I'm struggling a little with the rating and review of this book. Maybe I can break it down into what I loved, liked, and didn't.

Loved
Both MCs are songwriters and musicians. I loved how the story focused on their talent and calling. All of the secondary characters were also musicians and that was a big plus for me too.

Liked
I really liked that both of the MCs in a MM Romance were unapologetically gay. There was no drama or undue attention given to their sexuality. It simply was. I liked that a lot.

It was a fast read for me. I never got bored so I have to give credit to the pacing of the story.

Didn't
If you've read enough of my reviews you know I prefer action filled plots. This is a character driven plot. The character driven plots I tend to enjoy are the ones where an MC overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds. This one had the potential to do that with one of the MCs, or maybe both. But it didn't dig deep enough into each MCs "issues". The problems were being overcome as we were reading the story. We were not privileged to walk alongside the characters when it was most difficult for them.

Niggles
Was there a previous story that focused on best friend Rhys? Seems there's backstory there that I'm missing.

Even though the chapters are titled with each character's pov, there are some switcheroos within the chapter. It's hard to tell when it's the other MC thinking or talking for a minute before going back to the chapter's main pov.

Overall
I really enjoyed the story. It was an easy, fast read. But I really don't know how to rate it. I think I can safely say that, in this case, the lack of a five star rating is definitely the reader, not the book.

3.75 stars

5 stars. I received Riven as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well I really really really liked it. Theo Decker was positively yummy and Caleb Blake Whitman was loveable in his own way. While I don't normally like stories about musicians/rock stars, I was drawn to Riven because it is different. Theo, frontman of Riven, loves music, loves performing, loves writing music, but feels trapped and isolated in his fame. Caleb, also a musician, is afraid making music again will lead him back into drugs. Roan Parrish uses a subtle yet distinct dual pov to allow the reader to get to know both main characters. The sex scenes between these two were both intimate and sexy.

Truthfully Riven did start off a little slow for me and fair warning I'm about to use a music metaphor that is probably bad and butchered but seems appropriate. Oftentimes when singing the dynamic of the singing is important and affects how the audience is perceiving the music. So to me it felt like the book started kind of piano, soft, and crescendoed to mezzo-piano to mezzo-forte to forte to fortissimo to piano in the end. Which applies pretty well to books as well as it is more interesting overall when there is the build-up. Highly recommend.

Roan Parrish has done it again. This was SO GOOD. There are certain authors that you trust to write books that you're going to love because their writing is what you crave. Roan Parrish is absolutely one of those authors that just does it for me.

First of all, let me just say that I don't generally seek out books with music/rock star themes. Almost every one that I've tried has left me bored, skimming, or even DNFing. But <i>Riven</i> was such a beautiful story, and I couldn't put it down.

The writing is fantastic. I highlighted so many lines, whether gorgeous, heartbreaking, or just plain funny. There is a great balance here, and it was such a rich reading experience from beginning to end. I already can't wait to reread, and I only finished an hour ago.

Character development is off the charts, and Theo and Caleb are wonderfully complex and just come off the page. One of my favorite things about RP's writing is that she always makes her characters so interesting, giving them vibrant personalities and little quirks that truly allow you to fall in love with them. I think <b>everyone</b> who reads this is going to absolutely adore Caleb's best friend, Rhys.

This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. This is why I read romance.

This was more of a 2.5 for me, it was just too slow going. It felt bogged down from the get go for me, just a melancholy beginning that I couldn't shake.

A reluctant rockstar who rose to fame to prove something to the family that treated him as a burden, a post-rehab musician so afraid to fall back into addiction that he polices his whole life to the detriment of living, music and wonder and hope and learning to love yourself..

That's RIVEN in a nutshell. But the story is so much better, and so much more, than my crappy summary.

<i>Reluctant rockstar wasn't precisely accurate. More like, Rock Star Who Loves Performing with a Fiery Passion but Hates Being Famous More than He Ever Expected.</i>

This is my third read by Parrish and I've finally <b>finally</b> found the love for one of her stories that I've only ever glimpsed, or that has always just been out of reach, in those past experiences. Or, maybe that's unfair. I've always loved her writing but either struggled with the POV of an annoying protagonist (IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEWHERE) or found the narrative interesting but couldn't stay connected when the lack of chemistry between characters failed to keep me engaged (THE REMAKING OF CORBIN WALE). This time? This time it works.

<i>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.</i>

Theo is adorably charming, intense, naive, talented, hopeful. Caleb is afraid, resigned, reluctant, tender, worldly. They were the perfect balance for one another; Theo pushed, Caleb cautioned, and they found something that worked just right.. even when it didn't.

<i>I didn't know how to explain the way certain thoughts -- certain <b>ways</b> of thinking -- sparked other thoughts, like a match touched to a line of gasoline. How I was still learning what they were, and how terrifying it was, wandering around with a lit match all the time.</i>

RIVEN is the perfect sweet spot of edgy, sexy, and raw, driven and expressed by Parrish's absolutely magical, unbelievably expressive, lyrical, prose. I'm not sure I've ever read a rockstar romance for the m/m genre but there's more here than just that. There's the struggle about what it means to be tempted, to be an addict; what a person might push themselves to endure to prove something to others; what it means to battle with unhappiness, to bury their wants for the sake of others; and to be overflowing with love for others after receiving so little all their life. And it's also hot as <b>fuck</b>.

<i>I'd spent the last year learning to mistrust the things I wanted. Learning that chances were if I desired it, it was going to kill me eventually. It was hard to reconcile that lesson with the man in front of me, offering himself with one hand and protecting me with the other.</i>

Is it too early to want to get my hands on REND? Because if it is.. I'm not sorry. I want more.

4.5 "I was used to being looked at, but being seen was something quite different" stars

I love angst, and this book definitely delivered. There were times when I wanted to shake Caleb, and times when I definitely wondered why Theo kept giving him another chance, but in the end, their love won out. The ending definitely made all the struggles worthwhile. Wonderful, engaging, and super hot prose. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

Either Roan Parrish really understands music, or she had great advisers on Riven. It's so refreshing to read a book about a rock star that actually talks about the process of creating music. I was fascinated by the way she described Theo and Caleb's diverse methods of songwriting, and their discussions about music were among my favorite parts of the book. Plus who wouldn't love a book that gives us such fictitious band names as Washtub Prophecy and Runny Whites?

The romance between Theo and Caleb is believable and hot, and both of their personal struggles are portrayed with compassion and honesty. Theo was a little too forgiving at times when Caleb freaked out and ghosted him, but that seemed consistent with his starved for love personality that didn't let him take a stand for himself until the book's climax. And it's so rewarding to watch Caleb slowly realize that he doesn't have to sacrifice his beloved music to remain in recovery.

A little OTT at times, but very engaging and not always predictable. Plus there's a quick trip to Philadelphia and I think I caught a glimpse of Ginger from Small Change!

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

ARC given by publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Roan Parrish has yet to disappoint me. I have loved every book I've read of this author's, and this one was no different.

This one made it so easy to fall in love with Theo and Caleb. SO. DAMN. EASY. So easy that I couldn't put it down and easily lost a few hours, which is super rare for me these days. I hated having to put my kindle down.

This book was just want I needed! Older guy, bad boy rocker. PERFECT COMBINATION.

It hurt so good! The angst was in perfect balance, which is so Roan. I didn't want this book to end!

Every kiss, caress, angsting over what-ifs, second guessing, but the love! The love Theo and Caleb share...*happy sigh*

Easily a fave book of mine, and I will be pestering friends to read this.

Riven took my expectations of a rock star romance and completely obliterated them. This is unlike anything I thought it was going to be. I anticipated it being good because I have yet to be disappointed by a Roan Parrish novel, but I didn't realize how invested I would be in these characters.

In sweet, naive, Theo.

"I couldn’t deny that it was satisfying— amazing, even, to have people love our music so much. I was so gratified whenever I saw people touched by what we made. And the performances themselves, I loved. But I felt like I’d waded into calm waters only to be pulled out to sea by a powerful undertow. Choked breathless, unprepared, defenseless, looking around in panic as the shoreline receded farther with each wave."

In broken, but mending, Caleb.

"Everything about him worked its way under my skin, like a bullet slowly making its way to my heart."

Upon finishing I could only think, "I'm wrecked." and had a book hangover for a day or two where I couldn't get the story or Theo and Caleb out of my head. The best kind of wrecked.

“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.”

The writing is almost lyrical, and pulled me in like some of my favorite music that I can listen to and let the world disappear. I got lost in this book.

I loved so much about Riven, from the dual POV that let me get inside the heads of these two incredible characters, to the way it flowed, to the way it ended, to the way it made me feel. And, man, did it make me feel so much.

I'm wowed by this story. I just...I loved this so much.

“I don’t need the world to love me and I don’t need my parents to love me. I just need you to love me. Because I love you.”

God, I hope Roan Parrish gets Spencer Goss to narrate this.

Highly recommended!

4.5 Stars

Roan Parrish is such a talent writer and this book showcases her talents in detailing complex, flawed, humans falling in love.

In Theo, we have a hero longing for connection. He is a very talented musician, songwriter, and singer but dislikes the fame that comes with his band.

Caleb is on his fourth time out of rehab but this time he wants to be sober but is still egg fragile in learning to live a full life clean.

There is a wonderful supportive best friend and a great deal of internal reckoning in this romance as well as emotionial bravery.

Theo's bandmates could have been more complexly drawn but I do hope we might see them each get their own story as where they are now is interesting place to start a book for each of them and their own reckonings. I would love to know the love story between Caleb's best friend and his husband as well.

A wonderful contemplation of falling in love when you aren't in the best place or are far from the best version of you. A nice riff on music and art making.

Very good!

An acceptable m/m romance, but I just don't know that it stands out from other similar stories enough to make it worth purchasing for my library.

Genre– MM Romance
Steamy?– Yes
Cliffhanger?– No
Can be read as Standalone?– Yes
Rating– 4.5 out of 5 Stars

***COMPLIMENTARY COPY PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***

YESSSS! Roan has done it again! Just when I thought nothing could compare to In The Middle of Somewhere, along comes Riven! While Theo and Caleb can’t replace Daniel and Rex’s spot in my heart, they have definitely claimed some real estate in the vicinity. To me, this wasn’t simply a gay romance. This was a riveting story of two broken people coming together and healing together and starting over together. Oh, and they happened to be gay. I loved the authentic vulnerability of the characters and how they complemented each other - I could read about them forever. I was so sad to see this end! Can’t wait to read more from Roan!

Theo Decker is a rock star—his dream come true. But he hates it. Give him his music and he’s happy, but give him paparazzi, crowds of fans, and no privacy and he’s immobilized with fear. He’s even socially awkward around his bandmates. Riven was a three-person band looking for a lead singer who could compose music when they happened to connect—a match made in heaven, or at least in rock star heaven. But they were all friends before Theo joined them so he continually finds himself on the outside looking in. Uncomfortable is almost too mild a word to describe how he feels both on and off stage when he’s on tour with them.

Caleb Blake Whitman is a formerly famous brilliant musician and a currently recovering drug addict. His fear of relapsing again (his fourth time) is so huge that he’s secluded himself at a cabin in the woods and spends most of his time alone and in his vegetable garden. A former bandmate and lover, Rhys, visits frequently and supports him wholeheartedly. He also has support from his sponsor, Huey, an old codger who says little, but knows much about life.

When the two meet, it’s like the stars collide. Theo is over-the-top excited to meet someone like Caleb and Caleb is in awe of Theo’s talent. As their relationship moves from friends to friends-with-benefits to more, however, Caleb is frightened of the thought of relapse. And he knows it will happen if he allows himself to enter Theo’s world. After all, each time he tried to stay clean in the past, it was something related to touring with his band that triggered him into relapse, and though he wants this time to be different, he’s deathly afraid it won’t be.

What happens along the way makes for a complex and beautiful love story. The author’s treatment of addiction, recovery, triggers, and the need for a sponsor and an outlet for the fears is spot-on. Her portrayal of Theo as a young, insecure musical genius was totally different from what I expected and absolutely perfect for this story. Caleb and Theo belong together and readers should enjoy their journey. It’s not an easy one but there is an HEA and for that I was most thankful.

I highly recommend this story to lovers of MM romance, especially to those who love a story featuring musicians, age gap, hurt-comfort, addiction recovery, and just plain love.

Theo is a rockstar with all the fame that it comes with. Meeting Caleb changes everything. When he meets someone who he could finally see a future - will the exposure ruin all he has gained?

Caleb has been the guy on tour. He does not need it again. Writing music is satisfying on many levels. Then he meets someone who opens up that closed door. Is there a future for an old musician?

These two are meant to be. I loved reading about them finding their way. Characters so unique, that they have to fall apart to come together. Really hoping there is more to this story and we will see this couple again.



***This ARC copy was given in exchange for an honest review, by Netgalley and its publishers.

I really like reading about music related stories. This was one of many reasons I was drawn to this book. I read other books from Roan Parrish and they always engage me emotionally. I laugh and cry and I want to know what happens next. In Riven, I really liked the character of Theo, the rock band superstar. He is sweet, insecure, and doesn't want the fame. Caleb is also a singer who is a recovering addict. I liked how they met with Theo walking by a bar and hearing music and walking in. Their coming together was hot. A few ups and downs, until they finally realize what they each want in life, which is each other and music. Loved it.

This is the first book I've read by this author. It's a sort of instalove book but it is really well written. I love music/Rockstar books. This one didn't disappoint. Thanks Netgalley

Theo Decker doesn't want to be a rock star.

Roan made this such a believable love story.

I was cheering for Theo and Caleb. These guys are super talented musicians. Theo is a rock star who loves the music but not the fame. Caleb is an older musician who had some trouble with the partying associated with fame.

So when they meet...Hummm some really hot loving going on there. These two singers burn up the sheets together.
After one night together, the romantic story begins.

There is ups and downs. But this was told in such a way to make it more believable. You really feel the friendship build.
I spent one whole afternoon reading this book. I couldn't stop. I was so into the storyline, just had to see who did what next. The plot and characters are good and the sex was very sensual.. I could have had a few more chapters at the end to give more of an happily ever after. A day in and day out of the relationship, just more!. Overall a great read. I really enjoyed it. When you like music and hotties, Riven is just right for you.
(Given a copy for an honest review.)(Thanks!).
#NetGalley. #Riven.

The author's writing had some poetic quality that make reading RIVEN a sublime experience. It contains some magnificent characters and a connection with music that was mesmerizing.

Theo loves music, but that's about everything he loves about the music world. He hates the tours, the paparazzi but most of all, being famous. Caleb is trying to stay strong. Being alone has given him the peace he'd been looking for. He's still fighting his own demons when the sound of music connects their paths, making the need for each other start growing stronger and changing their lives as they knew them.

This was a beautiful experience. I loved the author's writing. It felt a little complex at the beginning and, for a moment, I thought I would have trouble with translation because of the frequent use of words that were unknown to me, but after a while it was easier to get myself into the story, even though there were a few times when I felt the need to seek a word's meaning. I still enjoy the writing a lot. It was beautiful to see how the phrases flow in a very artistic way that seem in sync with the overall emotion of the book. It is a little slow-paced but it fits perfectly the romantic feeling of the story.

The relationship between Theo and Caleb was fantastic. I tend to prefer a more slow burn development but they had an amazing chemistry from the start and it was perfect. They were perfect for each other. There was nothing about them that I didn't like. The sex scenes had a perfect match of sensuality and sweetness that I love to read in such intimate moments. They were such a perfect match. I loved them as a couple and I loved them as individuals. Theo's struggle to fit was endearing. His awkwardness outside the stage and the different persona on it remind me of stories I heard from beloved rock stars and it fit him perfectly. Caleb's owns struggles were also interesting to see and felt so realistic that there were moments when it was painful to see him willing to make so much sacrifices to keep his life in order.

Overall RIVEN was a stunning book, the few issues I had with it were minor inconveniences for the things I loved about it. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a MM Romance, but especially for people who enjoy music. I think they might appreciate the constant presence and importance of it in the book.

I LOVED this book! The writing was superb! The two main characters, Caleb and Theo, I fell in love with. I enjoy reading books based on musicians, this has been my number one favorite so far! Roan has a beautiful way of telling a story and making you feel like you are in the book. It is a male/male romance, which I love reading, but I feel anyone that loves romance books would love this book, it is just so well done! 5 stars all the way! Highly recommend!

ARC provided via Netgalley.

I don't know that I've read a lot of Roan Parrish. I can't say this was a overwhelmingly positive in my book. Theo and Caleb fall into lust when they first meet. I think what made that okay was the fact that Theo fell in love with Caleb's music and who he is as a musician. When stories have these other soul-connecting factors, like music, it makes the insta-love/attraction/lust palatable.

Everything about Caleb and Theo went really well in my book. The chemistry and character development were strong, but what I didn't like was how little the supporting characters of Riven were seen. Per usual with stars there's the scandal of a paparazzi picture which is what happened with Caleb, no surprise there. The thing is, that it seemed like it was just plopped into the story with no real affect to the story. All the other characters of the band were just there. I didn't like how Parrish just "talked" all of the story. There wasn't much depth in that aspect of the story because only Caleb and Theo had any interaction throughout the story which just made it slow. I hate being told a story without being shown the world its in.

Parrish did a really good job with the musical expression in relation to the characters and the romance as well, but everything else felt lackluster to me.