This Hurts: A Redemption Story (Redemption #1) by Joelle Lynne

ABOUT THE BOOK

Orion
I never wanted to be a dad. Too bad I was a coward and couldn’t tell my wife. Relief washes over me with each negative test result, though her distress weighs heavily. I’ve consistently failed to provide for her needs.

To make matters worse, I’m not handling things very well. Night after night I find myself on a barstool at Faded Sins watching him. The one person I can’t seem to keep my eyes or hands off of.

No matter how much I should.

Sable
He ruined everything. I was content to keep my head down and do my job. It didn’t matter that I had to sell my body to pay my bills.

What happens when the sexy stranger appears nightly, and I break my rule about never seeing the same client twice? Yeah, I messed it all up as well.

But Orion has secrets, and I wasn’t prepared for how deep they ran.

MY REVIEW

No title has ever been more fitting for a story. It is as messy as it is engaging, with morally grey characters and a dark, miserable atmosphere creating a sense of foreboding and longing.

Orion is one of those characters that tugs at your heartstrings while simultaneously frustrating the heck out of you. It’s hard to dislike a man who’s trying so hard not to hurt the one he loves, but his decisions are incredibly careless, and I could see the writing on the wall a mile away. Yeah, he was a downer for me. I desperately wanted him to man up and do the right thing. In fact, I hoped he’d make a genuine effort to reconcile with Whitney, but that part felt glossed over, and it left me wanting more. Speaking of which, I felt for his poor wife, Whitney, who deserved so much more than she got, though I admired her resilience and how she made everything work in the end, which, honestly, should have been Orion’s job.

Sable, on the other hand, is daring and likable. He’s comfortable in his own skin, knowing exactly what he wants from life. The love and loyalty he finds in his world as an exotic dancer and sex worker are powerful and uplifting, and I couldn’t help but root for his happiness. This little man is packed with strength and spirit, and it’s easy to see why everyone wants to protect him.

Ms. Lynne’s dramatic storyline and convincing characterizations really shine through. I’m looking forward to reading more of her works because she clearly knows how to create a pattern of emotion and complexity.

If you are like me and don’t necessarily have to like the main characters, but appreciate the narrative that’s full of intriguing complexities, then you might enjoy this book.

Thank you to Ms. Lynne for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.