Author: Lane Hayes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 240 Pages
Category: Contemporary Romance
At a Glance: The epilogue was good and completed the story for me; I just could have used a little more umph to truly feel satisfied. Did it ruin the book for me? Absolutely not. This is still a five star read.
Reviewed By: Carrie
Blurb: Music is drummer Tim Chalmers’s great escape and the one thing that’s never let him down. But his band Spiral’s meteoric rise to fame has made it difficult for him to maintain a low profile. Unwanted press pesters him after a public breakup with a volatile ex-girlfriend who loves the limelight as much as he loathes it. Tim’s main goal is to avoid confrontation. However, when a handsome stranger in a dive bar turns out to be someone he might know, everything changes.
Carter Hamilton-Temple might be a successful financial consultant with more brains, sophistication, and charm than most, but he always falls for the wrong guys: closet cases or men with issues. He can’t fight his attraction to tattooed rock star Tim, but can he trust his own judgment? When the thrill of danger combined with a fierce physical connection proves too strong for either man to resist, a quiet liaison away from the public eye and curious friends seems like a safe bet. But some secrets are hard to keep. When rumors threaten to rock his world, Tim realizes it’s time to confront his fear with his own kind of honesty.
Review: Lane Hayes has done it once again; she has written a first-class character driven novel that is literally unputdownable and told from only one character’s POV, which helps to create a seamless story that is all encompassing—you never miss the dual point-of-view. This author has a way of focusing in on the characters in her books; there isn’t the need for situational drama or unnecessary plot twists because her characters tell their own tales. A Kind of Honesty is written through Tim’s eyes, but you always know what is going on with Carter, and this is the genius of good character driven plots. Believe me, Tim has enough issues for the both of them! This book follows a favorite storyline for Hayes in that the main characters have to come to a major realization about their individual selves to be able to move forward together. Honestly, it made this a slow burn in that things didn’t pick up until after the half way point. Don’t get me wrong, the first half is super sexy hot, with some scenes that will leave you panting, but it is only when Tim begins to believe in himself and the fact that he can have love that things kick in.
Tim literally has to get out of his own way and allow Carter in—he is his own biggest stumbling block. Tim is wound tight as a bow string, and Lane Hayes writes this so well that so was I, sitting on my couch at one in the morning and knowing I just had to keep reading because there was no way I was going to sleep with my insides in the shape they were in. Tim is heartbreaking with his inner torment, but underneath it all, he has a need and a want to be loved. There are so many external factors which influence Tim and his relationship with Carter. These external factors play on Tim, and he stays so twisted up inside he can only escape into his music. He listens to the beat of the music around him, finding solace in the minutest things: traffic, wind, the tinkle of silverware or the cadence of a voice. There is so much cacophony in Tim’s world that he has taught himself to escape to a world only he can hear. I loved the fact that Lane Hayes uses this and that Carter’s voice is a literal haven for Tim. When you find out all that Tim is dealing with—hint it is a massive plot twist toward the end—to say you will be invested is an understatement.
Carter. Yeah, Carter. Just too fine for his own good! He is everything in this book, the perfect complement to Tim. We first meet Carter in book two of this series, as he is a good friend to Zeke, who is one of the MCs in A Kind of Romance. If you want to know some great backstory on Carter, go to Lane Hayes’ blog for a series of three short stories all told from Carter’s point of view. The shorts are prequels to A Kind of Honesty and introduce you to who Carter is. Carter Hamilton-Temple is a successful financial consultant. He was born to money, an only son to an older father and absent mother. The only thing in Carter’s life he can’t seem to get right is the men he dates. He’s got a thing for bad boys with a little kink, and it has gotten him in trouble before. But, wow. He’s not afraid anymore to speak up for himself and when Tim needs calling on the carpet, Carter does it big time. Carter can see through all the external things plaguing Tim and cuts through the bullshit to challenge him to be the man he knows Tim can be.
As in all the books in this series, the ending came fast. Unlike some of the others, A Kind of Honesty ended too quickly for me; we have all this buildup and then, wham, in a few short pages Tim has forgiven his past, made things right with Carter, and all is right with the world. I hate to say it, but it fell flat for me here because it wasn’t just coming out and being honest that Tim had to deal with; it was about finally forgiving some major people and the sloughing of some pretty hefty baggage from his past and his family that he has held onto for years.
Oh, and I needed something worse to happen to Miranda. You know how you always root for the bad guy to REALLY get what’s coming to them in a movie? Well, I REALLY needed something to happen to Miranda. Not to be too bloodthirsty here, but that witch deserved some karma and it didn’t happen. The epilogue was good and completed the story for me; I just could have used a little more umph to truly feel satisfied. Did it ruin the book for me? Absolutely not. This is still a five star read. I recommend all the books in this series—while they can stand alone, read all of them in order. These are men you will like to meet.
You can buy A Kind of Honesty here:
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