𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗡 is the fifth book in Lydia Michaels McCullough Mountain series and is a small town MM romance.

I was invested in Luke and Tristan’s story ever since learning about them in earlier books. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started this, but what I got, blew me out of the water.

This an emotionally charged read that will make you feel all the feels, over and over again. Once I started I couldn’t stop. Book Hangover take me away!

I’m giving 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗡 the judy.ann.loves.books stamp of approval, TBR and Enjoy!

This book caught all of my feels. Finding oneself, falling in love, the fear; gosh the emotions I felt through this book, so many. I know this isn’t a true story, but it has been the reality for so many people in the world and it hurts my heart to read this journey and fall in love with the characters and know that somewhere someone has a similar story. I loved this book.

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate this book. Overall it’s a beautiful love story but so much happened and there were a lot of time jumps that it just felt like a lot of short stories about the same characters pasted together

I really enjoyed Tristan and Luke’s moments but I wished it hadn’t taken them so long to figure it out.

The violence towards the end took me by surprise and I didn’t really care for that part.

Broken Men is the fifth book in the McCullough Mountain series. This is Luke's story.
This is the best book so far in the series. The angst, the secrets, the pain. Bottom line, this is a love story that just happens to be between two men. And if this is the first one that you are reading be prepared for snippets from the other siblings stories, so if you haven't read the previous books do not start here unless you want major spoilers.
Tristan and Luke's story is told from their beginning, which actually predates all the books in the series so far. You get to see how they came together, how they stayed hidden and the demons they had to face.
This book deals with hard issues and does so heartbreaking well. My hope is I will truly get to see a world where this type of book is like at a history, instead of current events.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

I was conflicted about this fifth book in the McCullough Mountain series. It focuses on Luke and Tristan and the great obstacles they both had to overcome to get to their HEA. This books was uneven in the plot development. The timeframe of this book takes place over many years but only gets into detail at periodic intervals. It also overlaps some scenes with other previous books in the series. It answers a lot of questions in the series but it is definitely not one of my favorites.

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

This was my first Lydia Michaels book and i was pleasantly surprised!
Luke and Tristan’s story was heartbreakingly beautiful. It took time and patience but watching their love story unfold was worth it.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

I wanna start with saying thanks to NetGalley and Valentine PR & Literary Management for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

So this is the fifth book in the McCullough Mountain series and focus on the former athlete Luke.

Before I start writing anymore I just wanna let you know that this part has a TW and it is homophobia.

The book contains following subjects/themes: MM romance and sex, steamy scenes, confussion, secret relationship, first time, character that are in denial, childhood background of abuse because of who the person was/are.

What I liked about it: I finally got to know the story behind Luke and Tristan and to find out if one of the MC are gonna come out or not.

For me this was a good read and I liked how Lydia Michaels once again highlighted something important in this book. Homophobia and fare of coming out are important to highlight. Everyone should be allowed to be who they are and love who ever they want to love.

I recommend this one to the persons who has read the other four books, even though it absolutly can be read as a stand alone, and for the persons that wanna read some steamy and yet sensitive book that left me with feeling, happy, sad, angry, sad again and happy again.
Are you a fan of reading books that have LBGTQI+ themes in them then you perhaps might like this one.

I rate this book a 4 stars even though in the beginning it was just a 3,5 but the fact that Michaels highlight two strong themes it makes the book better.

Now I am looking forward to book 6 that is called Controlled Chaos.

BROKEN MAN follows the trials and tribulations of Luke McCullough as he grapples with the loss of his athletic career and pursues a romance he never saw coming. Author Lydia Michaels once again offers readers insight into complex emotional situations within the conventional structure of a romance. In this case, a gay romance and the multiple community and family responses as the relationship progresses. This book provides another angle on multiple scenes that were originally described from other characters’ POVs in earlier series books. This is an excellent addition to the series. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I really wanted to like this book, and I think the romance is actually very compelling, but there are some significant issues that bring my rating from a 3 or 4 to a 2 star. I would only tepidly recommend this book, and that’s only if you are interested in a M/M romance that explores how deep and damaging misogyny and homophobia can be in relationships and society. This is not a cozy, low stakes romance, and I didn’t find the characters all that likeable. Nonetheless, their chemistry is instantaneous and off the charts, and I really believed the romance and was rooting for the characters despite their deep flaws.

The biggest issue I had with this book was the pervasive sexism throughout the story. The female characters are mostly set up as foils for the main characters and are really treated poorly, from a string of nameless, faceless women one character uses to try to get over his gayness, to the disturbingly patriarchal and controlling behavior of the McCullough brothers to their youngest sister. There are hints of slut-shaming, judgment toward a character who has taken a job as a stripper, men working their way through all the women in town while brutishly defending their sister’s honor and virginity, etc. There are occasions where the hypocrisy and misogyny are noted and challenged, but the neither the main nor secondary characters ever really confront any of this in a satisfactory way. I get that the author is trying to show realistic life in a small town, but it’s problematic to think people should get a pass because they live in a small town. And while I get that these can be character flaws that make the story interesting, I still like to see main characters show some growth and reflection, and perhaps overcome some flaws by the end.

My other big concern with this book is the various ways that homophobia drives the plot. First, there are multiple instances of violence against gay men *because* they are gay, in one case also involving serious physical abuse by a parent. While this type of violence is a very real concern for the LGBTQ community, setting up a romance centered around gay trauma is very troubling, especially coming from a cishet author. Second, the internalized homophobia of the gay characters is similarly problematic, and also contributes to the misogyny noted above. Gay characters and relationships are kept in the closet in the story to a degree that stretches plausibility and also really cuts into the happiness that should come with being in love. Again, I understand that much of this unfortunately very realistic, and when and how people come out of the closet is a very personal decision. But in this story there’s so much denial and self-loathing going on, it ends up being a pretty sad book for a romance, and didn’t really feel like a celebration of gay love. Also, while the story hints at bi-awakening and/or ”gay for you” themes, there’s a missed opportunity to do more on this. Luke’s sexuality is never really explored other than his vague acknowledgment that he is probably bi, once he falls for Tristan.

I also thought the writing wasn’t very strong and the pacing was off. There are a few places where months or years pass inexplicably in a few paragraphs, with no real reason for time to pass that quickly other than I think to catch up the story with other books in the series. There are a few chapters that start off “eight months later” with no significance to that particular time period compared to six or twelve months. The book actually spans a long period of time, but I saw no benefit to the plot in stretching the timeline. Not a huge deal, but with all the other issues I noted above, these headscratcher choices by the author just pull me out of the story.

In sum: I think there’s a kernel of a great romance in this book but I disliked so many choices in how the story was told and could not overlook all the misogyny and homophobia.

I'm a bit conflicted. The story centers around Luke and Tristan, Luke accepting his feeling for Tristan and them hiding their relationship for years, and some drama surrounding that and other familial relationships, until they eventually find their HEA. On the one hand I liked the writing and the characters, on the other hand there was wayyy too much drama and Luke was an ashhole half the time, and I felt there was not enough relationship development at the beginning for me to feel their love. So I was just frustrated with Luke half the time. I would have given more time for the reader to see them fall in love at the start of the book instead of just jumping right to it, and way less drama dragging on at the end. Other than that it was not a bad book.
*I was send an e-arc of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*