A review by nicandbooks
Riven by Roan Parrish

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!!

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