’t be more grateful!!
nicandbooks rating â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸
Amazon/Goodreads rating âï¸âï¸âï¸âï¸âï¸
missawn's review against another edition
I am having terrible and have DNF'd quite a few books this year. I have never disliked two MCs as much as I disliked the two in this book. I REALLY could not get into this story at all -- and had a hard time "believing" the MCs prowess when it came to musical talent/ability. That part felt really amateurish to me and I just wasn't sold. There are far better examples out there ... [b:Sinner's Gin|16169304|Sinner's Gin (Sinners, #1)|Rhys Ford|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1356641206s/16169304.jpg|22015723] comes to mind and another favourite of mine ... [b:Vespertine|25863430|Vespertine|Leta Blake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436231607s/25863430.jpg|45734403]! I struggled with all the books that I have read by this author -- her writing style just doesn't appeal to me and I don't really get drawn into any of her books the way I do with some other authors. I'm giving this one a pass just because I am not really enjoying this ... officially DNF'd.
mynameisprerna's review against another edition
4.5
If there’s anything I know about myself as a reader, it’s that as much as I love a good cheesy romcom, I really really love an angsty romance. This one does not disappoint!
The characters are endearing, not despite their flaws but because of them. Their struggles, while so disparate from the average person’s, manage to feel relatable. I was rooting for them all along!
Caleb liveson a farm upstate, and I really liked the metaphor of farming, growing things, rooting, harvesting, etc. as he comes out of rehab.
- “And I tried hard not to write songs that used what I saw as metaphors for my own rebirth. I tried not to identify too strongly with the weak, twisted things slumbering underground, that burst into slow and glorious bloom as they awoke. Not because I didn’t hope desperately to be tickled awake gently by the sun, or because I hadn’t been a weak and twisted thing. But because I knew the danger of waiting for some outside force to bend a gentle knee and change my life. I knew that if anything was going to bring me back to life, it would have to be me.”
- “The weather-beaten old man who owned the shop watched me stumble around for a while and stare at signs without processing their meanings, then he ambled over and tucked a packet of radish seeds in my pocket. Told me that I could plant them now, and I would be able to see them grow in only three weeks. I wasn’t sure I’d ever even eaten radishes, but he had understood what I needed: to see that my actions had consequences. To see that I could support myself, sustain myself. To see that I could create something again.”
This book is full of broken people trying to put themselves back together. I appreciate that they are messy, that this isn’t avoided or glossed over, but their messiness is celebrated with these pearls of wisdom they share as they support with each other.
- ““If you’re looking for a prize, you ain’t lookin’ for love. Love isn’t a reward. It’s not something you deserve or don’t deserve.”
- “How strong the stories we told ourselves were. What power they had to shape how we saw the world, even when confronted with evidence to the contrary. Caleb told himself the story that no one could depend on him because he’d break their trust. Clearly based in some truth, it was a story he told so many times he’d finally taken it as unassailable. It hurt me to think that part of his recovery, part of taking responsibility for the very real pain he’d caused, was carving deep the groove of that story. And what stories had I told myself? That I was unlovable. That I had to earn the right to be cared for. That unless I made myself indispensable, I would be tossed away.”
The characters are endearing, not despite their flaws but because of them. Their struggles, while so disparate from the average person’s, manage to feel relatable. I was rooting for them all along!
Caleb lives
- “And I tried hard not to write songs that used what I saw as metaphors for my own rebirth. I tried not to identify too strongly with the weak, twisted things slumbering underground, that burst into slow and glorious bloom as they awoke. Not because I didn’t hope desperately to be tickled awake gently by the sun, or because I hadn’t been a weak and twisted thing. But because I knew the danger of waiting for some outside force to bend a gentle knee and change my life. I knew that if anything was going to bring me back to life, it would have to be me.”
- “The weather-beaten old man who owned the shop watched me stumble around for a while and stare at signs without processing their meanings, then he ambled over and tucked a packet of radish seeds in my pocket. Told me that I could plant them now, and I would be able to see them grow in only three weeks. I wasn’t sure I’d ever even eaten radishes, but he had understood what I needed: to see that my actions had consequences. To see that I could support myself, sustain myself. To see that I could create something again.”
This book is full of broken people trying to put themselves back together. I appreciate that they are messy, that this isn’t avoided or glossed over, but their messiness is celebrated with these pearls of wisdom they share as they support with each other.
- “How strong the stories we told ourselves were. What power they had to shape how we saw the world, even when confronted with evidence to the contrary. Caleb told himself the story that no one could depend on him because he’d break their trust. Clearly based in some truth, it was a story he told so many times he’d finally taken it as unassailable. It hurt me to think that part of his recovery, part of taking responsibility for the very real pain he’d caused, was carving deep the groove of that story. And what stories had I told myself? That I was unlovable. That I had to earn the right to be cared for. That unless I made myself indispensable, I would be tossed away.”
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Sigh. You know those books that suck you in, with love stories so epic and lovely and all the things with all the feelings? The ones where you get to the last page and you disbelievingly keep trying to find MORE of the story because how could this ever end? And you look up and realize you've been so deep into another world you've forgotten about reality? That was Riven for me.
.
Caleb and Theo are so tender. So tortured. So gorgeous. As people and as physical specimens, from the descriptions in the book! The story is deeply tied to music and the writing itself was lyrical and touching. I'm still not quite believing that I can't buy a Theo Decker and Caleb Blake Whitman album because I so desperately want to.
.
I'm so happy that my library had a copy of Riven in their digital catalog, and I waited months to get my hold. It was worth it. Luckily they also have the next in the series so hopefully I'll get my eyes on Rend SOON! Also, Riven was NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR in 2018 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL - NBD.
.
This romance novel is a contemporary male/male and very steamy. It's not a coming out story. Older/younger dynamic. Storyline of addiction recovery. I loved it. If I could give it 20 stars I would, but I'll settle for the measly 5 that society has deemed the limit for book ratings.
.
Caleb and Theo are so tender. So tortured. So gorgeous. As people and as physical specimens, from the descriptions in the book! The story is deeply tied to music and the writing itself was lyrical and touching. I'm still not quite believing that I can't buy a Theo Decker and Caleb Blake Whitman album because I so desperately want to.
.
I'm so happy that my library had a copy of Riven in their digital catalog, and I waited months to get my hold. It was worth it. Luckily they also have the next in the series so hopefully I'll get my eyes on Rend SOON! Also, Riven was NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR in 2018 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL - NBD.
.
This romance novel is a contemporary male/male and very steamy. It's not a coming out story. Older/younger dynamic. Storyline of addiction recovery. I loved it. If I could give it 20 stars I would, but I'll settle for the measly 5 that society has deemed the limit for book ratings.
susanw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
littlebit2991's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.75