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Damaged Hearts #2
Bone Deep
SPENCER STARK
I have three rules.
No kissing.
No sleepovers.
And absolutely, positively no catching feelings.
The rules exist for a reason. I don’t do relationships, I don’t do attachments, and I definitely don’t do straight men looking to take a walk on the wild side.
Cue Ryan Buterbaugh walking into my life. A hot, relentless, slutty short-wearing golden retriever of a man that's entirely too good at getting under my skin.
He’s everything I avoid. And worst of all? He doesn’t scare off. No matter how many lines I draw, he keeps stepping closer—completely unaware or simply not afraid of what will happen if I let him in.
But I know better. I should have known better. Because the second I start breaking my rules for him, I don’t know if I can survive it.
What I do know for certain…if anyone hurts him, I will end them.
––––– RYAN “BUTTERS” BUTERBAUGH
From the outside, my life is one most men would dream of.
America’s number one quarterback with two championship rings. Senator’s son. A respected family dripping in old money.
I’m the guy who always says the right thing, does the right thing, is the right thing.
But behind the scenes? I’m hiding my true identity.
I’ve managed to keep it separate. Anonymous. No strings. No complications. Because no one can know.
It works.
Until Spencer Stark.
He doesn’t care who I am. Doesn’t want anything from me. Keeps me at arm’s length with rules that should align with my own—except I don’t want to follow them.
I told myself I could handle it. That I could be near him without revealing too much. But the more he pushes me away, the more I want in.
And for the first time…I couldn’t care less if my whole life implodes.
As long as I can have him.
No kissing.
No sleepovers.
And absolutely, positively no catching feelings.
The rules exist for a reason. I don’t do relationships, I don’t do attachments, and I definitely don’t do straight men looking to take a walk on the wild side.
Cue Ryan Buterbaugh walking into my life. A hot, relentless, slutty short-wearing golden retriever of a man that's entirely too good at getting under my skin.
He’s everything I avoid. And worst of all? He doesn’t scare off. No matter how many lines I draw, he keeps stepping closer—completely unaware or simply not afraid of what will happen if I let him in.
But I know better. I should have known better. Because the second I start breaking my rules for him, I don’t know if I can survive it.
What I do know for certain…if anyone hurts him, I will end them.
––––– RYAN “BUTTERS” BUTERBAUGH
From the outside, my life is one most men would dream of.
America’s number one quarterback with two championship rings. Senator’s son. A respected family dripping in old money.
I’m the guy who always says the right thing, does the right thing, is the right thing.
But behind the scenes? I’m hiding my true identity.
I’ve managed to keep it separate. Anonymous. No strings. No complications. Because no one can know.
It works.
Until Spencer Stark.
He doesn’t care who I am. Doesn’t want anything from me. Keeps me at arm’s length with rules that should align with my own—except I don’t want to follow them.
I told myself I could handle it. That I could be near him without revealing too much. But the more he pushes me away, the more I want in.
And for the first time…I couldn’t care less if my whole life implodes.
As long as I can have him.
418 pages, Paperback
Published June 20, 2026
About the author
J.P. Joseph
6 books247 followers*** The J.P. Joseph author putting out children's books is NOT my work. ***
JP Joseph is an Italian-American romance writer, born and raised amid the vibrant culture and rich traditions of Detroit, Michigan. He now calls sunny Phoenix, Arizona home, where he lives with his husband and their kids: four beloved dogs—each of whom enjoys gourmet homemade meals courtesy of JP's culinary passion. After spending years crafting stories in the advertising and public relations world, JP decided it was finally time to share the stories closest to his heart. His debut novel, King of Pain, draws deeply from personal experience, creating an emotionally powerful and semi-autobiographical tale of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery set against a nostalgic soundtrack of 80s bangers. A vocal advocate for the queer community and a champion for the strong women who stand proudly beside it, JP hopes his writing provides authenticity, passion, and resilience to all who read it.
JP Joseph is an Italian-American romance writer, born and raised amid the vibrant culture and rich traditions of Detroit, Michigan. He now calls sunny Phoenix, Arizona home, where he lives with his husband and their kids: four beloved dogs—each of whom enjoys gourmet homemade meals courtesy of JP's culinary passion. After spending years crafting stories in the advertising and public relations world, JP decided it was finally time to share the stories closest to his heart. His debut novel, King of Pain, draws deeply from personal experience, creating an emotionally powerful and semi-autobiographical tale of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery set against a nostalgic soundtrack of 80s bangers. A vocal advocate for the queer community and a champion for the strong women who stand proudly beside it, JP hopes his writing provides authenticity, passion, and resilience to all who read it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
June 27, 2026
I firmly believe that if every straight man on the planet got their prostate pegged at least once a month, the world would be a better-and significantly safer-place.
☝️That was, in all honesty, the only good line in the book. The rest was garbage.
There is one thing I can’t stand in romances: cringey language, unless context indicates intent.
Bone Deep was FULL OF CRINGE.
-A grown ass man saying “Coochie coochie goo” to his potential fuck buddy, and then tickling him - CRINGE
-Referring to a man’s breast as “tittie” - CRINGE
-Calling the guy “himbo” during sex - CRINGE
-Calling the guy “daddy” during sex - CRINGE (in other context I don’t mind it, but there was no reason for Ryan to call Spencer "daddy").
-Having flamboyant gays saying “fabulous” and “gorgeous” all the time - CRINGE (and unoriginal)
Even if I chose to ignore all this, there are so many things wrong with this book.
When Ryan and Spencer meet and they start going to the gym together, I thought ok, let’s see how this develops, even though I was very willing to DNF at 20%
Imagine my surprise when on chapter 11, I am hit with this:
Six entire months I’ve been gym buddies with Ryan fucking Buterbaugh.
6 WHOLE MONTHS go by and we have no idea what happened between Ryan and Spencer during that time. We are only told they go to the gym together, that’s it. Not what they talk about, no banter or witty exchanges, no meaningful looks, nothing. You can’t just write a romance book and not show the actual romance. I was so shocked, I had to read it twice to make sure. Also, Ryan's constant sexual innuendos were crossing sooo many lines.
And that’s not all! After Spencer and Ryan first have sex, Joseph does it again:
It’s been nine months of fucking around with Spence.
9 WHOLE MONTHS during which we, again, have no idea what happened between Ryan and Spencer. They had sex a lot sure, but what else? Didn’t they speak, talk to each other, anything? I’ve never seen a romantic relationship develop this badly, it was so weird. You can't completely bypass the first 15 months of a relationship and expect me to buy that those two have this deep connection.
We are told that Spencer is such a control freak, incapable of displaying any kind of emotion. When Ryan gets injured in the field, Spencer, very publicly, pushes everyone aside to rush to Ryan's side, obviously devastated. He acted like the “boyfriend”, when all we know of him at that point is that he only sees Ryan as a hook up because he is sooo closed off emotionally. He even refuses to kiss Ryan because he thinks kissing is way more intimate than fucking (ffs).
Also, emotionless my ass, the guy ugly-sobbed more times than I can count!
Loopy injured Ryan reminded me of Shane in Heated Rivalry, and not in a good way, Ryan was waaay too much and his banter made me flinch, his sisters and Preston were over the top caricatures...I could go on and on.
I have no words for this campy as hell mess of a book. I deserve some kind of award for finishing it, because it was excruciating. Twice I tried to DNF it but I decided to stick it out and see if it gets better later. It didn’t.
☝️That was, in all honesty, the only good line in the book. The rest was garbage.
There is one thing I can’t stand in romances: cringey language, unless context indicates intent.
Bone Deep was FULL OF CRINGE.
-A grown ass man saying “Coochie coochie goo” to his potential fuck buddy, and then tickling him - CRINGE
-Referring to a man’s breast as “tittie” - CRINGE
-Calling the guy “himbo” during sex - CRINGE
-Calling the guy “daddy” during sex - CRINGE (in other context I don’t mind it, but there was no reason for Ryan to call Spencer "daddy").
-Having flamboyant gays saying “fabulous” and “gorgeous” all the time - CRINGE (and unoriginal)
Even if I chose to ignore all this, there are so many things wrong with this book.
When Ryan and Spencer meet and they start going to the gym together, I thought ok, let’s see how this develops, even though I was very willing to DNF at 20%
Imagine my surprise when on chapter 11, I am hit with this:
Six entire months I’ve been gym buddies with Ryan fucking Buterbaugh.
6 WHOLE MONTHS go by and we have no idea what happened between Ryan and Spencer during that time. We are only told they go to the gym together, that’s it. Not what they talk about, no banter or witty exchanges, no meaningful looks, nothing. You can’t just write a romance book and not show the actual romance. I was so shocked, I had to read it twice to make sure. Also, Ryan's constant sexual innuendos were crossing sooo many lines.
And that’s not all! After Spencer and Ryan first have sex, Joseph does it again:
It’s been nine months of fucking around with Spence.
9 WHOLE MONTHS during which we, again, have no idea what happened between Ryan and Spencer. They had sex a lot sure, but what else? Didn’t they speak, talk to each other, anything? I’ve never seen a romantic relationship develop this badly, it was so weird. You can't completely bypass the first 15 months of a relationship and expect me to buy that those two have this deep connection.
We are told that Spencer is such a control freak, incapable of displaying any kind of emotion. When Ryan gets injured in the field, Spencer, very publicly, pushes everyone aside to rush to Ryan's side, obviously devastated. He acted like the “boyfriend”, when all we know of him at that point is that he only sees Ryan as a hook up because he is sooo closed off emotionally. He even refuses to kiss Ryan because he thinks kissing is way more intimate than fucking (ffs).
Also, emotionless my ass, the guy ugly-sobbed more times than I can count!
Loopy injured Ryan reminded me of Shane in Heated Rivalry, and not in a good way, Ryan was waaay too much and his banter made me flinch, his sisters and Preston were over the top caricatures...I could go on and on.
I have no words for this campy as hell mess of a book. I deserve some kind of award for finishing it, because it was excruciating. Twice I tried to DNF it but I decided to stick it out and see if it gets better later. It didn’t.
June 17, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
After loving Butters, Ryan, as a side character in the first book, I was excited for him to get his own book! He’s so chaotic.
This book immediately has the heavy backstories again. I really appreciated how much more the author explored the characters trauma in this book compared to the last one. It had a much stronger plot with much more tension between these characters.
I love that Ryan is a jock who bakes. The fact he can casually make macarons, as someone who has failed at making them multiple times. I'm starting to think the author must really love cooking and baking.
Spencer and Ryan having the goal of giving back to queer youth so those kids don't have to suffer what they did was so special.
The found family aspect in this series is perfect. My favorite side character has to be Fucker, and he definitely earned that name.
There are still a few places that feel unnecessarily wordy, and some conflicts could have used more buildup, but this was a solid read. I actually enjoyed this one more than the first book, and I can clearly see the author's growth. This book has me locked in to the series to see where everyone’s stories go!
After loving Butters, Ryan, as a side character in the first book, I was excited for him to get his own book! He’s so chaotic.
This book immediately has the heavy backstories again. I really appreciated how much more the author explored the characters trauma in this book compared to the last one. It had a much stronger plot with much more tension between these characters.
I love that Ryan is a jock who bakes. The fact he can casually make macarons, as someone who has failed at making them multiple times. I'm starting to think the author must really love cooking and baking.
Spencer and Ryan having the goal of giving back to queer youth so those kids don't have to suffer what they did was so special.
The found family aspect in this series is perfect. My favorite side character has to be Fucker, and he definitely earned that name.
There are still a few places that feel unnecessarily wordy, and some conflicts could have used more buildup, but this was a solid read. I actually enjoyed this one more than the first book, and I can clearly see the author's growth. This book has me locked in to the series to see where everyone’s stories go!
June 19, 2026
Omg the way that I loved this book!!! This one gave me everything that I needed.
Butter, the man that you are, I absolutely adore you! Spence, the daddy that you are, watching your growth was beautiful!!!
Seeing Ant and Chance again made my heart so happy, they were my first love!
Also, I always love when the supporting women in stories are funny AF and strong AF!
Can’t forget about F-Bomb, I don’t even like cats, but he was cool as hell too 😂😂😂
Butter, the man that you are, I absolutely adore you! Spence, the daddy that you are, watching your growth was beautiful!!!
Seeing Ant and Chance again made my heart so happy, they were my first love!
Also, I always love when the supporting women in stories are funny AF and strong AF!
Can’t forget about F-Bomb, I don’t even like cats, but he was cool as hell too 😂😂😂
September 10, 2026
⭐️
3.75 stars rounded up!
⭐️
The second outing for this author and in my opinion, not as strong as his first.
Overall it was still a good read, and Ryan aka Butters and Spence had good chemistry. They overall had fun, hot and sexy scenes. The romantic slow burn was, overall, fun and well done.
This was just, perhaps, too long. This took a long time to get them together for what was holding them back being essentially just Spencer himself. Ryan needing to hide because of his football career could have been a big second part of that and it would have made sense, but we kind of skip over all that time and then when we check in with them again, Ryan and so that problem is taken care of pretty easily.
We do have two big time skips. In the first book the big time skip made sense for the plot. And the first 6 month time skip kind of made sense, as Spencer keeps them just "gym buddies" and nothing more, no matter how much Ryan "jokingly" flirts. I guess there wouldn't be much to show there, especially when Spencer is so determined to think Ryan is straight and not serious at all.
But once they start having sex, we skip another 9 months, and that is...a bit wild. Spencer is determined to keep Ryan at arms length, and keep it to just gym and them having sex and nothing more. But Ryan is Ryan, a sweet golden retriever and you're telling me he never tried to talk to Spencer?
I get he had to hide as well so it was "convenient" but...still. They had to talk at times and that would have been nice to see.
And then and then we kind of speed run - in a way, kind of - to their HEA. We have scenes here and there that establish their connection, especially their first time together, but the falling in love doesn't really start to happen until after that 9 months. And then in like...2 months or so, everything changes? I kind of get it, as with Ryan's NFL career I'm sure he wasn't always home in Arizona, but still. Wild to go from practically nothing to everything in such a short amount of time after us not getting to see any of their interactions for that 9 months (and the 6 months of almost friendship as well, even though that wasn't as important to me as the 9 month time jump.)
It just was a bit uneven and didn't entirely work in a balanced way.
To me, Anthony and Chance's timeline was so much better handled and well balanced. About half of their book is showing them falling in love and doing it well and they were just so sweet and good together. They were in love before their 3 year separation and that was apparent. So when Chance was back and they almost immediately fell back into things, it felt natural and earned, like they were just picking up where they left off instead of having to build a whole relationship, which it felt like for Ryan and Spencer.
Which, while it was a bit fast, was done well, to be fair. Once we get them in each other's lives, we see so much more of them together, and they started to really quick in a way that it had been a bit lacking before.
That's a big reason why I'm still giving this 4 stars instead of, say, 3. If the last chunk of the book wasn't well written and they didn't have a good relationship and connection, I wouldn't have enjoyed this nearly enough and it would have been more middle of the road for me. It just didn't do as well in the earlier part establishing their connection as the first book had done for Anthony and Chance.
And I don't think it was because Spencer was more closed off and had walls up the wazoo. He could still have that and we could see Ryan chipping slowly away at his walls over their 9 month situationship.
Like damn, was it just a pump and dump kind of thing? Have sex real quick, and then Spencer leaves? What happened in those 9 months? Spencer was ready to so they had to have deepened their connection, we just didn't get to see it.
That's a major reason for my star off. Also, I really wanted more of the fallout from Ryan coming out and seeing more than just one example of people being awful to Ryan. There is so much more progress needed in the NFL world - hell all of sports, professional sports especially - and many NFL fans would absolutely be awful, so I didn't find it entirely realistic that Ryan barely faced any pushback. Or if there was, we didn't get to see and I didn't like that.
Like instead of extended Spencer's hang ups until the last minute, maybe focus on that? I was kind of hoping that's how it would go, plot wise, near the end.
Instead we had to rehash people pushing Spencer to get past his shit once and for all and be with Ryan several times over with the same shit repeated to him to get it through his stupid head.
The fact that we had to wait until 89% for a kiss is damn near crazy. I get the anticipation of a good first kiss, but this was taking it too damn far in my opinion. It didn't feel nearly as epic for the long wait we had to wait too. It was good, but Anthony and Chance's felt way more epic, in my opinion.
This second installment had all the makings of the first book, which I loved, but it just felt a bit short of the mark.
It was still fun and enjoyable and I really enjoyed Ryan and Spencer as characters and later on together - and the cast of characters around them - but it certainly wasn't perfect, and it needed to not edge us quite as long as it did. I don't think this needed to be over 500 pages. It could have been 100 pages less and served the same purpose.
I even, to be honest, almost felt like skimming in the last 10%, it was getting to be that long and too much. I didn't, but it was a damn close thing. I was getting ready to be done with the story at that point.
There really was no reason this was so long except for Spencer, and he really didn't need to take that fucking long to get his head out of his ass. I get his past trauma and all, but it was ridiculous how long it took him.
I'll definitely be reading Justin and Deacon's story, that is a promising installment. This one just felt a bit short of the mark.
Until the next one, though ❤️
My Ratings for the Damaged Hearts Series:
🔆 King of Pain: 4.75 stars (my review)
🔆 Bone Deep: 3.75 stars
The second outing for this author and in my opinion, not as strong as his first.
Overall it was still a good read, and Ryan aka Butters and Spence had good chemistry. They overall had fun, hot and sexy scenes. The romantic slow burn was, overall, fun and well done.
This was just, perhaps, too long. This took a long time to get them together for what was holding them back being essentially just Spencer himself. Ryan needing to hide because of his football career could have been a big second part of that and it would have made sense, but we kind of skip over all that time and then when we check in with them again, Ryan and so that problem is taken care of pretty easily.
We do have two big time skips. In the first book the big time skip made sense for the plot. And the first 6 month time skip kind of made sense, as Spencer keeps them just "gym buddies" and nothing more, no matter how much Ryan "jokingly" flirts. I guess there wouldn't be much to show there, especially when Spencer is so determined to think Ryan is straight and not serious at all.
But once they start having sex, we skip another 9 months, and that is...a bit wild. Spencer is determined to keep Ryan at arms length, and keep it to just gym and them having sex and nothing more. But Ryan is Ryan, a sweet golden retriever and you're telling me he never tried to talk to Spencer?
I get he had to hide as well so it was "convenient" but...still. They had to talk at times and that would have been nice to see.
And then and then we kind of speed run - in a way, kind of - to their HEA. We have scenes here and there that establish their connection, especially their first time together, but the falling in love doesn't really start to happen until after that 9 months. And then in like...2 months or so, everything changes? I kind of get it, as with Ryan's NFL career I'm sure he wasn't always home in Arizona, but still. Wild to go from practically nothing to everything in such a short amount of time after us not getting to see any of their interactions for that 9 months (and the 6 months of almost friendship as well, even though that wasn't as important to me as the 9 month time jump.)
It just was a bit uneven and didn't entirely work in a balanced way.
To me, Anthony and Chance's timeline was so much better handled and well balanced. About half of their book is showing them falling in love and doing it well and they were just so sweet and good together. They were in love before their 3 year separation and that was apparent. So when Chance was back and they almost immediately fell back into things, it felt natural and earned, like they were just picking up where they left off instead of having to build a whole relationship, which it felt like for Ryan and Spencer.
Which, while it was a bit fast, was done well, to be fair. Once we get them in each other's lives, we see so much more of them together, and they started to really quick in a way that it had been a bit lacking before.
That's a big reason why I'm still giving this 4 stars instead of, say, 3. If the last chunk of the book wasn't well written and they didn't have a good relationship and connection, I wouldn't have enjoyed this nearly enough and it would have been more middle of the road for me. It just didn't do as well in the earlier part establishing their connection as the first book had done for Anthony and Chance.
And I don't think it was because Spencer was more closed off and had walls up the wazoo. He could still have that and we could see Ryan chipping slowly away at his walls over their 9 month situationship.
Like damn, was it just a pump and dump kind of thing? Have sex real quick, and then Spencer leaves? What happened in those 9 months? Spencer was ready to so they had to have deepened their connection, we just didn't get to see it.
That's a major reason for my star off. Also, I really wanted more of the fallout from Ryan coming out and seeing more than just one example of people being awful to Ryan. There is so much more progress needed in the NFL world - hell all of sports, professional sports especially - and many NFL fans would absolutely be awful, so I didn't find it entirely realistic that Ryan barely faced any pushback. Or if there was, we didn't get to see and I didn't like that.
Like instead of extended Spencer's hang ups until the last minute, maybe focus on that? I was kind of hoping that's how it would go, plot wise, near the end.
Instead we had to rehash people pushing Spencer to get past his shit once and for all and be with Ryan several times over with the same shit repeated to him to get it through his stupid head.
The fact that we had to wait until 89% for a kiss is damn near crazy. I get the anticipation of a good first kiss, but this was taking it too damn far in my opinion. It didn't feel nearly as epic for the long wait we had to wait too. It was good, but Anthony and Chance's felt way more epic, in my opinion.
This second installment had all the makings of the first book, which I loved, but it just felt a bit short of the mark.
It was still fun and enjoyable and I really enjoyed Ryan and Spencer as characters and later on together - and the cast of characters around them - but it certainly wasn't perfect, and it needed to not edge us quite as long as it did. I don't think this needed to be over 500 pages. It could have been 100 pages less and served the same purpose.
I even, to be honest, almost felt like skimming in the last 10%, it was getting to be that long and too much. I didn't, but it was a damn close thing. I was getting ready to be done with the story at that point.
There really was no reason this was so long except for Spencer, and he really didn't need to take that fucking long to get his head out of his ass. I get his past trauma and all, but it was ridiculous how long it took him.
I'll definitely be reading Justin and Deacon's story, that is a promising installment. This one just felt a bit short of the mark.
Until the next one, though ❤️
My Ratings for the Damaged Hearts Series:
🔆 King of Pain: 4.75 stars (my review)
🔆 Bone Deep: 3.75 stars
June 29, 2026
3.75 ⭐
I did have a good time with this book. Butters (Ryan) is an adorable, big-hearted golden retriever (Loved him) and Spencer is the classic closed-off, damaged man. Watching them heal and grow, both individually and together, did pull at my heart strings.
However, I wasn't a fan of the large time skips (6 months, 9 months etc.) with no real idea what happened during those time frames, there was some pretty cringey dialogue ("goochi goochi goo".. NO 😫), and I would have preferred to have spent more time with Butters and Spence in the last few chapters.
But overall I am glad I read this and look forward to the next installment in the series 😊
I did have a good time with this book. Butters (Ryan) is an adorable, big-hearted golden retriever (Loved him) and Spencer is the classic closed-off, damaged man. Watching them heal and grow, both individually and together, did pull at my heart strings.
However, I wasn't a fan of the large time skips (6 months, 9 months etc.) with no real idea what happened during those time frames, there was some pretty cringey dialogue ("goochi goochi goo".. NO 😫), and I would have preferred to have spent more time with Butters and Spence in the last few chapters.
But overall I am glad I read this and look forward to the next installment in the series 😊
June 28, 2026
Butters you goofy jock and killer chef I adore you!
Spencer has strict rules. He doesn’t kiss, he doesn’t do straight, he does one night stands only, and he doesn’t catch feelings. He’s been burned one too many times and everybody in his life ends up leaving him so hes built these walls up and follows these rules so he doesn’t risk getting his heartbroken again.
That is until Butters (Ryan) walks into his life and challenges every single one of his rules and breaks down Spencer‘s walls slowly but surely. Butters is relentless what starts out as begging Spencer to come workout with him to becoming gym bros to friends with benefits to something more Butters is patient but determined to have his perfect. Spencer initially seems coldhearted but once you get to know him, he’s really a big old softy. He exudes black cat energy, he’s a attorney with an eye for fashion and he’s endured a lot of traumatic experiences and because of this he has to do a lot of healing throughout the story and Butters really helps him come out of his shell and open up.
I really loved the unique twist in this book where the first kiss doesn’t happen till the very end of the book. You still get spice before then but because of Spencer’s no kissing rule, we don’t see that till the very end when Butters breaks down that final wall and I’m just head over heels for them they compliment each other so well. They’re complete opposites, but somehow they fit with butters corny jokes and flirty banter, and Spencer acting like a grump that doesn’t want any part of it when he really can’t get enough had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Tropes
Grumpy x sunshine
Attorney MC x football player/chef MC
Found Family
First kiss at the end of Book
Trauma rep
Gym bros
Hurt/ comfort
Mouth watering food
Spencer has strict rules. He doesn’t kiss, he doesn’t do straight, he does one night stands only, and he doesn’t catch feelings. He’s been burned one too many times and everybody in his life ends up leaving him so hes built these walls up and follows these rules so he doesn’t risk getting his heartbroken again.
That is until Butters (Ryan) walks into his life and challenges every single one of his rules and breaks down Spencer‘s walls slowly but surely. Butters is relentless what starts out as begging Spencer to come workout with him to becoming gym bros to friends with benefits to something more Butters is patient but determined to have his perfect. Spencer initially seems coldhearted but once you get to know him, he’s really a big old softy. He exudes black cat energy, he’s a attorney with an eye for fashion and he’s endured a lot of traumatic experiences and because of this he has to do a lot of healing throughout the story and Butters really helps him come out of his shell and open up.
I really loved the unique twist in this book where the first kiss doesn’t happen till the very end of the book. You still get spice before then but because of Spencer’s no kissing rule, we don’t see that till the very end when Butters breaks down that final wall and I’m just head over heels for them they compliment each other so well. They’re complete opposites, but somehow they fit with butters corny jokes and flirty banter, and Spencer acting like a grump that doesn’t want any part of it when he really can’t get enough had me giggling and kicking my feet.
Tropes
Grumpy x sunshine
Attorney MC x football player/chef MC
Found Family
First kiss at the end of Book
Trauma rep
Gym bros
Hurt/ comfort
Mouth watering food
September 9, 2025
I’ll be here for you guys
June 20, 2026
This book was absolutely everything I waited on. Butters is the epitome of the perfect golden retriever. Spence....my guarded, broken Spence, I loved you with all my heart as well. This book perfectly wove the plot in with the spice in the best possible way for my taste. This story was everything I love and crave in my books. Loved seeing Anthony and Chance brought into this more than just a "cameo" sighting. I'm just so happy right now 😌
August 30, 2026
TL;DR: If you're looking for depth, realism, or anything resembling real humans navigating real complexities, this is not the right book. This book does not deliver believable interiority or any kind of complexity, psychological or otherwise. The premise makes a tall promise, and the writing fails to deliver rather spectacularly.
I never rate/write reviews, because typically, I don't want to judge someone's hard work, imagination, or effort. But I have to make an unfortunate exception for this. I picked it up due to the high ratings - which are bewildering in hindsight - and soldiered through on the hope of getting to the point that earned it those reviews. I died of cringe on that hill, and it compells me to say something.
I wanted to like this - the premise is genuinely interesting. And I tried - I made five attempts to get through the story. I told myself that perhaps the flaw is in my expectations - the premise promised a complex interiority, depth, and at least a degree of angst. I soldiered through, lowering my expectations with each attempt, while waiting for something to finally pull me into the story.
It did not happen by the 50% mark. I gave up halfway through, because I cannot sustain the effort while hating the experience to this degree.
The writing, while theoretically creative, is "extra" in that forced, grating way that provides a steady flow of cringe moments, rather than a flow that pulls me into the story. Neither the narration nor the actual speech have any real substance or interest value. Everything is just "extra," and reads like a lot of effort to create "meme-able" moments, but ends up churning out cringe line after cringe line.
The characters? Not remotely likeable, by any stretch of the imagination. And again, I tried. But this takes the trope, and the premises, and fails to deliver spectacularly. Their POVs don't have a properly differentiated voice - the entire claim to differentiation rests on the content, which tells rather than shows. It's an exercise in cramming the vision down the reader's throat by unrelenting telling, while consistently failing to show. Failing to write depth, interiority, nuance, or anything else that humans carry with them in such situations. The inconsistency between what the POV narration insists on and the actual behavior and spoken words was so spectacularly jarring, that I'd add "delusional MCs" as a shelf tag for this. I would also include "stereotype fidelity" as its single greatest accomplishment. The content is very believable as the content of a reality show, staged for views and cheap laughs, than real human interiority by actual adults.
Which brings me to the actual characterization issues...
Spencer is the most contrived exercise in "it's true because the author says so" I have read in a long time. The narration keeps pushing the point that he's confident, efficient, accomplished, etc. Meanwhile, everything from his thoughts to what he says screams "Insecure Douchebag." We first meet him on page with him bringing up his dick in a literal dick measuring contest - that's not the behavior of someone confident and secure in himself, that is the behavior of an insecure douche with something to prove. Unlike solid "damaged" MCs where this is contrasted by a richer or more complex interiority, Spencer's interiority matches his exterior behavior. His inner voice is flat and literally keeps using self-aggrandizing adjectives, and not in a "healthy ego" kind of way. I will also add that the portrayal of wealth and success in Spencer's case is really just laughable - "Not the Prada," Gucci this, Ferragamo that. Doesn't have the depth or texture of someone who came from scarcity and acquired wealth, just the flatness of pointless bragging. I won't even question how a 26 year old with student debt acquired such colossal wealth - nothing in the book truly tracks for realism. I'll just say that it's really annoying how often it's just shoved in the reader's face, just like how confident, efficient, this and that he is. Every other page, the reader has ot be reminded that he's confident, instead of ever showing him behaving confidently - which he never does, he only ever behaves as an insecure douche for the half of the book that I read.
Ryan/Butters meanwhile is obnoxious man-child. Mysteriously, his life doesn't feature any aspect of being a real athlete - he's just an NFL Star Quarterback without the...time and effort commitment, isn't that convenient? For a man who is allegedly deeply closeted and terrified of the consequences of being outed, he neither dresses nor behaves in a way that suggests anybody could mistake him for a straight man. In fact, he doesn't ever behave like anything at stake - the reader is just constantly hammered by what's at stake instead, like it compensates for his behavior not matching the description. Nothing about him suggests he would have had a moment of success as a straight-passing man, but everybody around him is written as oblivious. The reader is supposed to just accept that none of his behaviors and antics have ever properly raised a question about him, and ignore the fact that he's a giant, walking stereotype in the worst possible way - he's really just a drag persona short from the full bouquet of gay stereotypes. He's only marginally more tolerable than Spencer, but obnoxious is as obnoxious does, and he's obnoxious.
The law firm is a joke. I don't expect authors to be experts on the environments they're placing their characters into, it is a work of fiction after all. But I would expect the barest of bare minimals of what real world professionalism looks like to at least make a token appearance, if it's supposed to be a story rooted in realism. The book doesn't even deliver that. What it delivers is college-grade dorm room that's trying and failing to pass as a law firm. Not a single character in fact has even a moment of demonstrating a professional, professionally-competent persona.
I kept waiting for the writing to give their interiorities some depth. I understand that sometimes, the beginning can be rocky as the author finds their bearings in the story and the arc finds its momentum. It never happened. I went from waiting for depth as a payoff, to hoping there is some kind of depth as payoff, to not giving a damn if I ever find it. Every flicker of something resembling depth that manifests on page is immediately buried and overwhelmed by the running flatness and that dogged insistence on being some persuasion of "witty." The sum total of 50% amounts to just horney with a sprinkling of "look at me, I can come up with meme-able lines" courtesy of the author, and the same roster of 2-3 thoughts, just phrased with more forced wit and clapbacks.
I am so done with this. It has the feeling of a Frankenstory. Like the author reached for the trope, but doesn't have what it takes to write its interiority - or really, anything resembling believable adult humans.
I never rate/write reviews, because typically, I don't want to judge someone's hard work, imagination, or effort. But I have to make an unfortunate exception for this. I picked it up due to the high ratings - which are bewildering in hindsight - and soldiered through on the hope of getting to the point that earned it those reviews. I died of cringe on that hill, and it compells me to say something.
I wanted to like this - the premise is genuinely interesting. And I tried - I made five attempts to get through the story. I told myself that perhaps the flaw is in my expectations - the premise promised a complex interiority, depth, and at least a degree of angst. I soldiered through, lowering my expectations with each attempt, while waiting for something to finally pull me into the story.
It did not happen by the 50% mark. I gave up halfway through, because I cannot sustain the effort while hating the experience to this degree.
The writing, while theoretically creative, is "extra" in that forced, grating way that provides a steady flow of cringe moments, rather than a flow that pulls me into the story. Neither the narration nor the actual speech have any real substance or interest value. Everything is just "extra," and reads like a lot of effort to create "meme-able" moments, but ends up churning out cringe line after cringe line.
The characters? Not remotely likeable, by any stretch of the imagination. And again, I tried. But this takes the trope, and the premises, and fails to deliver spectacularly. Their POVs don't have a properly differentiated voice - the entire claim to differentiation rests on the content, which tells rather than shows. It's an exercise in cramming the vision down the reader's throat by unrelenting telling, while consistently failing to show. Failing to write depth, interiority, nuance, or anything else that humans carry with them in such situations. The inconsistency between what the POV narration insists on and the actual behavior and spoken words was so spectacularly jarring, that I'd add "delusional MCs" as a shelf tag for this. I would also include "stereotype fidelity" as its single greatest accomplishment. The content is very believable as the content of a reality show, staged for views and cheap laughs, than real human interiority by actual adults.
Which brings me to the actual characterization issues...
Spencer is the most contrived exercise in "it's true because the author says so" I have read in a long time. The narration keeps pushing the point that he's confident, efficient, accomplished, etc. Meanwhile, everything from his thoughts to what he says screams "Insecure Douchebag." We first meet him on page with him bringing up his dick in a literal dick measuring contest - that's not the behavior of someone confident and secure in himself, that is the behavior of an insecure douche with something to prove. Unlike solid "damaged" MCs where this is contrasted by a richer or more complex interiority, Spencer's interiority matches his exterior behavior. His inner voice is flat and literally keeps using self-aggrandizing adjectives, and not in a "healthy ego" kind of way. I will also add that the portrayal of wealth and success in Spencer's case is really just laughable - "Not the Prada," Gucci this, Ferragamo that. Doesn't have the depth or texture of someone who came from scarcity and acquired wealth, just the flatness of pointless bragging. I won't even question how a 26 year old with student debt acquired such colossal wealth - nothing in the book truly tracks for realism. I'll just say that it's really annoying how often it's just shoved in the reader's face, just like how confident, efficient, this and that he is. Every other page, the reader has ot be reminded that he's confident, instead of ever showing him behaving confidently - which he never does, he only ever behaves as an insecure douche for the half of the book that I read.
Ryan/Butters meanwhile is obnoxious man-child. Mysteriously, his life doesn't feature any aspect of being a real athlete - he's just an NFL Star Quarterback without the...time and effort commitment, isn't that convenient? For a man who is allegedly deeply closeted and terrified of the consequences of being outed, he neither dresses nor behaves in a way that suggests anybody could mistake him for a straight man. In fact, he doesn't ever behave like anything at stake - the reader is just constantly hammered by what's at stake instead, like it compensates for his behavior not matching the description. Nothing about him suggests he would have had a moment of success as a straight-passing man, but everybody around him is written as oblivious. The reader is supposed to just accept that none of his behaviors and antics have ever properly raised a question about him, and ignore the fact that he's a giant, walking stereotype in the worst possible way - he's really just a drag persona short from the full bouquet of gay stereotypes. He's only marginally more tolerable than Spencer, but obnoxious is as obnoxious does, and he's obnoxious.
The law firm is a joke. I don't expect authors to be experts on the environments they're placing their characters into, it is a work of fiction after all. But I would expect the barest of bare minimals of what real world professionalism looks like to at least make a token appearance, if it's supposed to be a story rooted in realism. The book doesn't even deliver that. What it delivers is college-grade dorm room that's trying and failing to pass as a law firm. Not a single character in fact has even a moment of demonstrating a professional, professionally-competent persona.
I kept waiting for the writing to give their interiorities some depth. I understand that sometimes, the beginning can be rocky as the author finds their bearings in the story and the arc finds its momentum. It never happened. I went from waiting for depth as a payoff, to hoping there is some kind of depth as payoff, to not giving a damn if I ever find it. Every flicker of something resembling depth that manifests on page is immediately buried and overwhelmed by the running flatness and that dogged insistence on being some persuasion of "witty." The sum total of 50% amounts to just horney with a sprinkling of "look at me, I can come up with meme-able lines" courtesy of the author, and the same roster of 2-3 thoughts, just phrased with more forced wit and clapbacks.
I am so done with this. It has the feeling of a Frankenstory. Like the author reached for the trope, but doesn't have what it takes to write its interiority - or really, anything resembling believable adult humans.
June 24, 2026
4,5 stars!
King of Pain was one of my highlights of 2025 and an incredible debut, so I was really looking forward to J.P. Joseph's second book. The man knows how to tell a story and how to create wonderfully flawed, realistic characters. We already got a glimpse of Butter and Spencer in the first book, and I was so happy with the result. This grumpy/sunshine romance had a very different setup from the first book, but it absolutely had all the right ingredients. It felt a bit lighter, lacking the high angst of King of Pain, but Butter and Spencer completely stole my heart.
Ryan was such a sweet, enthusiastic golden retriever of a man and seriously one of the best sunshine characters out there. His happy-go-lucky personality had so much depth, with complicated layers underneath as he struggled with being in the closet, not being able to be his true self, living up to the expectations of his homophobic father, and navigating the standards of the NFL. And let's be honest—the guy was sex-starved AF. He takes one look at Spencer and he's completely gone. His relentless pursuit and shameless flirting were adorable, but Spencer took his time.
The suave, immaculate lawyer lives strictly by his own rules: no relationships, only hookups, and absolutely no kissing. Those rules are there to protect himself from ever getting hurt again, with his past trauma buried deep beneath the surface. But it's also an incredibly lonely existence, and Ryan keeps pushing all the right buttons.
Their banter was hilarious, their chemistry sparkled, and their eventual happy ending was so rewarding. I loved the bumpy road they traveled together. Even though they resisted giving in to their feelings for a long time, they were fiercely protective of each other from the very beginning. There was so much tenderness, jealousy, patience, and mutual care between them.
The found family in this book is simply the best, and I desperately want to be part of their friend group.
King of Pain is still my favorite, but Ryan and Spencer have my heart too.
King of Pain was one of my highlights of 2025 and an incredible debut, so I was really looking forward to J.P. Joseph's second book. The man knows how to tell a story and how to create wonderfully flawed, realistic characters. We already got a glimpse of Butter and Spencer in the first book, and I was so happy with the result. This grumpy/sunshine romance had a very different setup from the first book, but it absolutely had all the right ingredients. It felt a bit lighter, lacking the high angst of King of Pain, but Butter and Spencer completely stole my heart.
Ryan was such a sweet, enthusiastic golden retriever of a man and seriously one of the best sunshine characters out there. His happy-go-lucky personality had so much depth, with complicated layers underneath as he struggled with being in the closet, not being able to be his true self, living up to the expectations of his homophobic father, and navigating the standards of the NFL. And let's be honest—the guy was sex-starved AF. He takes one look at Spencer and he's completely gone. His relentless pursuit and shameless flirting were adorable, but Spencer took his time.
The suave, immaculate lawyer lives strictly by his own rules: no relationships, only hookups, and absolutely no kissing. Those rules are there to protect himself from ever getting hurt again, with his past trauma buried deep beneath the surface. But it's also an incredibly lonely existence, and Ryan keeps pushing all the right buttons.
Their banter was hilarious, their chemistry sparkled, and their eventual happy ending was so rewarding. I loved the bumpy road they traveled together. Even though they resisted giving in to their feelings for a long time, they were fiercely protective of each other from the very beginning. There was so much tenderness, jealousy, patience, and mutual care between them.
The found family in this book is simply the best, and I desperately want to be part of their friend group.
King of Pain is still my favorite, but Ryan and Spencer have my heart too.
June 30, 2026
Omggggg I LOVE Butters and Spencer! I LOVE a good sunshine/grumpy and Butters is the epitome of sunshine. He so damn big hearted, kind and hilarious! Spencer is a kind soul as well, just a lot more guarded. I love the high heat but slow burn romance. The group of found/chosen family in these books is the best I’ve ever read.
My one and only issue with this book was the strange passage of time. Big chunks of time went by randomly, and Jen had the baby but it wasn’t mentioned at all like it was with Lexi which I thought was strange.
I cannot WAIT for the next book. Body guard romance? Yes please!
My one and only issue with this book was the strange passage of time. Big chunks of time went by randomly, and Jen had the baby but it wasn’t mentioned at all like it was with Lexi which I thought was strange.
I cannot WAIT for the next book. Body guard romance? Yes please!
Review of advance copy
I loved King of Pain and J.P. has eclipsed himself with this latest installment of this amazing series. This book was so good. I was sucked in immediately to this world we were introduced to in KoP. This family he's created here are everything. I absolutely am obsessed with Spence and Butters - from the very beginning, I loved them. Butters is an absolute golden retriever with 5 dimples (IYKYK). and Spence - gorgeous, walled-up Spence - I just wanted to hug him and never let go. I loved how persistently adorable Ryan was and he never gave up on Spencer. He took those walls down, one tiny brick at a time, until Spencer had no idea they no longer existed. Witnessing him finally realizing all he felt for Ryan was beautiful. I loved all the side stories - Chance & Ant, the babies, Tyler, Jason & Deacon (can't wait for their book), the Betties, F-bomb, Jen, the sisters, Lexi & Beau, Dita & Parker... it goes on and on, because J.P.'s world is perfection and I want to live there. It's warm and cozy and oh so comforting. Like a warm, comfy blanket. Then there's the way he interwove the art of cooking throughout the story. And then the freaking soundtrack. People... The title of each chapter is a song and the soundtrack is on Spotify. And this one is 90s perfection. It instantly brought back high school and college memories for me and with each one, I was like "this is my jam!" LOL and then Jodeci started, and I died. :D J.P. Joseph, this book and playlist spoke to my soul and I won't be the same. I loved this book! Now, excuse me while I go listen to this playlist on repeat ad nauseam.
June 17, 2026
♾️⭐️
This second book in the Damaged Heart series could not of been more STUNNING! Ryan ‘Butters’ Buterbaugh is the epitome of Golden Retriever.. I knew having met him in the first book in this series - King Of Pain, that I was going to absolutely froth over him and his whole vibe- and I was not wrong. This man is pure sunshine.. he burrows his way in Spencer’s world slowly but surely. At first it’s with gym sessions and a ruse to get some legal advice, when in fact he just wants to be in Spencer’s orbit. Meanwhile Spencer is a man of control. He has a set of rules he abides by because of certain things he’s been through in his life and is a stickler for routine. Until Ryan comes along and works his was into his every day life unashamedly!!
The banter between these two was top tier exceptional, with Ryan’s one liners making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion!! Let’s just say I won’t look at a can of whipped cream the same ever again!!!
And Spencer??? Well that sweet broken boy just needed someone to show up for him and stay. To prove he was worth sticking around for. Boy did they both have me in a chokehold from the very first page… I gobbled this up in less that 24 hours- the humour, the spice and the strong found family is so delightful you don’t want to put this down! If you’ve read the first book the side characters bring all the charm and that stays strong in this book too!
I laughed, cried and swooned so hard whilst reading this, which makes me even more excited to what’s coming next!
♾️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
This second book in the Damaged Heart series could not of been more STUNNING! Ryan ‘Butters’ Buterbaugh is the epitome of Golden Retriever.. I knew having met him in the first book in this series - King Of Pain, that I was going to absolutely froth over him and his whole vibe- and I was not wrong. This man is pure sunshine.. he burrows his way in Spencer’s world slowly but surely. At first it’s with gym sessions and a ruse to get some legal advice, when in fact he just wants to be in Spencer’s orbit. Meanwhile Spencer is a man of control. He has a set of rules he abides by because of certain things he’s been through in his life and is a stickler for routine. Until Ryan comes along and works his was into his every day life unashamedly!!
The banter between these two was top tier exceptional, with Ryan’s one liners making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion!! Let’s just say I won’t look at a can of whipped cream the same ever again!!!
And Spencer??? Well that sweet broken boy just needed someone to show up for him and stay. To prove he was worth sticking around for. Boy did they both have me in a chokehold from the very first page… I gobbled this up in less that 24 hours- the humour, the spice and the strong found family is so delightful you don’t want to put this down! If you’ve read the first book the side characters bring all the charm and that stays strong in this book too!
I laughed, cried and swooned so hard whilst reading this, which makes me even more excited to what’s coming next!
♾️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
June 22, 2026
Bone Deep
Damaged Hearts Book 2
JP Joseph
Spencer & Ryan
This was good. I enjoyed this a lot. I really think these two were absolutely made for each other.
These two were fire together, plus jealous possessiveness was everything.
It has great world building and wonderful side characters too.
I also loved seeing previous characters again
Both Spencer and Ryan had more to them than the surface things we saw initially. I really enjoyed getting know them more and watching them fall for each other
I loved the Betty’s lol
This was really good
Great Book
SO thankful for this arc
Damaged Hearts Book 2
JP Joseph
Spencer & Ryan
This was good. I enjoyed this a lot. I really think these two were absolutely made for each other.
These two were fire together, plus jealous possessiveness was everything.
It has great world building and wonderful side characters too.
I also loved seeing previous characters again
Both Spencer and Ryan had more to them than the surface things we saw initially. I really enjoyed getting know them more and watching them fall for each other
I loved the Betty’s lol
This was really good
Great Book
SO thankful for this arc
June 24, 2026
My oh my, what a fun read with great bedroom antics, an adorable storyline (golden retriever x black cat) and pristinely executed dad jokes.
This book is peppered with some trauma but the majority of this story is just fun. JP Joseph is one of my auto-buy authors, and I just love his storytelling. He has a knack for pulling me into his stories quickly and in ways that consume me. I love Ryan's sunshine personality and Spence's growly demeanor. They were a perfect balance for each other. I also love how Ryan refused to give up on Spence. He knew what he wanted and he waited.
The found family in this book (in the series, actually) is top tier. The glimpses of Chance and Ant (King of Pain) made my heart happy. And the three Betty's stole the show. This is a must read when you need something to make you smile.
This book is peppered with some trauma but the majority of this story is just fun. JP Joseph is one of my auto-buy authors, and I just love his storytelling. He has a knack for pulling me into his stories quickly and in ways that consume me. I love Ryan's sunshine personality and Spence's growly demeanor. They were a perfect balance for each other. I also love how Ryan refused to give up on Spence. He knew what he wanted and he waited.
The found family in this book (in the series, actually) is top tier. The glimpses of Chance and Ant (King of Pain) made my heart happy. And the three Betty's stole the show. This is a must read when you need something to make you smile.
June 26, 2026
stop it, they were the cutest 🥹
June 23, 2026
idk what the fuck happened
that whole live stream shit was probably the worst thing i have literally ever read. the secondhand embarrassment i felt whilst reading was diabolical.
that whole live stream shit was probably the worst thing i have literally ever read. the secondhand embarrassment i felt whilst reading was diabolical.
June 16, 2026
‼️SPOILERS‼️
I absolutely devoured this book. When it comes to JP’s writing style, he just sucks you into his world. With him being a debut author, I just knew this one was going to make me feel all the good things.
Ryan, also know as Butters, and Spencer were simply perfect. Ryan with his sunshine golden retriever self and Spencer with being the reserved grump.
Spencer’s story just makes you feel for him through this entire book because he is the way he is because of his past.
Spencer is so possessive over Ryan and I loved that one moment when he was like “you’re mine”.
What I loved is how these two were destined to be together when you find out that bit of teaser.
JP always knows how to make those first times so special. That first kiss…
And the Betty’s. I love them so much.
The found family was so beautiful but I loved the sisters so much. Parker is such a fun character and I hope down the line, he gets a story.
If you’re looking for a book with the right kind of slow burn with some spicy times, this book is going to be for you. Also, this book has so many funny moments. I mean, with Butters as one of the MC, you’re going to have one heck of a time.
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
I absolutely devoured this book. When it comes to JP’s writing style, he just sucks you into his world. With him being a debut author, I just knew this one was going to make me feel all the good things.
Ryan, also know as Butters, and Spencer were simply perfect. Ryan with his sunshine golden retriever self and Spencer with being the reserved grump.
Spencer’s story just makes you feel for him through this entire book because he is the way he is because of his past.
Spencer is so possessive over Ryan and I loved that one moment when he was like “you’re mine”.
What I loved is how these two were destined to be together when you find out that bit of teaser.
JP always knows how to make those first times so special. That first kiss…
And the Betty’s. I love them so much.
The found family was so beautiful but I loved the sisters so much. Parker is such a fun character and I hope down the line, he gets a story.
If you’re looking for a book with the right kind of slow burn with some spicy times, this book is going to be for you. Also, this book has so many funny moments. I mean, with Butters as one of the MC, you’re going to have one heck of a time.
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
June 24, 2026
Butters & Spence
JP had me hooked with Chance & Ant but then Ryan and Spencer came along and now I'm fully invested in this Damaged Hearts Series. We were first introduced to these two in King of Pain and I was excited to see what JP had in store for them and let me tell you he did not disappoint!
Ryan (Butters) is 100% Golden Retriever with a heart of gold, he has lived his life thus far to please everyone except himself..because for him to do that he thinks it will ruin his career and his relationship with his difficult/ignorant parents.
Spencer (Spence) is a cocky guarded lawyer who has walls up higher then the sky; but for very good reasons, he has been let down and hurt many times in his young life and swears he'll never let it happen again, but under all of that stubborn guarded behavior he truly has the biggest heart, he wants to do good and help those who need it.
When Ryan decides he has found his forever in Spencer, he won't stop until he breaks all of those walls down and has him; and let me tell you Spence does not make things easy 🤣 These two had me in tears laughing from the first chapter, but they also had my hearts strings going crazy. I Love them so much!
Will these two get their HEA..the only way you'll find out is to go read this book now!
JP had me hooked with Chance & Ant but then Ryan and Spencer came along and now I'm fully invested in this Damaged Hearts Series. We were first introduced to these two in King of Pain and I was excited to see what JP had in store for them and let me tell you he did not disappoint!
Ryan (Butters) is 100% Golden Retriever with a heart of gold, he has lived his life thus far to please everyone except himself..because for him to do that he thinks it will ruin his career and his relationship with his difficult/ignorant parents.
Spencer (Spence) is a cocky guarded lawyer who has walls up higher then the sky; but for very good reasons, he has been let down and hurt many times in his young life and swears he'll never let it happen again, but under all of that stubborn guarded behavior he truly has the biggest heart, he wants to do good and help those who need it.
When Ryan decides he has found his forever in Spencer, he won't stop until he breaks all of those walls down and has him; and let me tell you Spence does not make things easy 🤣 These two had me in tears laughing from the first chapter, but they also had my hearts strings going crazy. I Love them so much!
Will these two get their HEA..the only way you'll find out is to go read this book now!
October 2, 2026
When we got a glimpse of Ryan and Spence in book one, we knew that their relationship was going to go in a different direction and probably not be quite as emtionally fraught - which was the case. I did have a great time and loved the layers we were shown. I did feel that their bond was well earned and that they had actual connecting moments that made me feelt the relationship wasn't purely lust driven.
however... I also would have liked some more backstory or current story. As much as I loved the ongoing storyline and then eventual interconnections, I would have loved more on Ryan's relationship with his father and more of Spencer's past - what we got was great but I felt some of the resolution was quickly resolved...
I did love the Betty's... and the chef angle - that was truly delightful. As was watching breakdown his walls and let Ryan in. the side characters were a delight - truly - especiallyl the butter sisters.
I really did enjoy the story and will 100% be continuing the story.
however... I also would have liked some more backstory or current story. As much as I loved the ongoing storyline and then eventual interconnections, I would have loved more on Ryan's relationship with his father and more of Spencer's past - what we got was great but I felt some of the resolution was quickly resolved...
I did love the Betty's... and the chef angle - that was truly delightful. As was watching breakdown his walls and let Ryan in. the side characters were a delight - truly - especiallyl the butter sisters.
I really did enjoy the story and will 100% be continuing the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2026
The way J.P. Joseph writes is nothing short of amazing. He writes characters so well that you feel every bit as connected to them as you do to the story. I could go on and on about how much I loved this book, and it would never be enough.
Bone Deep was everything I could have hoped for and more. Butters and Spencer were perfection. Butters, what a golden retriever! He was so lovable. He was loving, caring, and charming, and the fact that he would have waited forever for Spencer if he had to had me completely won over.
Spencer had such a big heart, but he tried so hard to protect it and keep it hidden. I ached for all the love he had to give and the love he deserved.
There were so many laughs throughout this book, and the tears came too. It's writers like J.P. Joseph that make me love reading. They capture your heart and soul and make you fall in love with both the characters and the writing.
Bone Deep was everything I could have hoped for and more. Butters and Spencer were perfection. Butters, what a golden retriever! He was so lovable. He was loving, caring, and charming, and the fact that he would have waited forever for Spencer if he had to had me completely won over.
Spencer had such a big heart, but he tried so hard to protect it and keep it hidden. I ached for all the love he had to give and the love he deserved.
There were so many laughs throughout this book, and the tears came too. It's writers like J.P. Joseph that make me love reading. They capture your heart and soul and make you fall in love with both the characters and the writing.
September 13, 2026
Okay first of all.. why aren’t more people talking about this book?
Yeah we all fell in love with King of Pain, and rightfully so!!
But Ryan and Spencer??? Excuse me!!
This was such a beautiful love story, it kept me hooked from the page one.
There was never a sexuality question for either of them. Yes there was a lot of trauma surrounding it for both of them for very different reasons, but neither of them ever questioned it.
Spencer held himself back for so long and Ryan knew what he wanted from day one, and the patience he had for Spencer? Man that was just so well done.
The communication and undoing of past hurts between them handled with such care as well.
OH and the found family aspect of this series? Yeah I’m jealous as hell. I would kill for a group of people to love and care for me like that.
Anyway 10/10 recommend!!
Yeah we all fell in love with King of Pain, and rightfully so!!
But Ryan and Spencer??? Excuse me!!
This was such a beautiful love story, it kept me hooked from the page one.
There was never a sexuality question for either of them. Yes there was a lot of trauma surrounding it for both of them for very different reasons, but neither of them ever questioned it.
Spencer held himself back for so long and Ryan knew what he wanted from day one, and the patience he had for Spencer? Man that was just so well done.
The communication and undoing of past hurts between them handled with such care as well.
OH and the found family aspect of this series? Yeah I’m jealous as hell. I would kill for a group of people to love and care for me like that.
Anyway 10/10 recommend!!
June 25, 2026
This was an wonderful story. Butters is such a sweetheart who does everything for his friends and found family. Living with a secret that he feels he cannot share, and using secret hookups he ends ups with a friendship with the one person he wants more than anything, Spence refuses anything more than hookups and he knows that Ryan “Butters” would be more than just that but when presented with the most tempting situation he jumps at the chance and discovers that yes Ryan is everything he wants.
Life has a way of delivering us exactly what we need but do we grab it and take it or run scared.
The second book from JP Joseph is another great read.
Life has a way of delivering us exactly what we need but do we grab it and take it or run scared.
The second book from JP Joseph is another great read.
September 29, 2026
3.25⭐️
I think it’s safe to say I’m disappointed. I loved King of Pain to stupor. It was rich, it had so much depth, and jah bless Anthony and Chance. 🥹
I was so in love with Joseph after that book that he automatically made my top authors list… and then I got this. Maybe it’s my fault for expecting too much, but this is just not it for me.
The characters are likable, but the plot and even the writing felt… just there. Nothing really gave me that wow feeling I got from the first book.
Hopefully the third book reminds me why I put Joseph on that list in the first place. 🤞🏾
I think it’s safe to say I’m disappointed. I loved King of Pain to stupor. It was rich, it had so much depth, and jah bless Anthony and Chance. 🥹
I was so in love with Joseph after that book that he automatically made my top authors list… and then I got this. Maybe it’s my fault for expecting too much, but this is just not it for me.
The characters are likable, but the plot and even the writing felt… just there. Nothing really gave me that wow feeling I got from the first book.
Hopefully the third book reminds me why I put Joseph on that list in the first place. 🤞🏾
June 19, 2026
ARC READ: Holy hell JP Joseph can write a story. This book was as immaculate as King of Pain but in a very different way. Butters had me laughing so hard, with me imagining Spence’s uptight face 🤣🤣🤣 There were some surprises I did not see coming. And those one liners. Far out. And coming up with the name OP (I won’t ruin it for you) was soooo funny!!! Well done on that one JP! Youve become an auto read for me 🥰
June 22, 2026
Ryan was the sunshine I didn’t know I needed. ☀️❤️
This one felt different from the first book in the best way. More lighthearted and so much easier on my heart and soul. I loved Ryan and Spenser, fell in love with the found family, and honestly wanted even more of them and their story.
And the book? Well… it was perfect. 🥹
I braced myself for impact, but it never came, and that made me love it even more. Beautifully done. I can’t wait for the next book!
This one felt different from the first book in the best way. More lighthearted and so much easier on my heart and soul. I loved Ryan and Spenser, fell in love with the found family, and honestly wanted even more of them and their story.
And the book? Well… it was perfect. 🥹
I braced myself for impact, but it never came, and that made me love it even more. Beautifully done. I can’t wait for the next book!
August 11, 2026
Well, this book made me cry at the end. I really loved the last 20% the most even though it was a little bit corny. I think it’s nice to see queer people getting the happier ever after as well. There was so much love about this book but I just found the reason it lost a star is it was very predictable and it just felt like a giant epilogue to the first book and I loved the first book that was a five star read for me, but this one felt a little bit too long and there were parts that were very drawn out but I’m glad I didn’t dnf haha
June 24, 2026
I loved and completely fell for the two main characters!! Ryan and Spencer were fabulous together. Ryan was funny and adorable and Spencer was grumpy and fabulous. This was another masterpiece by JP Joseph. I can’t wait for his next book.
July 1, 2026
Ryan and Spence - you two are meant for one another.
What a beautiful story.
Solid MM romance love story.
Ticks all the boxes for what you want from a MM jock / lawyer - slow burn love story.
Do it. It's great.
What a beautiful story.
Solid MM romance love story.
Ticks all the boxes for what you want from a MM jock / lawyer - slow burn love story.
Do it. It's great.
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