Brushed and Buried: Us Undone Book 1

Us Undone

by Ariella Thorne

A second-chance romance that rekindles with the wrong door and the right reckoning.

Adrian is supposed to be working a bachelorette party. Instead, he knocks on the wrong door in his stripper cop costume and comes face-to-face with four bewildered men. One of them is Vince, his high school flame turned NFL star, the one he spent the last decade trying to forget, yet never stopped painting from memory.

Vince has spent years perfecting his image: the good guy, the clean-cut athlete, the man who never makes waves. Seeing Adrian again shatters every wall he’s built. Adrian may have lost his muse, but Vince never stopped being it. One look is enough to prove neither of them ever truly let go.

Old sparks reignite.
Art exposes what words never could.
Desire doesn't care about timing, consequences, or who gets caught in the flames.

When past and present collide, neither of them plans on walking away unchanged.

Brushed and Buried, Book 1 of Us Undone series, is a bold, steamy MM second chance romance featuring artist-muse dynamics and emotionally monogamous couple exploring sharing kink with trusted friends.

Genres: M M Romance, Second Chance, M M Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Queer

398 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 29, 2025

About the author

Ariella Thorne is a New Zealand–based author, full-time healthcare professional, wife, and mum. An introvert at heart, she finds inspiration in Korean dramas, anime, manga, and the quiet moments that spark new stories. When she's not writing, she's usually picking up extra hospital shifts and wondering how there are never enough hours in the day.

Reviews

[Lily Vasquez]

For a debut work, I really love it. I couldn't put this book down.

I enjoyed the side characters most especially Lance and Trevor. I love it when a story gives importance not only to the main couple but also to the friends around them, and it is done beautifully here.

And Vince with Adrian…their relationship becomes something. At first they have many doubts and strange moments, but later they grow together in a way that warms my heart.

I really enjoyed the sharing scenes because it is written with care and desire, and it feels very true for these characters.

In total, this book gives me a very good experience. Emotional, spicy, funny and light. I recommend it a lot.

[Riley]

Just finished Brushed and Buried and I’m calling it now the best book I’ve read all year, easily.
The group dynamics are so good. The friendships feel real and lived-in, with that perfect mix of banter and loyalty that actually happens with close friends. I was laughing out loud constantly, then suddenly crying in the next chapter. The emotional range in this book is wild, and I loved every second of it.
Vince and Adrian were easily my favourite parts. Adrian’s bold, zero-filter personality is hilarious and so entertaining. he just says whatever he’s thinking. But what I really loved was Vince’s character development. You watch him grow and come out of his shell throughout the story, and it feels so natural and satisfying. Their interactions had me grinning the whole time.
Second to that, I’m completely invested in Lance and George. There’s definitely something there between them. I really hope these two get their own book because I need it!
Now the sharing… wow. The spice scenes are absolute top tier. The book dives in pretty quick and it starts off a little over the top, but somehow it just works. It feels raw and believable instead of fake or exaggerated. As someone who’s personally been part of sharing situations (even though I’m in a monogamous relationship), I really appreciated how realistically it was portrayed. I don’t get to read many books that handle this well, but this one nailed it. The spice is written really good too, hot without feeling cringy.
Overall, if you want funny, emotional, well-written group dynamics with excellent spice and characters you actually care about, pick this up. Highly recommend!

[Emily Harris]

ARC REVIEW
Title: Brushed Buried
Author:Ariella Thorne

Tropes (optional):
Second Chance
Stripper/Athlete
Found Family
Emotionally Monogamous
Sharing Kink

⭐ Rating:5
🌶️ Rating:3.5

📝 Quick Summary:
Adrian shows up to perform at a bachelor party expecting tipsy bridesmaids, only to come face-to-face with Vince his ex high school flame turned NFL star who vanished when life got messy. Seeing Vince again, bigger, better, and staring like Adrian is still the one that got away, ignites everything Adrian thought he'd buried. Vince has spent ten years crafting the perfect image, but one look at Adrian shatters his control and proves his feelings never died.

💭 My Thoughts:
Wow, this book came in hot right from the start 🤯🥵! The chemistry between these two is unreal. And seriously can you legally murder a fictional character? Because Vince’s dad had me ready to throw hands. Vince and Adrian together are perfection, and yes… there is sharing 👀. Some scenes were so spicy I was literally sweating. When Vince finally accepted it all the sweetest things happen!

📣 Would I Recommend It? HELL YEAH

#BookReview #Bookstagram #Bookish

[Brandy Donato]

OK first of all.... This is a debut book.. I am like WOW REALLY!!

I am just sitting here trying to wrap my head around this book. This book pulled all kinds of emotions for me. I was laughing one minute, getting tears the next. AND WE CANT FORGET THE SPICE!!! HOLY COW THE SPICE!!!! I absolutely LOVE this book.

Adrian is everything, absolute perfection. I love him from the very start of the book. He made my heart so happy. UGH what he does for the people he cares about!!!

Vince is precious and once his eyes opened up to what all really went down you could just fell the love he had for Adrian.

Man this book just really got to me. I just really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what this author has in store for us.

[Allison]

I was requested to read an Advanced Reader's Copy of Brushed & Buried. This is my honest feedback.

This is a debut romance novel by the author. I definitely applaud the effort. I was hooked and intrigued from the beginning. I mean come on? We had one of my favorite tropes, opposites attract. The artist and the NFL player. The artist turned stripper showing up to the wrong room? A room full of guys secure enough in their masculinity 😉😉 to have said stripper stay and perform? I was all for it. Not to mention that one of the guys, is someone that Adrian knows from his past. I couldn't wait to see what would go down! The spice did not disappoint, either 🔥

The misunderstandings between mc's led to 10 years of dislike, heartache, and pain for Adrian & Vince. Each not knowing if they could trust the other now that they were back in each other's lives. Hell, these mc's fought themselves and weren't sure if they could trust themselves with each other! Between the miscommunication and outside forces meddling in these mc's lives, it was a little bit of a hard-fought HEA. The emotions were there. The art metaphors were a heartfelt addition. I also really enjoyed seeing the guys in the friend group open their minds throughout this story and realize that sexuality is fluid. I’m looking at Lance & George...I'd love to see a story about these two 😁 The group dynamic was hotttt 🔥

The plot was there. Although, I would have liked some things fleshed out a little more and other things reeled in. Pacing was alright. I did find a few issues that I want to point out constructively & honestly. However, these things are not abnormal for debut authors. There were too many descriptors throughout. Because of this, the overdescribing impacted some of the flow. I found a few contradictions, some repetitive dialogue/descriptions but they weren't big enough to impact the full story for me. This is where a team (alpha, beta readers, etc), and developmental editors come in, along with growth as a writer. I also came across a couple of sensitivity "things." I will make mention of these to the author if need be. There is definitely potential here moving forward. Overall, I enjoyed Vince & Adrian's story and their happy ending! They were meant for each other! 🎨🏈

“𝓢𝓽𝓪𝔂,” 𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝔂𝓼, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓪 𝓺𝓾𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮. “𝓐𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼,” 𝓘 𝓪𝓷𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓻, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓘’𝓿𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓮𝓵𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓱𝓲𝓶 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓮 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭."

[Victoria Reads]

Well, what can I say. This is one heck of a book. I rarely post reviews but this one I hve to write something.

The story just unravels how these men had different versions of their past that lead them to drift apart. This is a second chance romance where the stripper accidentally went to the wrong room, where he was supoosed to dance for the bride. Imagine my surprise Adrian actually danced for the groom, and his best man Vince was the one he had a past with.

This is a new author to me. I've just started reading MM books, and I don't really know yet what I really liked. Now, I know that I would love to read books with high spice, funny and lovable side characters, and most especially a really good plot and great writing.
The best part for me is the writing, I can't even start how I just got sucked in into the story and can't literally stop reading it because the writing was that good.
Excited to see what Ariella writes next!

[camms.bookshelf]

It’s rare I read a debut novel that wows me. I am IMPRESSED! This book took off in action and kept me in the pages. The MMC’s were dynamic and kept me going “ah” often. Yup! It was spicey. Perfectly so. Well done!

[Barbara]

This was one of my top reads of '25. I have read over 400 books this year and this one just stands out. Beautifully written, the emotion top tear. The spice absolutely delicious.

[gab_e_reading]

This book tells the story of Adrian and Vince and how they find each other again after a long detour! Their brief shared past influences both of them in who they are and what they have become. Together, they try to figure out what life has in store for them when they tackle it together. The story is very spicy, sharing is part of it, and I liked it—since the supporting characters were portrayed as so relatable and human to me, it also fit very well into the story. It takes a little time, but as I read, the story captivated me more and more and drew me into its own little world. The open and honest way this group of friends interacted with each other really appealed to me, and I enjoyed this pre-wedding week with them ❤️!

[Stéphanie]

I stumbled across this book completely by chance. Actually, I came across the second book in the series first. I started reading it, but there were references to this story, so I decided to go back and start the series in order because I was curious about what had happened, even is I don’t really like « sharing ».

I’m going to mention some things that happen in the book here, so there may be some spoilers. I’ll try not to reveal too much, though. I want you to know what you’re getting into while still leaving you the pleasure of discovering the story for yourself, because I genuinely think this book is a little hidden gem! ✨

I didn’t know this was the author’s debut novel, but for a debut… WOW.

I rarely say this, but I genuinely loved everything about this book. Everything was there. This is a solid 5 ⭐️ for me.

The author really knows how to make her characters interesting, multifaceted, funny, sexy, and lovable. You actually want to be there with them. You want to be adopted by their friend group and become part of their “family.”

And speaking of the friend group, I also really loved George and Lance. George and Lance are best friends. Throughout the book, you can see something starting to develop between them, little by little, and I absolutely loved watching those little hints unfold. They’re actually the main characters of the next book in the series, so now I’m even more excited to see where their story goes!

To start with, even though the book description gives you a good idea of what happens, I felt like it didn’t quite convey the emotional context or how beautifully all of this was actually written.

In this story, Adrian is a talented artist who makes some extra money doing stripper gigs for bachelorette parties. One night, he ends up knocking on the door of the bachelor party instead, at the hotel.

In good spirits, the four men inside let him in, and they end up spending the evening together, talking, drinking, and having fun. But there is also an incredible amount of sensuality and respect throughout the whole thing, and it’s genuinely beautiful.

First of all, there is no cheating involved because the engaged couple has an open relationship. They’ve agreed that this is their last time, during the week before the wedding, to explore before becoming monogamous after they get married.

(I want to take a little moment here to talk about Becca, the bride-to-be, and honestly, all the female characters in this book. They are portrayed as genuinely good people and given such a beautiful role in the story. They’re loving and kind, rather than being given the absolutely awful role that far too many MM books seem to give their female characters. The women in this book are just as much treasures as the men. Thank you for that, Ariella!)

So. The sharing kink comes from the fact that Vince and Adrian don’t want to admit to the others that they already know each other from high school, while the other three men are curious about Adrian and want to explore with him.

There is this incredible unspoken dynamic between Adrian and Vince, almost as if Adrian is stripping to tease and provoke Vince while also turning him on, as well as his friends. Adrian likes being seen and admired, but especially because Vince is there and, in a way, “allows” it.

Vince, meanwhile, loves watching his friends, men he is very close to, desire and touch the man he secretly loves.

It’s emotionally charged, but not in a negative way. Everything is handled with so much respect, reverence, and desire.

And the sharing doesn’t stop with that first night. There are several other sharing encounters throughout the week with the same group, and I actually think they’re all handled really well within the story and the relationships between the characters.

There’s also a really fun parallel on the bachelorette side. Holly, the female stripper hired for the guys, happens to be Adrian’s friend and roommate. She ends up at the bachelorette party as well, and Becca gets to enjoy the evening with her too. Holly is then also invited to stay for the rest of the wedding week, so she becomes part of this little group as well.

And just to be clear for anyone wondering: although Holly and Becca are part of the bachelorette side of the story and there is some sexual energy around those events, there are no spicy scenes involving women. The actual intimate/sharing scenes remain between the men.

The groom and his two friends develop such a beautiful connection with Adrian that they ask him to stay with them for the entire wedding week. Vince is quite silent and trying (but no succeeding) to not speak to Adrian. All the wedding party is staying at a beach hotel, so they spend time together, do activities, and get to know each other and bond.

Trevor, the groom, eventually about his night with Becca, his future wife. And she is intrigued by Adrian and immediately embraces him as well.

So, that’s the sharing aspect of the story.

And honestly? It’s really well done. It’s incredibly hot, but it also feels natural and respectful. I completely understand that this particular dynamic won’t work for everyone, but I wanted to explain how it’s handled for anyone who might still want to give the book a try even if they’re unsure about the sharing element. Because I usually don’t really like that.

Outside of that, we get to see Vince and Adrian finding their way back to each other.

It’s difficult. But you can feel that these two are meant for each other and that they’ve spent ten years trying to move on from what happened between them. (Not really succeeding there either!)

⚠️ SPOILER BELOW (for a tw)⚠️



There is a flashback where we see 18-year-old Adrian going to a hotel room to meet an NFL scout. He wants to plead Vince’s case and convince the scout that Vince is a good player, even though he didn’t have a good game the night before.

The scout propositions Adrian and keeps insisting, but Adrian manages to leave. He isn’t assaulted, but the experience is deeply significant and traumatic for him.

Vince sees Adrian leaving the hotel room while he is on his way there with his father, who knows the scout, and he immediately imagines all sorts of things.

When Vince later tries to find out what happened, communication with Adrian goes wrong. Also, Vince’s father does everything he can to keep them apart, even threatening Adrian with destroying both his career and Vince’s if Adrian doesn’t stay away from him.

So. Well. This book is genuinely beautiful and hot.

Very spicy. Full of emotions. Full of characters you actually want to spend time with.

I absolutely loved it, and I’m honestly just SO excited for the next book in the series. I’m starting it tonight! ❤️

[briannasbooked]

I received an ARC of this book but ended up DNFing it.

[Siân PJsAndBooks]

Thank you, Arielle, for my copy of Brushed & Buried (#1 Us Undone). This MM second chance romance is a debut novel. Vince, the NFL Golden Boy and Adrian the Artist/Stripper are reunited under unusual accidental circumstances. To be totally honest I wasn't invested in these characters until a specific event & then I was obsessed with them finding their HEA. Ariella slowly dripped in information about Vince & Adrian's past which helped build the story.

✏️ MM Romance
🏈 NFL Golden Boy
✏️ Artist
🏈 Wrong Door
✏️ Stripper
🏈 Found Family
✏️ Sharing
🏈 Second Chance
✏️ Voyeurism
🏈 Exhibitionism
✏️ Dual POV
🏈 Epilogue

This book does including sharing so definitely isn't for everyone.

[Sierra]

one of the best debuts I’ve ever read

Such great writing! I loved every second of this book, even the bit that I wish would have been a bit switched around. I really loved how this all turned out. As a Poly book lover, I’ve always been wary of books with only ‘sharing’ for some reason, but this book was so intriguing and did it in an interesting way. When it started, boy was I wary, but that whole first 15ish percent is so.fkn.hot.. it broke my smut face. The chemistry between the MMCs and the friend group was insane, and it was more than just physical. There was a deep bond formed with George, Trevor, and Lance, and I ended up really liking them a lot more than I expected I would.

Overall, legit blown away by this debut. First 5 star book I’ve read in a bit, and I read a lot. Even the minor things I disliked weren’t even off enough to truly dislike them, just personal opinion I guess. I do kind of wish Adrian and Vince had their ‘first time going all the way 😜’ scene before the final group scene, but there was still nothing wrong with how it did go, was just surprised. Def worth a read, even if sharing isn’t a usual thing. Will be following this series and author, very very excited to see what they do next. This one is gonna be on the recc and reread list for sure.

[Isabelle Proulx]

This book... Wow, I’m speechless! It was so beautifully written—the words flowed so smoothly, sometimes almost like poetry! The "About the Author" section mentions that "Brushed and Buried" is her debut novel, and what a fantastic debut it is!

It had all the ingredients for a perfect M/M romance! Years of longing and yearning... chemistry that was both tender and electric! The spicy moments... absolute perfection! The steaminess and the intimate moments between the characters gave me both shivers and hot flashes at the same time! Phew! My heart ached so many times for both Adrian and Vince. I struggled a bit to warm up to Vince at first because of how he treated Adrian, but once I learned what he’d been through, it all made perfect sense—and he completely won me over! Adrian won me over right from the start with his quick wit, strength of character, and sensitivity! Their story is magnificent—one of the best portrayals of a second-chance romance done right.

I can't wait to read the second book in the "Touch and Torque" series, coming out on July 31st; it will feature two of the secondary characters I grew attached to so quickly!

[Jessica Swan]

I just read this book in one sitting because it was so freaking entertaining. Like I physically could not put this down. 5 stars simply for that fact. Also the fact that this is a debut? Wild. I can't wait to see what Ariella Thorne writes next!

[D!]

A debut novel?? this was beautifully written, I finished and just wanted more! congratulations on this piece of art

[Jkirstyj]

Adrian a stripper in a cop uniform ends up at the bachelor party door instead of the bachelorette party and when he enters the room he sees Vince his high school flame who ghosted him and is now in the NFL.
This story is hot 🥵 right from the start, the spice is on point!
the sexual tension between Vince and Adrian is something else. I don’t usually like sharing in the books I read but this was just so hot! Vince’s friends are brilliant I hope we get their story’s next
As a debut book I don’t see how it could have been better! Would totally recommend!!
I received an arc of the book and this is my honest review

[Claudia]

4,5⭐️

Wow… what a masterpiece. I couldn’t put it down. This book takes your hand and gently leads you through healing while building a deep connection with the characters.
But ..
I’m not a fan of sharing, and their first time not happening in the “perfect portrait scene” really frustrated me. I enjoyed the group scenes, but that moment should have been theirs.

I also understand it’s fiction, but turning four or five straight guys with a two-minute dance felt a bit far-fetched.

All in all, this was a fantastic read, and it’s definitely high on my 2026 list.

Characters 5/5
Story 5/5
Spice 2,5/5 light sharing kink, strict roles

[Beverly]

I had such a good time with Brushed and Buried. The second chance romance was so sweet, and I really liked watching them find their way back to each other. It just worked.
Also, the spice? Loved it. The way the kink was shared with their found family was such a great touch.
I really enjoyed the writing too. It has this poetic feel without being hard to get through, and the descriptions are beautiful. I flew through the book.
Definitely worth every penny. I’m really glad I picked this one up.

[Miranda]

Sweet second chance romance for Vince and Adrian.
Love how the author made it work with relating their past into their present.
The sharing kink is new to me, and I absolutely love it.

Plot 5/5
Spice 3.5/5
Characters 5/5
Humor 4/5

[Julie]

such a beautiful moving story of forever love

This is a beautiful story of two souls who belong together no matter how much time and fate tried to keep them apart. It’s a slow burn as we learn about Vince and Adrian knowing each other since high school and then meet by pure coincidence 10 years later. I loved how it unraveled, slowly revealing pieces of their teenage innocence. So beautifully told.

[Justine]

Vince and Adrian

The premise grabbed me right away. Adrian shows up in his stripper cop costume for what he thinks is a bachelorette party and knocks on the wrong door. There in the party is Vince, the high school love he never really got over, now an NFL star. It is awkward and funny and somehow the perfect way to force them back into each other’s lives after years of unfinished business.

The dual timeline works so well. For me, the flashbacks show up exactly when they should be and change how you see everything happening in the present. I kept thinking I had the full story only for another layer to click into place and hit even harder.

Vince and Adrian feel real. One of them buries his pain to protect the people he loves. The other clings to control because vulnerability still scares him. Watching those patterns run into each other made every emotional scene strong for me.

The supporting cast is just as great. The friendships feel lived in. The banter made me laugh out loud. Everyone has a real place in the story instead of existing only for the main couple. Even the antagonist feels properly unsettling because his motivations and reasoning behind his characterization make sense.

The spice is fantastic and fully woven into the story. It reveals character and deepens trust instead of interrupting anything. A big part of that is how the book handles their sharing kink. Vince and Adrian stay emotionally monogamous the entire time, with the group scenes with trusted friends feel intentional and hot because they come from a place of complete security in each other. Watching them explore that together while still putting their relationship first made the heat feel meaningful and raised the emotional stakes in a way I really loved. Voyeurism and exhibitionism play into it too and it all lands as an extension of how deeply they know and trust each other rather than something separate.

Had my heart in pieces more than once. By the last page every word felt like it got the ending it deserved.

This is one of my favorite second chance romances. I will be recommending it to anyone who wants heartbreak, healing, found family, and delicious chemistry.

[ReadingRed125]

This one was just not for me. The premise sounded good but from the opening scene it was just a little too over the top for my taste.

[Ashley]

OMG love!

Read the trigger warnings of sharing is not your thing. Don’t read this book however, if sharing is your thing so hot! The happily ever after is perfect can’t wait for book 2

[A]

Good storytelling. Just enough angst but not too much angst. Interesting ensemble characters.


Look forward to seeing something about George and Lance in the future.

[Jane Andelman]

There was all this drama based on very little info. Then the details were revealed… and it still overly dramatic.

[Ashley | adhdandread]

Brushed & Buried by Ariella Thorne
Us Undone #1
Length: 326 pages
Source: Author-direct eARC
Publication date: November 29, 2025

1 ⭐

WHAT TO EXPECT
🏈 Second-chance romance
🏈 Hurt/comfort
🏈 Found family
🏈 Stripper/artist x professional athlete
🏈 Kink exploration
🏈 Sharing (emotionally monogamous couple)

AUTHOR’S BLURB
Adrian
I'm supposed to be shaking it for drunk bridesmaids in tiaras, rocking my stripper cop uniform at a bachelorette party. Instead, when the door swings open, I'm face-to-face with pure testosterone and confusion, with four men staring at me like I just dropped in from another dimension.

Then I see him. Vince. My high school flame turned NFL golden boy. The guy who ghosted the second scandal hit and life got complicated. Now he's right here, bigger and broader, watching me like I'm still his favorite mistake.

Vince
I've spent ten years building the perfect image: the good guy, the clean-cut athlete, the man who never makes waves. Then Adrian walks into my best friend's bachelor party as the entertainment, all attitude and temptation, and my carefully constructed control shatters. He's still a wildfire. Untamed and unapologetic, he is the kind of man who doesn't care what he burns. I told myself I buried those feelings a decade ago. But one look at him proves that was a lie.

MY THOUGHTS
This book is... not it. I wanted to like it so much, because it ticks off a lot of boxes for me: found family, second chance, kinks. There are glimpses of a great couple finding their way back to each other. But the writing is so problematic–overly dramatic most of the time, nonsensical a lot of the time, and fetishizing queer men all of the time. There are multiple instances of word salad and using a $.25 word when a $.05 word would have been better for flow and comprehension. Brushed & Buried leans 100% into the miscommunication trope for the sake of hurting the MCs to keep them apart, generating unnecessary angst that's extremely stereotypical (i.e. make the gay guys suffer to earn that HEA). The character growth also feels generic, with Vince having convenient, sudden "I should have fought harder" realizations once he's around Adrian again.

Further, I cannot get over how the out MC somehow is so charismatic and has such a tempting body that he makes a group of conventionally straight men not only immediately start to question their own orientations but also decide they want to experiment with group sex. It sounds like porn written by a straight woman to satisfy a queer-love fantasy. The author would have benefitted from a sensitivity reader or, in fact, any queer man reading for her. Instead, you get a book that's written for women who want to fetishize queer men for their own benefit.

–A
Thanks to the author for an eARC of this book. All opinions are mine. Reviews posted regularly on StoryGraph, Instagram, BlueSky, BookBub, Fable, Amazon, and Goodreads.

[Kata]

I’ll be honest: I always approach books with sharing scenes with some reservations. I try not to look at other readers’ reviews beforehand, but this time I made the mistake of reading other people’s opinions, and it influenced me more than I would have liked. It took me quite a while to detach myself from what I had read before, but I eventually managed.

This book is a prime example of miscommunication—or a complete lack of communication—and manipulation. These two boys wasted ten years of their lives because they didn’t talk to each other and because they allowed others to manipulate them. It’s heartbreaking to think about.

But once we see their individual perspectives—their reasons, their memories—it becomes clear how things went wrong and how differently they experienced the same events. When the real reason behind their distance finally comes to light, everything falls into place.

The side characters are incredibly lovable—who am I kidding, they were absolutely adorable (except for Vince’s father). I also found myself rooting really hard for Lance and George, and I genuinely hope something eventually blossoms between them, because I think they’d make an amazing couple.

Overall, the book isn’t bad at all. The story is solid, the pacing is pleasant, the characters are easy to care for, and it was a smooth, enjoyable read for me. I know many readers didn’t like it, but for a debut novel, I truly don’t think this is a bad one. I’ve read works from far more experienced authors that turned out much worse—and this book definitely doesn’t belong in that category.

I received an ARC copy of this book, and this is my honest review.

[Jean]

Wow, what did I just read. This book sat on my TBR for a long time and boy didn't I just enjoyed it so much.
I wasn't expecting to love it. I was expecting a plain second chance romance, even something predictably hot because it has sharing kink as one of the main tropes, but this book just reminds me to look past all these repetitive, big-named book recs in many groups I'm in and go for an unknown author with less hype on their works.
You just never know what you'll find!

What worked for me:
-The story: second chance romance, stripper meets the best man in a wrong party, who turns out to be his muse. Adrian is an artist who used to draw Vince back in high school. Talk about all that tension when they finally saw each other after ten years.
-Spice: Is Hot. JUST HOT. I love the sharing kink in this, the care in writing it with the other friends. There's also the heartfelt, spicey moments between Vince and Adrian.
-Flashbacks: Written well. With so much emotion and I was literally hooked I just want to know what the hell happened that drove them apart.
-Found Family: Lance, George and Trevor are so precious. I love the witty banters, quick comebacks. They're all so distinct their traits don't overlap, and I never got confused in their group scenes who's who. I know Lance and George have their own book, and I honestly can't wait to read it.

What didn't work for me:
-Nothing! I just love it. I hope Ariella writers more of these characters and story.
This will be in my re-read list for sure!

[Mandy]

The writing is beautiful, if a bit disjointed. I really enjoyed the story, even as over the top as it was at moments. It had a lot of the things you want in an angsty, second-chance romance. It just needed some polish. Although the writing was beautiful and flowy, it was a tad over-descriptive for me, but that's just me. Also, one of the biggest things my brain always snags on that I can't let go of is when the author doesn't use contractions and everyone talks without them. I've seen this before with other authors, so I know it happens when writing, it's just one of those things my brain won't let go of - it wasn't the entirety of the book, but enough that I noticed it. Again- this is just a me thing. And those are both things that can be helped with some editing.
I enjoyed getting to know Adrian and Vince, their story was sad and hopeful and I did root for them. Overall, a lot of potential here, especially since it's a debut. Like I said, for me just overly descriptive, and there were some continuity issues, but from the other reviews, maybe nobody else caught them. I did enjoy this one and hope the author writes more. :)