A sweet love story, thriller, alluring tale of men who fall for each other. At points, the tale becomes blissful, rich with emotion and longing. The dialogue spins the plot forward in many directions, as well as the themes. In truth, I could not put this book down. Quite enjoyable to listen to. A perfect book for a weekend or short trip to listen to. Jones will have you immersed within this sometimes naughty, sometimes perilous novel of good and bad. In the end, it gave me goose bumps. Loved it.

Wow! What an intense book! I couldn’t stop reading. It’s definitely very sexual but I love that. Overall 4 stars. I would recommend.

Don't read if you're looking for fluffy romance. This is the dark, the bad and the d ugly. Gritty and wrong in the best ways. Hard to rate the full story with a cliffhanger though!

Well, this is wrong, dark and delicious. I can't believe I've never heard of this book. I wasn't aware that this is only book #1, and it ends on a cliffhanger, which I usually avoid, but still, I'm pretty much hooked. I loved the poetic writing style. The atmosphere is excellent, there's the thrill of the attraction, the darkness of both of their pasts, and the slightly claustrophobic feeling of a small town. This is definitely a morally grey area, with tons of power imbalance and toxicity, but I am seriously invested. A young, alpha male, happily married sheriff with a bunch of issues getting obssessed with a 17yo prostitute? It's wrong on so many levels, it's a miracle this story worked. In some way, I could understand Richard, and Beau is very intriguing, from what we see of him. They have a lot of chemistry, and their scenes are as gritty as they are steamy. I liked the fact that Richard's wife is a well-rounded character, and there isn't much room for rationalizing here. It was a little short, and I'm glad I only picked this up now, because I hate waiting for a related sequel, but thankfully it's close. I have to say, I don't really see this ending with a HEA, but I'm definitely checking out the rest of the series.

I have received an ARC from Netgalley and I am leaving an honest and unbiased review.

If you’re expecting swooning romance, this book isn’t that. This book is raw, it’s dark and it will shake you up because it’s uncomfortable. The main characters are very much flawed.

Richard, a veteran and the youngest sheriff, develops an obsession with Beau. Richard is truly a hot mess, whose marriage is hanging by a thread, whose career is about to implode and whose focus is centered mostly just on Beau.

There’s so much to unpack in this story. It captures you, I couldn’t put it down even when I felt anxious at times. The story sucks you in and it ends in a cliffhanger.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

The story is about a a former soldier — Richard — who fought in Iraq and became a sheriff in his town at the age of 30. He seems to be suffering from PTSD as evident to how the author describes the point of view of Richard. Richard is married to his high school sweetheart — Lana — and they have 2 children named Ida and Kyle. He came across a 17 years old — Beau — who is notorious for working as a prostitute in their town. Richard found himself drawn and desiring Beau, and he the only thing he can think of to get closer to Beau is to hire him. However, I think Richard unconsciously used whatever his relationship with Beau to also gather information about the case he’s currently handling; as Richard is sure that Beau knew something about it and that he’s somewhat connected to it.

I was surprised that this book is tackling serious and sensitive subjects that I haven’t come across with. So I don’t think this is for everyone. It also take a great deal of time describing and analyzing raw emotions and feelings, and desires.

Richard and Beau’s relationship... is very uncomfortable. There’s a time that I just want to drop the book because I’m getting the creep vibes especially with Richard’s obsession and desire for Beau — when he’s just 17 years old in the book and Richard is over 30 years old, with a family.

The writing style of the book is very lyrical and I don’t think it fits the story because as a reader, I want to know everything without failing to decipher the meaning; although, I like that part since it’s feels more sinister and there’s this thrill in every swipe onto the next chapter somehow.

This book is also just the part 1 and the cliffhanger is intriguing that even though I don’t feel reading this until the end, I’ll be sure to read the next part when I finally got time again.

Overall, I like the idea and the strong emotions that I felt from this book. It’s aberrant but I think it’s not for me.

The first thing you need to know about this book is it is not a love story. Not in the strictest sense. This is a story about obsession and honestly, that's one of the reasons its so gripping.

This is the story of a small town sheriff who meets a young man while investigating a murder. The problem is that the young man is a seventeen year old prostitute. Richard becomes obsessed with Beau. He becomes obsessed as the cost of his marriage, the seeming cost of his career, his sanity, and so many other things. Richard assigns almost everything good in his life to Beau and it is breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time.

The writing itself in this book pulls you in from the first page. The story grips you and the end of the book leaves you gasping for more. I am waiting impatiently for the next installment, if only to find out what happened after that last paragraph.

A few warnings: this book includes an underage romance, explicit scenes of PTSD, murder, human trafficking, abuse, and many other dark themes. If you're looking for a gay romance that's romantic and has a happy ending, this book will not be for you. If you're looking for a dark book that leaves you on the edge of your seat and infuriates you, then this would be a good fit.

*** ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR HONEST REVIEW. ***

This is a surprisingly deep book which spends a serious amount of time analysing feelings, emotions, desires and guilt.

Richard has spent a lifetime ignoring his sexuality and has subsequently found himself married with 2 children. Add that to his PTSD and he really isn’t fit for purpose as a sheriff.

A murder, discovery of a trafficking ring and a young boy who calls to Richard in all the wrong ways push him to the edge and the book skilfully unravels him over the course of the book, as you travel through the unwinding of his marriage, his dispassion for his job, his disregard for his friends and his awareness of Beau, someone he should stay well away from.

Well written from a psychological perspective, it makes for interesting reading, but there are holes in the murder/trafficking storyline and the relationship between Richard and Beau is just.....uncomfortable at times.

There is a lot the blurb doesn’t say about this book, and what it does say may be slightly misleading so the book won’t be what you expected. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, but it may be.

Sensitive subjects are dealt with, not particularly sensitively to be honestly but that does go alongside the raw nature of this book in itself.

One last thing...it’s a first part of the story with a cliffhanger and this isn’t flagged so be aware of this going in to avoid disappointment and negative reviews because of this sole fact. Base your thoughts on what you read not unhappiness because you need to read another book to end the story.

I wasn't sure about this one. The description pulled me in. Is it a crime novel? A thriller? A romance? I'm not entirely sure if it's any of these, even having just read it.
The book tells the story of Richard. He seems to be suffering from PTSD after serving in Iraq and now is the sheriff of a small town. He's married to his high school sweetheart and they have two children. When he comes across a young man (boy) who works as a prostitute in the town, he finds himself drawn to him and unable to resist hiring him himself. This young man, Beau, is also caught up in the murder that has taken place. There are all kinds of dark things going on just below the surface.
I would struggle to call this a romance. It's clear that Richard has some very intense and deep feelings for Beau. But he's a married man with children. Beau is also only seventeen and it would be bad enough that Richard is paying someone for sex, the fact that it's an underage boy and he is the local sheriff makes this all kinds of wrong.
Richard seems to be falling apart across the pages of this book, on all levels. His personal life is in free fall with his marriage hanging on by a thread. Then there's his career. All that seems to matter to him is Beau and when it becomes obvious that Beau is in trouble himself, I just don't know where this will go.
This is the first part of this story with more to follow in the next book. I didn't realise at first that this would be a cliff hanger. Will Richard find any kind of redemption? I honestly don't know.
This isn't a nice book, there's plenty of darkness here. It was an easy read though and a gripping one, that I couldn't put down.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Don’t expect pure love and flawless characters. This book is an experience, sensual because it involves all your senses. It’s a journey through the mind of someone who is losing his.

There are many triggering elements, so be aware. The main character, Richard, is more than twice the age of Beau, who’s not yet eighteen. The boy is also a prostitute. And Richard is married with two kids. See, not roses and sunshine.

Also, they start interacting because there’s been a murder in their small town. Richard is the Sheriff, and Beau is the one who called the police when he suspected something wasn’t right. Not the most romantic encounter either. While the mystery around the murder could have strengthened the storyline, I found it lacking in plausabilty and interest.

Though the writing isn’t always clear, you have to let the words take you through the journey. It isn’t an easy one, it’s full of bumps and potholes.

Quickie

- Series: Weeps indigo #1 (ends on a cliffhanger)
- Hashtags: #MM romance #small town romance #age gap #prostitution #underage #gay first time
- Triggers: prostitution of a minor, human trafficking, cheating, murder, physical abuse
- Main couple: Beau Blackwell & Richard Clayson
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 2/5
- + the atmosphere
- – the investigation makes little sense