Prepare to read Rend more than once!

Matt Argento went through the foster care system and feels that everyone has abandoned him. One night while walking around New York he met singer Rhys Nyland at a bar. Matt and Rhys start a relationship and eventually get married and move out of the city. Matt still hasn’t dealt with his abandoned issues and refuses to tell Rhys about them. Rhys finally releases an album and goes on tour, leading Rhys to think that everything was fine with Matt. Matt couldn’t sleep causing even more problems.

Rend has romance and a lot of internal feelings of Matt making the reader understand a lot more than Rhys , Theo and Caleb (Riven) because they have never actually been abandoned by the people that should love them.

Rend actually made me cry reading about Matt and it really put the reader in Matt’s mind understanding him more than the average book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Of the 300 books I’ll have read in 2018, Roan Parrish’s “Rend” will be in my top 5! “Rend” (defined as “to tear apart”) left me in a hundred pieces, feeling its protagonist disintegrate. And still, Parrish is a miracle-worker of possibility, showing one person’s pain and perseverance illuminate the path for many others.

Matt’s mother, aunt, and the foster system discarded him. He survived with the help of his best friend (who also left) and Matt now works at an agency helping other foster kids transition into adulthood. Parrish’s descriptions give skin and bones to a dilemma few of us know, “A different brand of cereal at every house, different shampoo. Don’t get attached to anything, don’t ask for anything. Keep the door closed, your bag packed and don’t expect anything from anyone.”
In a whirlwind romance, Matt falls in love with Rhys, a gifted musician from a happy family. In prior relationships Rhys was labelled “prudish,” because he wanted true connection, not casual flings. Matt’s need to be loved forever dovetails with Rhys’ view of how relationships “should” progress. Everything about Matt and Rhys is intense, yet rings clear.

Now, years into their marriage Matt thinks, “Sometimes you couldn’t notice how bad things were until something good showed you the difference.” When Rhys goes on tour, all of Matt’s misgivings re-emerge. Though Matt is in his own home, he ruminates, “I was standing in someone’s kitchen, washing someone’s dishes, and their house was full of their things. I got to use them. I got to be here. I was welcome to be here whenever I wanted. Wasn’t that nice?”

Then an old friend dies, and Matt’s ghosts reach a peak while Rhys is still away. “The emptiness in the house rang out like a hollow bell. The deafening buzz of a housefly in the corner. The prickling feeling of perpetual nothing stretching out in four dimensions.” We live Matt’s demons. Regardless of the couple’s obvious love, readers wonder if there is any way for these men from two different backgrounds to accept each other without preconceived notions.

Told from Matt’s point of view, Rhys’ responses are showcased by his best friends, Theo and Caleb from “Riven,” the first novel in the Riven series. While Rend reads complete as a standalone, Parrish is too excellent a writer to neglect “Riven.”

If you’re feeling shattered, and want to recall how to pull together, this novel is for you – or for anyone, actually. “Rend”has it all: a smooth plot, personalities whose flaws insist upon growth, strong side characters, exquisitely rendered scenery, simple but vibrant dialogue, some of the most intimate love scenes I’ve encountered, and a thoroughly believable ending.

Wow! Rend, by Roan Parrish, is an absolute page turner. This story is romantic, powerful and absolutely amazing, as well as extremely complex.

What Matt expects to be just a hook-up with Rhys, ends up being a magical night of really getting to know one another.

Matt and Rhys fall in love quickly, leading to what is essentially an all encompassing love story between a married couple, as they navigate Rhys' success, traveling, and family issues.

From the start, Rhys is one of the most wonderful book boyfriends ever. He's loving, deep, gentle and extremely caring. He's simply calm and confident. He is everything Matt needs.

Matt, meanwhile, is full of self-doubts and can't understand what Rhys even sees in him. Having been abandoned by his mother, Matt assumes he's unworthy of love. He expects everyone to leave him.

After a whirlwind marriage, the two are now struggling with Matt's abandonment issues. Their connection is strong and absolutely beautiful, but Matt is still left drowning in his insecurities and loneliness while Rhys is on the road. There are many emotional moments that will leave you sobbing.

I found one of the most intense moments to be when Matt uses Rhys's weight on top of him to ground him. The fact that Matt needs Rhys' physical weight to remind him that Rhys is there, shows just how wounded Matt is.

Overall, Rend is a story full of true love and yet so full of despair. It's a tremendous tale of a broken man who feels unworthy of love trying to survive. As with Riven, the writing style is strong and captivating, and I can't recommend these books enough!

Rend is a fantastic M/M contemporary romance that is steamy and heartwarming. I truly enjoyed the overall story although some parts felt a bit drawn out. The story is told from Matt's POV and deals with his abandonment issues and fears of being left again. Rhys is the light to Matt's dark and exactly the man Matt needs in his life if he will just let himself believe. Rhys loves hard and knows what he wants. He's determined to make Matt understand and feel all he has to give.

A great love story and a book I found very enjoyable. I definitely recommend it.

An awesome second book. Not quite as good as the first but very close. I loved the characters and stories heck i love anything Roan writes. I look forward to the next book.

This book. THIS. BOOK!

I loved Riven, and I love Roan Parrish's work, so I was pretty sure I'd like Rend. Well, I more than like it. I love it. It's up there with In the Middle of Somewhere for my favorite RP couple.

Don't expect this to be an easy ride. It's rough, and painful, and wrenching in all the best ways. Matt is damaged, and Rhys is, in some important respects, oblivious or at least naive when it comes to dealing with Matt's baggage.

One intriguing detail (and I don't think it's a spoiler since it's at the beginning of the book): This is a story of how an established couple--already committed to each other in some important ways--finds out just how much growth is required to make the relationship work. The prologue surprised me, as did chapter one and where the story really starts. I was interested and impressed with that facet.

Another good outing for Roan Parrish. And thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A surprisingly well written and relatable read!

Basis Plot: Matt, or Matty, is an emotionally damaged young man trying to deal with the pain of his childhood. He is use to having one night stands that are solely about sex. One night Matt meets Rhys in a bar, but instead of being a one night stand (far from it), they develop a relationship and learn how to love and navigate life with a damaged person. News flash...both Matt and Rhys are damaged emotionally.

It is really hard to categorize this book. It is part romance novel, part relationship drama, part commentary on the brokenness of the foster care system, and part exploration on how love can help heal wounds...oh, and I dare say it's part erotica (imho)! I decided to read it because it was m/m, which is a new genre for me that I am exploring and liking, and the reviews of the first book seemed pretty good. I knew going in that there would likely be a lot of sex, not quite my thing, but I was hoping it would be tempered with a good story. And, I am pleased to say, that is pretty much what I got.

Matt and Rhys are so very different. Rhys grew up in an idyllic situation of two loving parents and a sibling. Both parents seems to be accepting of him and who he chooses to love. He grew up with the image of a loving marriage modeled for him. As an adult, that is what he longs for the most. Matt grew up in the foster care system and never had the experience of a loving family. These are scars that he carries with him as an adult. He doesn't think he is good enough for someone like Rhys. Matt and Rhys were both co-dependent and needed the other person. Their co-dependency was even evident in their lovemaking. Matt, however, was the more extreme case.

Matt's story was heartbreaking at times, but also very relatable.
-Have you ever dated or loved someone with a background so different than yours that it was border line intimidating?
-Have you ever struggled with self-doubt to the point where it kept you, or almost kept you, from something good?
-Have you ever tried to cover your weaknesses with fake strength?
-Have you ever been afraid of receiving love because you felt like once you did, it would be taken away?

Most of us can probably relate to at least one of these feelings, Matt was dealing with all of them!

A couple of things worth mentioning:
1. This can definitely be read as a stand alone book, although I do now want to go back and read book 1.

2. This book is NOT action packed. It is rather slow at times and it is not what you would call exciting. It is filled with angst, sometimes sad, and has a lot of inner reflection.

3. There are some intense sexual situations. You can take this with a grain of salt, because I imagine for hardcore romance/erotica readers this book probably does not have enough sex, but for me, who typically reads crime/mystery/and murder books, there was a lot of graphic sex, lol. True story, I was reading this book on the train and I actually had to stop reading because it made me blush and I was slightly worried that person sitting next to me was reading over my shoulder!! :-)

4. Am I the only one who wants to know more about Grin?

Another enjoyable story in the Riven world. Rye intrigued me when I read him in Riven. He surprised me in this story. It is rare to read about any man having the depth of emotion that this man had. Perhaps I am stereotyping but Rye came across as this almost hard, rocker type but I found his emotional, cuddly side endearing. Mark was a harder nut to crack for me...he seemed so broken...to the point that he did everything he could to break the beautiful relationship he had. In the end, this story showed me that there is life after immense heartbreak and pain in childhood and there is hope after you feel someone you love has let you down. Learning to let others love you completely despite your faults is probably the hardest thing we as humans face and Roan did a great job of showing that even the hardest of people can finally come to that point in their lives.

This is a love story with so much depth. It addresses so many issues that society never does. Rhys and Matt grew up on different sides of the track. They embodied different socio-economic stratus, and lifestyles but they were each seeking love and acceptance. These are things that matter across all boundaries. Learning to trust and to give your heart into someone’s keeping takes a lot. The author does a beautiful job of guiding the reader through the travails of their story. It is sometimes haunting and painful but in the end they rise from the ashes and find true happiness.

Holy Moly! Roan Parrish doesn't just tug at the heartstrings, she gives them a good, solid yank and twists until it hurts. Rend is emotional, raw, and at times, absolutely heartbreaking. The writing style combined with the character development make it impossible to not become invested in this couple, which makes the emotional aspect that much more of a roller coaster ride. The good news is the author also gives us a light at the end of that dark tunnel by way of hope, love, friendship, and family. The romance is a bit different than what we usually see. Matt and Rhys are into the second year of their marriage at the start of the book, so while we don't get that new relationship angst, there's still a whole lot of getting to know each other. Especially for Matt, who has grown up in a world where everyone leaves. His feelings of abandonment and the surety that everyone is going to disappoint him are well-founded, but that doesn't make his feelings of being unlovable any easier to read. Combine that with Rhys' determination to be Matt's protector only to find out that he doesn't always see the signs of a problem, and we have plenty of angst for this couple. In spite of that angst, or maybe because of it, there are some truly beautiful moments between Matt and Rhys as they figure out what each needs from the relationship. We also get to catch up a bit with Theo and Caleb from the first book in the series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but it's always nice to revisit past favorites. To sum it up, if you're a crier, expect tears - both the happy kind and the not so happy. But it's also a wonderful story of finding that special someone who can help lead you through the maze of this difficult life. All in all, a great addition to the series.

Hard to read at times but so BLOODY GOOD. The writing was amazing, the characters intriguing and endearing, it sucked me right in from the very start. Unafraid to shy away from the angst, it hit the reader earlier on just how bad things can get for Matt and Rhys... but I never gave up hope such was my connection to them and their plight. I really and thoroughly enjoyed this book.
4.5 Stars

My first from this author but definitely not my last! Rend is well-written and features two very likable characters in Rhys and Matt. These two have a whirlwind romance and find themselves husband and husband after just a few months. I liked that we were privy to their steamy love affair from the very start and the way they seemed to find the right man at the right time, albeit quite fast. But I sensed their true love for one another and was anxious to see how their very different lives would mesh going forward.

The book takes an unusual turn as Matt and Rhys continue to find out about one another with less than great results. Meaning that their fast romance, even though it was real, kept Matt's difficult past buried as they fell head over heels for one another. And that truly is the crux of this story: Matt's journey into finding himself and being the partner Rhys both needs and wants.

I felt for Matt. That man was abandoned more than once in his young life and his struggles to let the past stay in the past was a wedge between him and his doting husband. Rhys is a gem. Wanting nothing more than to fix whatever troubled Matt but not realizing that he wasn't letting his man find his way by himself. There is a ton of miscommunication and feelings held back as these two try to navigate the life they want together.

My one complaint was that the book kept circling back on itself with me getting a bit frustrated that Caleb (almost 80 percent in) had to finally be the one to tell Rhys that Matt needed more than just his love. The man needed therapy!! I was shouting that over and over again as Matt continued to flounder in all aspects of his life.

I will say, however, that the author beautifully described Matt's fears and the ways he tried to handle them. He has a ton of baggage that was left unattended and his decisions especially when it came to his patient husband seemed to be spot-on. I guess I just wanted the 'a-ha' moment to come a bit sooner.

Caleb and Theo are a great addition and I would love to go back and read their story in Riven. As a foursome, these two couples are easy to be with and they truly have each other's backs.

In the end, I did enjoy Rend and will not hesitate to read more from this author when I need my M/M fix.

4 solid stars!

I really enjoyed reading "Riven" and so when I saw this one go up...I, of course, had to read it too... But...let me start off by saying that these books are nothing alike. This one was actually much darker/emotional than I expected.

This book is about an already established couple Rhys and Matt. I've got to be honest here and say that I don't remember much about these two from the first book, just that Rhys is Caleb's ex. That said...I read a lot of books, so it's hard to remember every single detail. Plus I'm getting older

This book is told from Matt's pov and let me tell you...it wasn't always the easiest to read. Matt is dealing with some very heavy issues and when Rhys goes on tour with his band...those issues become ever larger...

This book definitely brought on the waterworks for me !!!

These two don't give up though. They keep fighting, especially Rhys...he won't give up on Matt and I really loved him for that.

This book was a very sweet, lovable, sexy and hot emotional rollercoaster ride... I can't wait to see what the author has in store for us next !!

An ARC was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

This review has been posted on WendysWyckedWords

Rend is a very unconventional, very powerful romance, and I absolutely loved it.

In telling Rhys and Matt’s story, Parrish deliberately works against the traditional structure of most romance novels. At one point, Rhys says that he saw his marriage to Matt as an ending, like most of us who read romances waiting for the happily ever after of a wedding or some other commitment. However, Matt notes that he saw it as a beginning, which of course is also true. And that’s what the author is exploring here by opening with Rhys and Matt as a relatively newly married couple and showing how their relationship almost immediately begins to unravel.

Also unlike most romances, the love Matt and Rhys share is never in question; it’s their ability to understand and be open with each other in other ways that’s the source of their troubled relationship. Matt was abandoned by his mother and grew up in foster homes and a group home, so he’s unable to fully trust that Rhys won’t someday disappear from his life. Those fears are worsened when Rhys goes on tour, which feels too much like the other times Matt’s found himself alone. Meanwhile, Rhys wants to protect Matt, but Rhys can’t fix Matt’s past or take away its pain or the doubts in causes, which frustrates him. Both men must work through their issues to find a way to save their marriage.

The book does have Gothic elements, which readers who enjoy very realistic stories might not like. Rhys and Matt live in Sleepy Hollow, and Matt experiences a premonition of death, feelings of being followed, fears that their house is haunted, and more. Truthfully, I’m not sure all of those things are necessary to the plot, but they do illustrate just how off kilter Matt is mentally as he struggles with his sense of being abandoned by Rhys. In a very real way, he’s being haunted by his past.

I’ve read a lot of romances, and it’s rare to find one that really feels fresh and different like this novel does. It’s easily one of the best books I’ve read this year. VERY highly recommended.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book. The writing was beautiful and the characters were incredibly real. The description of Matt's anxiety was amazing. I loved how there was no "bad guy" in the story, the entire cast was real people who were doing their best.

When I got this from NG, I decided to read Riven first and I am glad I did because a) it was a really good nook and b) I had a little background on Matt and Rhys now before starting Rend. I loved both of these books but i think I liked Rend a little bit more. It was SO SO emotional and I cried while reading it. Poor Matty has all these ghosts in his mind and huge fears of abandonment and loneliness. When Rhys was on tour he literally fell apart. I loved that he and Theo became friends and hung out a bit too. Rhys loved Matt so much that he seems a little blinded to Matt's issued from his past. Not on purpose though and when Matt finally really talks to him and tells him the truth it nearly kills Rhys to find all this stuff out about Matt, his own husband. They are an amazing couple and once they start to really talk, their love for each other comes out in spades. Definitely do not miss this and read Riven too (first)! Both worth your time! Looking forward to #3!! THANKS to NG for the ARC! LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

Matt Argento knows what it feels like to be alone. After a childhood of abandonment, he never imagined someone might love him—much less someone like Rhys Nyland, who has the voice of an angel, the looks of a god, and the worship of his fans.When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Roan Parrish is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

I have mixed feelings on this book in that I dont think that the therapy should have come so late into the last third of the book. I realize that they had to build up to them falling apart and seeking help but at the same time I wanted them coming back together to have been given more time.

This is kind of a different start to a book. A short “how they met” introduction. Then a fast forward to them being married a year and a half. Matt is sure that they won’t last because nobody ever has stayed for him.. Rhys means everything to him, so when Rhys leaves on tour, Matt falls apart. Being on his own only makes his issues worse. When Rhys comes home Matt’s self doubts and lies sabotages the relationship.

This was not a feel good read, very sad actually. The middle of the book seemed slow and depressing but it did get better. They had to work hard to get to their happy ending. Ultimately is was a satisfying story.

Rend

Rend was quite simply a stunning read. In the most basic sense, it’s a second-chance romance between established couple Matt (who struggles with loneliness and a lifetime of abandonment) and Rhys (who positively brims with intrinsic joy and seemingly unlimited optimism). But what you get is so much more than an opposites attract story, and my heart couldn’t be fuller upon the conclusion of their story.

Nevermind the conclusion, my heart was fit to burst just from the prologue - it was so whirlwind sweet and hearteyes amazing. With a prologue like that though, I just knew I was in for one hell of a ride. What came next wasn’t so much a crash landing, but a series of jarring bumps that rattles Matt’s sense of wellbeing once the honeymoon period was over.

Sure on the surface the book sounds depressing AF. Matt pretty much goes on a downward slide while Rhs heads out on tour. Certain incidents in his otherwise normal life bring up not-so-old insecurities. His slide is scary in its ease and inevitability, and there’s even bits of gothic horror thrown in for good measure (partly thanks to their little town of Sleepy Hollow - of the headless horseman fame- and partly due to city boy Matt’s fears and paranoia being by himself way out in the “country.”).

I can’t go into too much detail without giving the story away, and even if I wanted to, there is just so much to talk about. What I will say is that I loved everything about this book. Every element was so meticulously plotted, and went above and beyond at delivering a realistic portrayal that resonated with me. I’ve come to learn that Parrish is not one to write in half measures and this series in particular has been a tour de force (okay I know this is only book 2) that is also very clearly a labor of love.

She did an amazing job portraying Matt as a real and multifaceted person, and not just “some sad dude.” Overlooked and undervalued all his life, he quite simply doesn’t know how to be the center of someone’s universe, and Rend takes us on his journey to find his place in the world. The book reminded me that happiness doesn't come naturally for everybody and that it often takes work, even when on the surface everything seems fine. Unsurprisingly, Theo and Caleb appear in Rend, but I was pleasantly surprised of the extent to which their stories intertwine, and the part Theo plays in Matt’s journey.

One of my favorite things about this book was the beautiful relationship between Matt and Rhys. There were so many ways that they brought balance to one another, and one way in particular that it showed was in their beautiful and fuckhot D/s dynamic. It wasn’t formal or even really acknowledged, but the ownership kink was strong with these two ;-) I thought the ending was perfect (I did not see that coming!) and a great way to end their story on such a hope-filled note.