Concourse

Five Boroughs #5

by Santino Hassell

Ashton Townsend is the most famous celebutante of Manhattan’s glitterati. The black sheep of his wealthy family, he’s known for his club appearances, Instagram account, and sex tape. Most people can’t imagine him wanting for anything, but Ashton yearns for friendship, respect, and the love of his best friend—amateur boxer Valdrin Leka.

Val’s relationship with Ashton is complicated. As the son of Ashton’s beloved nanny, Val has always bounced between resenting Ashton and regarding him as his best friend. And then there’s the sexual attraction between them that Val tries so hard to ignore.

When Ashton flees his glitzy lifestyle, he finds refuge with Val in the Bronx. Between Val’s training for an upcoming fight and dodging paparazzi, they succumb to their need for each other. But before they can figure out what it all means—and what they want to do about it—the world drags them out of their haven, revealing a secret Val has kept for years. Now, Ashton has to decide whether to once again envelop himself in his party-boy persona, or to trust in the only man who’s ever seen the real him.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, LGBT, Sports, Contemporary Romance

282 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2017

About the author

Santino Hassell was raised by a conservative family but grew up to be a smart-mouthed, school cutting grunge kid, a transient twenty-something, and eventually transformed into a grumpy introvert and unlikely romance author with an affinity for baseball caps. His novels are heavily influenced by the gritty, urban landscape of New York City, and his desire to write relationships fueled by intensity and passion.

He’s been a finalist in both the Bisexual Book Awards and the EPIC Awards, and was nominated for a prestigious RITA award in 2017. His work has been featured in BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Washington Post, RT Magazine, and Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Santino@santinohassell.com
www.santinohassell.com
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amazon.com/author/santinohassell
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https://www.patreon.com/santinohassell

Reviews

[Optimist ♰King's Wench♰]

Edited to add this link from Xen Sanders: http://blackmagicblues.com/on-sarah-l...

I bought this book. I’m never going to read it because who knows whose life was appropriated for the content. *shudders*

But I’m not going to return it even though I’m disillusioned by Riptide’s unprofessional behavior in blacklisting readers, etc. during this fiasco. They still publish many authors that I love & I don’t want them to be put in a financial bind because of the author’s duplicity.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars.

“I think I’m in love with you. And I don’t know what to do.”

I've got to admit to being just a little bit obsessed with Instagram,myself,so this was the perfect read for me.This series is firmly up there as one of my favourite MM series.Santino Hassell is a Master at taking two completely different characters and making them fit together.





I was more than a bit fascinated by Ashton when he was introduced in book three and the fact that he's a bit femme was just my thing.
To the outside world Ashton appears to live a gifted,glamorous life which he's happy to play out through social media.But,behind closed doors he's lost.Ignored by his wealthy family for being different,forced into modelling, all he wants is to be loved and he still craves respect from his family.


Val,grew up in the Townsend family,the son of Ashton's Nanny.Despite their differences they become friends at a young age.But Val hates everything about the Townsend family....their wealth,their treatment of Ashton,their ability to manipulate people.He's determined to make it on his own and wants no part of their money,but what happens when a secret from the past is threatened to be revealed?


They skirt around each other,there's angst,drama,a constant push and pull between them as they both figure out what they want from life and each other.


Out of all the books in this series,this one could definitely be read as a standalone but if you're a fan of gritty,real to life,flawed characters I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series.

This review has been posted on Dirty Books Obsession

[Mirjana **DTR - Down to Read**]

Review and rating removed.

[Jan]

Review removed.

http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem...

[Jaime]

Review & Rating removed

[.Lili.]

Rating removed.

Original review under spoiler.

" I think I'm in love with you. And I don’t know what to do.”
Ashton’s heartbeat tripled, slamming against my chest as if it were my own. His fingers dug into my back.

"I don’t know what to do either,” he breathed. “No one has loved me before.”

And damn if that didn’t crush me."

I was all over this book as soon as I heard about it- I mean:

Santino + best friends to lovers + unrequited love

I think this book was written for me. LOL

Concourse by Santino Hassell is the story of two best friends. Ashton- he's a social media celebrity. He "lives" a glamorous life full of club appearances, sexual escapades, and fashion. Except, Ashton isn't the vapid man portrayed in front of the cameras. What lies inside is a man longing for affection and understanding. The only person who's ever seen the real Ashton is his childhood friend Valdrin, the nanny's son.

Valdrin hates the world Ashton comes from; he hates his selfish family even more. He was there along his side growing up and has seen first hand the emotional damage they've caused him. He also has feelings for Ash that he fights against for multiple reasons but those feelings burn hotter and hotter making it nearly impossible for him to resist. What follows is a story about self-discovery, strength, friendships, and love.

My highlights:

-The characters. Nobody writes flawed characters like Santino. There were different points in the story where I almost disliked each man, but both times Santino Hassell evoked feelings empathy and compassion towards them. In my opinion, both characters displayed character growth as the story progressed.

-Narration. The story is told from alternating POVs which I felt was necessary for this story to be properly narrated.

-The dialogue. Be still my heart! I highlighted the hell out of this book; there were so many quotes that caused my heart to pitter patter. The romance junkie in me was in heaven.

-Angst. There was push & pull, family drama, financial issues, responsibilities, insecurities. One of my favorites aspects of this author writing is his ability to make his stories relatable. His characters deal with one thing or another than we've all dealt with at some point in our lives.

-Steam level is moderate, but the scenes it does contain are smoldering.

-Cameos. We do get some face time with past characters, but my favorite cameo was Nunzio's. I freaken love that guy!

-The end was very sweet and gave me some warm fuzzies.

Can this be read as standalone? Technically yes, but you'll be seriously missing out if you skip the previous books in the series.

All in all, I think this was a great addition to the Five Boroughs world- complex characters, gritty writing, lots of emotions, finished off with a happily ever after- that's all I can ask for. 4.5 Stars ♥

[Rachel L · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

"There's not always weakness in forgiveness."

I had read a lot of mixed reviews on Val's an Ashton's story, so I went in with low expectations and an open mind. And while I didn't love it, I did enjoy these two characters.

Concourse is the story of gay instagram star Ashton, or A Town. Known for being a partier and slutty after a sex tape from his youth. Val's mom used to work for Ashton's family, so the two boys grew up together and formed a special bond. Constantly in and out of each other's lives, the two begin spending more time together, and feelings get mixed.

I wanted to like this book a lot, I really did. But if there's one thing I hate, it's wishy washy characters and both Val AND Ashton fit the bill. Well it also didn't help that the first 20% of the book all that seemed to happen was the characters driving around and just kind of not doing much. The plot didn't move forward at all until 50% in.

I liked Val and Ash as individuals, it was their actions toward each other that drove me crazy. I would liken this couple/book to Hard Wired by Megan & Santino, and Rowdy by Jay Crownover. By this I mean when one character finally made up their mind about what they wanted, the other character starts to backtrack. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING!!! And not in an angsty good way.

I really liked the self journey Ashton went on to improve his quality of life and to give a good impact in the world. Val's journey was more about giving up on old things that didn't seem to matter anymore, just letting go.

I still love Santino, I'll read anything the man writes. This one just wasn't a winner for me.


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[*J* Too Many Books Too Little Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

There's one constant when it comes to a Santino book....



Booze required.

I was really scared to read this one. Some lower reviews among my GRs friends. And well bottom line this series isn't for the faint of heart.

But in the end, I didn't think this one was near as "hard" to read as some of the other books in the series. Specifically Michael and Nunzio's book.

Val and Ashton might just be my second favorite couple. Don't get me wrong, Val was frustrating at times. But he was all in when it mattered. And I loved everything about Ashton.

I love this series. It's hard to read. These characters are raw. And they're flawed. But they're real.

Do we think Aiden, Jace and Chris will get a book??? I would be ALL for that!

[Jewel]

Review Removed.
http://riptidepublishing.com/a-statem...
https://www.goodreads.com/user_status...

[Maria✦❋Steamy Reads Blog❋✦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

➦I'm a big fan of Santino Hassell's writing and I absolutely loved all of the previous installments of this series. This book, while being quite an enjoyable read, lacked the same magic for me.

➦You have Ashton, this extravagant male model who comes from money, has a huge Instagram following and spends his time attending various functions. And you have Val, a boxer who is trying to make it to pro, because that's what's expected from him. They've been friends ever since Val's mother has been working for Ashton's family. Some lines have been crossed and their friendship suffered, and now they are trying to reconnect again.

➦These two seemed to be stuck in between, not quite friends and not quite lovers. They would touch and be affectionate and act like a couple while denying that they wanted to be "more". I found it to be a bit exhausting and their crossing the friends to lovers line was not as anticipated for me as I would have preferred. Can't say that I completely fell in love with either of them. While the writing was spectacular, which I come to expect from Hassell, something was amiss for me.

[Dia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 rounded to 4 stars

I'm giving it 4 stars because it's Santino Hassell, it's Five Boroughs and Ashton is such an amazing character. I just want to hug him real tight!

I'm a little scared I won't be able to write a proper review, but I really wanted to write something while it's still fresh in my mind. I promised myself I won't use "review soon" too many times. As time passes, I kind of forget things I'd really like to mention in a review.

I'll start by admitting I wasn't hooked by its beginning. I wanted to buddy read it with my friend, Sweets, but my life became a busy mess and I just couldn't find the time to read more.
And I wasn't hooked later either, when I grabbed it again. Something didn't quite made me love it, not as much as I expected.

I was thrown off by Val's attitude towards Ashton and my heart ached for the poor boy. He deserved to be loved and cherished, he really needed affection! It was obvious they had a history that went way back, but I just couldn't understand Val's choice of keeping the distance. And for SO long!

I must say all that "hot and cold" made me want to scream sometimes. There were parts I liked, parts I adored and I highlighted many amazing scenes. But on the other hand, I felt the chemistry wasn't super powerful and I guessed the secret Val was keeping from Ashton from the very beginning. No super surprises, not even Val's last fight.

In the end I must point out that I adored Nunzio's appearances and I enjoyed the Epilogue.

[Simone - on indefinite hiatus -]

Rating and review removed!

[Ms. Smartarse · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the glamorous world of Manhattan socialites, Ashton Townsend (aka A-Town) is merely considered a pretty face with excellent connections, mainly good for a round or two in the sack. And that's fine with our blond bombshell. Or rather, it would be if only it didn't prevent his childhood friend to take his feelings seriously...



I rather disliked Ashton in all previous books: painted as the typical vapid influencer, who only lives for likes and shares. In here however, having him pine after Val so hopelessly, just about broke my heart. Despite being fully aware of his more... adventurous relationship history, I was eagerly rooting for Ashton to succeed in worming himself into Val's heart. More accurately to have Val admit his feelings.

Though I totally came for the hot stuff, I found myself getting surprisingly invested in Ashton's professional pursuits. Having him find a truly meaningful job had my heart swell to epic proportions. And getting Nunzio to play mentor in the process was just the icing on the cake.



Speaking of Nunzio: he's like a reverse Ashton. I loved him in all books, except the one dedicated to his own relationship...


Score: 3/5 stars

I wasn't really expecting to like Concourse best from the entire series. My own background most resembles David's personal one (see Sunset Park and Interborough) and partially Oli's professional one (from First and First). Yet surprisingly enough, it was with Ashton's heart that I synced up most.

[Ariana (mostly offline)]

Review and rating removed.

[Mónica BQ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deleting review because of reasons. They are easy enough to find if you care to.
I'm leaving my original rating and review under a spoiler tag to evidentiate I did read it and that the majority of this space is dedicated to the book.


Original rating: 2 stars

2.5 stars rounded ¿?

My review is completely biased. It's no secret I believe Hassell to be grossly unprofessional and I have a ton of issues with the way he's handled his brand. Moving on.

What I liked:
- Fantastic writing. It's undeniable Hassell is talented. His writing sucks you in. I'm a huge fan of his prose and here I especially liked how he totally pulled off the different POVs. You can definitely tell there are two voices telling the story. He nailed it.
- Relationship- centered romance. I don't hide that one of my biggest pet peeves in Romance is when the story ends up not having as a main plot a Romance. I loathe when Coming- Of- Age stories are equated to Romance. I hate having relationship stories feel like they were one-sided and I hate it when the main story line strays away from the relationship. I'm glad that was not the case here. The book is very much about Val and Ashton.
- Easy, quick, enjoyable book What it says.
- Diversity
- No (semi, almost, squint-and-you-miss-it) incest. FUCKING HOORAY!
- One (dead) good parental figure. This point is negated by the other parental figures to appear in the story. It's like Hassell TRIED and totally FAILED. I ended up disliking this fact so much, that I'd actually count this entry as a negative one.

What I didn't like: (pretty much everything else)
- A sense of déjà vu. When I started the book, the opening scene felt tediously familiar. I felt like I was reading a story I already knew with only a slight variation of it. The same character build-up/introduction that's been used repetitively. More on this point next.
- The character. You know the one? The one that's frayed at the edges, the one who lacks sleep, the one that's a sacrificing martyr for everyone else but himself (usually a member of the family), the one that starts the book running himself to the ground carrying the world on their shoulders? You know him, right? The one that has a resting-bitch- face and a hot sneer but is actually a marshmallow in the inside? The one who's gorgeous but different? The one who has a smart mouth and is full of sarcastic cynicism? You know?... OH, YOU DON'T?! That's right, that's because THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. Based on that description I could be talking about several of Hassell's characters. I could be talking about plenty of the Five Boroughs guys. I could be talking about Michael, about Raymond, about David, about Caleb, about Ollie, about Val, about Ash... and then RINSE AND REPEAT and let's use that again AD NAUSEAM. The first chapter of this book read like a story I already knew.
- Horrendous parents. A lot has been said about this point and some have even defended it saying that if at this stage of Hassell's career you haven't gotten used to it then you kind of go in setting yourself up for failure. But I strongly disagree. I believe that this point actually proves how someone with the tremendous talent, like Hassell has, can deliver poor quality and sub-par stories. When an author keeps recycling the same thing again and again and again it speaks of laziness not of trademark. When this is the third time (in a row) in the same series when privileged parents of LGBTQ+ children are depicted like soap-opera monsters it reads like resentment and it's hilarious instead of poignant. Not to mention the other ten thousand times that parents are portrayed awfully in Hassell's books. It's kind of turning into a joke (sort of the running one in YA about absentee parents).
- Nunzio. Holy fucking Batman. Anyone read Heidi Cullinan's "Love Lessons" series? The series starts with Walter Lucas' love story. And then he becomes a staple cameo for the rest of the books. And he goes from an interesting, cool, lovable main character that turns into this god-like character that's the answer to every question to ever be asked in queer world. He becomes a Mr. Know-It-All and Mr. Solve-It- All that puts Gandalf and Dumbledore to shame. Well, the same thing is happening in the Five Boroughs books with Nunzio. Next we will be reading about his ascension to Yoda of the queer American youth.
- Communication is key. Although in broad terms I actually truly liked this book, I finished reading it with a sense of knowledge that this whole story would be mute had just ONE of the two main characters knew how to use his words like an adult. I believe these lapses in terrible miscommunication are cute in teens but immature in adults that act like children. Had just one of them actually spoke their mind like the able people that they are YEARS of heartache could have been avoided. Not to mention that Val leaving so much time to pass and allowing so many intimacies to occur without telling Ashton about the "big-fat-secret" is douchey move. More much so than the actual thing that was done, that although is not excusable at least it was understandable. It was a forgivable thing. Having not say it was the thing I found to be indefensible.

*Edit* A thing I wanted to add to the negatives:
PRICE. This book is double the price of the other 5 ebooks that I bought last week. All of them recent releases. All of them praised. All of them from established authors. All of them with high rated reviews. Two of them part of a series. Would I say that the book is worth the amount of money? Short answer: NO NO NO AND NO. Specially when I repudiate the way Hassell has created a clique-like fan base that gets you "insight" based on the amount of money that you have. To have his books be so expensive on top of that? o.O... Clasismo le llaman por ahí.

[Fenriz Angelo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Removing rating and review. Reasons here and here. 'Nuff said.

Original rating and review under spoiler to validate that I've been a reader of this author's work:
May 9, 2017 - 1 star.
If i have to resume my feelings towards this book i'd say it left me mainly disappointed. It's sad, really, because i used to enjoy this series and after my lukewarm reaction to First & First I thought this one was going to be better but it's not. It's worse.

When i read books, there's two things i put into consideration, one is plot and the second is characterization. There can be books with a mess of a plot but have such wonderful fleshed out characters that make me forget about its flaws, and there are books with perfect plots who can have cliché characters but still be good to me because the plot is worth it. In this case I couldn't warm up to the characters due to the author's constant use of the same traits in most of his characters, all are sassy, look so damn hot even with ragged clothes, so sarcastic, so cynic yet are angels in the inside, etc. Blondes, caucasians, or PoCs it feels so damn exploited, it no longers feels like new fleshed out characters but recycled ones.

The plot is a mess, like...i cannot even comprehend why this book got released without a throrough edit, because seriously why even include the Brett conflict if it was going to be so far fetched? And don't make me start with the scene of the party with "the white knight" goes rescue his "blue prince" because honestly i couldn't wrasp how was it even possible just after the scene when they accorded to stay low key to the press. The whole book read most like a mexican soap opera than a good contemporary romance book. I rolled my eyes at so many scenes, the way everything got resolved i just....pfff...at least yoda Nunzio made me laugh lol.

Lastly, the narration...I had hopes on it and it let me down, there were glimpses of typical Hassell's good writing but it got lost by the mess the book is. It's the first time i feel tired of overexplanations in a Hassell book, this kind of narration didn't happen 2 books ago, what the hell is going on here?. I'm averse to this kind of narrative, i didn't need to read over and over again how much both characters longed for a night like the *unspeakable night they had that one time* and the angst which was just lack of communication. Damn half the book is like that, it got on my nerves. Then when they're together there's only pages and pages of sex, i even skipped the last two ones because it was too much. Ridiculous. I tried to like the book but i couldn't, i like Hassell and i want to keep liking his work but i cannot forgive his decision to put quantity over quality. I don't want to waste so much money on half-cooked books. Such a shame because he's really talented.

[Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~]

Rating removed. I am keeping my review under a spoiler tag for my personal record.

Review originally posted at Sinfully.

4 stars

Oh, Ashton, come here, I’ll give you a hug. Let’s just say Ashton had my momma bear instincts in full force. His parents really did a number on him and have dismissed him as an embarrassment to the family and now his brother Dylan, who has taken over the family business, is no better, using Ashton to save his own incompetent ass. Ashton has been left with little self-worth, always putting himself down. He is dying on the inside while putting on a show for everyone around him. He’s the weird party-boy sex toy who’s always up, most of the people he hangs out with aren’t real friends, just people who want a piece of him one way or another. Ashton knows this and figures as long as he’s getting what he wants too, what does it matter? Deep down, where few ever see, he just wants his life to mean something. He doesn’t want his legacy to be that of just another celebutante. The only one who sees the real him is his best friend from childhood Val, but Val seems to want nothing more than be his protector, although Ashton craves his love and affection. Val is the only one Ashton really wants, has always loved, but he knows Val doesn’t seem to want him in that way. Ashton doesn’t know that Val has loved him since they were kids.

Since his mother died, Val’s doing everything he can to take care of his sister, but he draws the line at taking money from Ashton’s family. Val hates the Townsends for what they’ve done to Ashton, for what they did to his mother and what they are doing to him. As much as he loves and wants Ashton, he doesn’t think he has anything to offer him other than protection. But Ashton won’t stop loving him and Val’s finding it harder to deny Ashton. However, with the Townsend family holding a secret over his head that could drive Ashton away forever, Val fears losing everything he and Ashton had or could have.

To say these two have a complicated history is putting it mildly. Outside of the class issues and the family differences, Val is struggling with his own career choice, with his sexuality and with trying to take care of the two people in the world he loves. The dysfunction in his relationship with Ashton is mind blowing, but at the end of the day they’ve loved each other since they were kids, but the sexual attraction is something that has always confused Val. They dance around each other with delicious sexual tension and a sweetness that I ate up. As if the internal emotional drama and angst isn’t enough to drive them each crazy, when the two finally give things a shot, trouble arises from every corner; family, career, friends and outsiders all stacking the deck against them.

Both men easily found a spot in my heart, although sometimes I wanted to shake them silly and yell “Just talk to each other!” Each is so caught up in their own feelings of inadequacy that they don’t see just how much the other wants to be the one, they can only see the reasons why they wouldn’t work.

While Ashton’s angst may not appeal to everyone, I felt for him deeply. Ashton’s not just the vapid, sex starved, rich boy celebutante he puts out to the public. While that persona has colored the outside world’s view of him and has made it more difficult for him to be taken seriously when he tries to make a difference, he is generous, caring and wants to do something with his life. He’s just looking for a purpose, something real in this fake life he’s created, but his worthlessness has been drilled into him by his family that it’s hard for him to push that aside. To know as a child that you’re different is difficult enough, but when your family, friends and associates use that against you it’s hard not to buy into what everyone is saying.

Val is his own worst enemy. He is so blinded by the hatred of the Townsends, he can’t clearly see what Ashton offers him at every turn. He knows what they put Ashton through, he knows Ashton is nothing like them, but he can’t bring himself to believe what Ashton says he feels for him. If Val could just open his eyes and heart and see Ashton as the person he has spent his life with, who craved his affection from day one, he wouldn’t be in the position he finds himself.

If you haven’t yet been convinced of the author’s talent, I probably won’t be able to do it, but no matter how different my life is from Val and Ashton, and all the couples in this series, Santino Hassell’s writing always allows me to relate to their emotions. Here, both Val and Ashton’s fears felt real and I understood both men’s reluctance about the other and why it was so hard for them to believe in themselves. Although it worked for me, if you don’t like stories where the main issue is poor communication, where the MCs are their own biggest stumbling blocks, you may have trouble with this one. Sometimes it seemed for every up there were two downs on their road, but when Val and Ashton are together, ignoring outside perceptions and their own doubts, they are one of the sweetest, most caring couples, seeming to gravitate to each other, needing to always touch. On the flip side, the sexual chemistry is off the charts. Ashton likes things rough and dirty and Val is more than happy to oblige.

There are plenty of cameos from the Five Boroughs world, but the one that made me swoon is Nunzio. I know, big surprise right? Only takes a brief conversation for him to see the real Ash and, in true Nunzio style, tell him just what he needs to do. I loved the glimpse of Nunzio in his new job and it just endeared his character to me even more.

Throughout the series, underneath all the differences in upbringing, the stories are about the universal need to love, be loved and find that family where you belong and are accepted. This is another wonderful romance in the series. I’m so glad there are more books on the horizon since I have a list of characters whose stories I would love to see.

[True Loveislovereview]

Review and rating removed

[Alisa]

Never, ever going to read due to "alleged" catfishing and money scamming by this author (& his wife)

[Tamika♥RBF MOOD♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

One big circle jerk.

It took me a long time to get into the story. I was bored. It went back and forth with them being idiots. It was a circle of useless things for me. I didn't feel anything to either character. Wait let me not lie, Chris was involved and others from Ray's crew. Can't wait for there stories.

I stopped using the word Thirsty in high school so for me everyone being thirsty or salty was annoying. I'm pretty sure the dialogue from all 5 books will feature some semblance of the same two words.

We know I love Raymond Rodriguez, and I think I'll pick up any book in the series to get a glimpse of him. That being said this was not it for me. It was the same formula of the previous books. You know I like Hassell realism in his writing, but I really do get tired of the same colloquialisms, backgrounds, and recycled plot drama.

The first half of the story bored me to tears. I liked Ashton in the previous story, but in this one he was a floundering fish. What's up with all the guys having self esteem issues, and all their family being douche bags? Seriously no one had any supporting family to deal with. I feel like this book was super convoluted mess.

Val & Ashton are friends. They've grown up together not by status but more so my happenstance. I'm sitting here wondering why Val could want Ashton. Val seem disinterested in life. He didn't show not one iota of happiness doing anything to me. I really wanted to know what got his motor going. I'm not just interested in his sexuality, because its his business but outside of that he didn't seem to have any focus or love doing anything. Jeez, I would rather read Caleb's book again and again.

Ashton was the typical Hassell character to me. The one who has all the different facades, whose life is really terrible. When its really not. I mean, was he so bored with life that he couldn't see the passion in certain things he did? Ashton was left out to fend for himself by his family, but instead of using that anger & neglect to be a Boss he decided to just be. I personally wouldn't do it. He was lifeless at times, and I don't know if the author wanted him to come off like that, but he did.

Hassell did the one things, I didn't think he'd ever do: Miscommunication Trope. What the f***? Why? You did not need to do it. Then after you do it, it was anticlimactic as such. Oh no, I take my previous findings about Val out. He showed passion at this point. During the big reveal. **Rolls Eyes**. I think had Ashton found out from Stoic Val then everything would have been copacetic.

I know it reads like I didn't like anything, but there were some high points for me. I would like to see a different formula for this next book. I get what the series is suppose to be about, but it can't be the same as the previous book. If so, then the steamy scenes needed to be on Oli & Caleb point. That hot of a scorcher. Oh and Nunzio. **Dreamy Sigh**, liked seeing him.

 

[Shile (Hazard's Version) on-hiatus]

Rating removed

**************************************************************
4.5 stars

“Fuck, Ashton,” I said roughly, panting wetly against his face. “I think I’m in love with you. And I don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t know what to do either,” he breathed. “No one has loved me before.”

Well that was an interesting read. I enjoyed reading this a lot, and continue to love Santino’s writing.

This book took me through some emotional roller-coaster.

Ashton and Val’s relationship was so fucked up and actually felt real like what people go through every day.

I loved

-Ashton wanted to hold him and protect him from the world. He was vulnerable, misunderstood and just wanted to be loved. I am so glad he found that even after a long struggle.

“Then have me,” he shouted, grabbing my shirt the way Luis had grabbed his. “Kiss me. Fuck me. Do whatever you want with me. I want to be yours!”

“I’m not trying to hurt you,” he said miserably. “I never want to hurt you. But . . .”
“Then why do you mess with my head?” I asked thickly. “Why do you let me touch you? Why did you kiss me?”

-As much as I wanted to strangle him, I loved him too. He was the only one who cared for Ashton when no one else did and truly loved him.

There were so many reasons Ashton was the person who took up the most space in my heart, and none of them had to do with the fact that he was good in bed

-The Upper East Side squad and the Queens squad hanging out together, their conversations were enjoyable
I liked Angel a lot.

“She, Ashton, and a couple of the others are pretty much birds of a sexed-up feather now. All they do is talk about fucking all day.”

-Nunzio *Le Sigh* I loved his cameo in this book and will always love his other cameos.

“Give yourself some time. And remember—there’s not always weakness in forgiveness.”
Awww I would marry the guy in heartbeat.. except
“He’s Rodriguez now, stupid.”

-The chemistry between Ashton and Val was off the charts, I loved that they had been life long friends.

-The Sex! was hot! as usual it is Santino after all.

“Ride me,” I ground out. “Fuck yourself on my dick.”
Ashton rose up and then slammed himself down. His ass slapped against my thighs, and the sound of skin against skin spurred me into motion.

Loved It This series is highly recommended.

“Never Change.”
“I won’t.”
“I like it when you’re my Ashton and not the other guy.”
“I know.”

[Angie Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC from publisher

I didn’t discover Five Boroughs until earlier this year, but I can tell you right now that if I’d known about it before, Concourse would have been my most anticipated read of the year. It was anyway; as soon as I met Ashton in First and First, I wanted his story. I was desperate to know the beautiful man behind the people-pleasing personality and platinum hair. Five Boroughs has left me in awe from the very beginning (I started with book two, Sunset Park,) and even after five books, I’m amazed at how raw these characters are. It’s rare for me to find an entire series where the characters are so flawlessly done, but this one is the exception.

This series builds on itself so the characters you meet in one book will appear in the next and so on, so you’re going into a new book with a bit of a grasp on the character’s personality, and I love that. Concourse was different, because while we’re familiar with Ashton, Val is a brand new character, and when I started this book with Val’s POV first, my excitement kicked up a notch at the unknown.

Val and Ashton’s relationship was different from all of Ashton’s other relationships. Val was the one person who didn’t want anything from Ashton, cared for him just as he was, and spent many nights riding to Ashton’s rescue. But that all changes one night when things between Val and Ashton take a new turn and Val can’t forgive himself for using Ashton the way others before him have. I loved both of these men; I loved their shared past, I loved Ashton’s adoration for Val and Val’s, at first, bitterness toward Ashton because the Townsends had stolen his mother to be their nanny. Just all of it. I love that Ashton has someone who cares about him so much and has that one person he can be open with, because there is no one else like that in his life. Val had a solid support system with his sister, but even she couldn’t help him from being so lost in his head about Ashton. He also had some good friends where he trained for his boxing. (Not to mention a few assholes hanging around.) Like the previous books in this series, Concourse was brimming with emotion as Val and Ashton found their way together. No spoiler because it’s in the blurb, but I will give the author major props for filling the audience in on Val’s secret even while Ashton was kept in the dark. Secrets can be tricky to pull off in a book, because they have to be worth the wait, but sometimes I think we need to see the characters being tormented by their secret to ‘buy’ it, and this author gave us that. I also loved that there was no major ‘coming out’ scene for Val. He accepted his love for Ashton; that’s just the way it had always been. There were a few cameos from Nunzio in this story, and I felt like I got a chance to know him even more in this book. He was a great friend to Ashton even though their interludes were brief, and it made me love him even more. He is such a good guy.

I will say that I wish Ashton’s family had been a bit more fleshed out and that we had more examples of how he was the black sheep in his family. I also feel like this book was a bit ‘bulkier’ than previous installments, and I think Val being hot and cold went on just a smidgen too long. Also, there were parts of this book that felt cliched, and I didn’t get that from the rest of this series. Having said that, those are things I can live with, and even if the book did feel bulky, I want as much of these men as I can get so I’ll take it. This book was still five stars for me, so take my issues with a grain of salt.

Like the previous books in the series, I loved Concourse; it was definitely worth the wait. If you’re a fan of character driven stories and haven’t read the Five Boroughs series, you’re missing out. Santino Hassell is the best the genre has to offer.

This review was originally posted on Books & Beauty Are My Bag.

[Santy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed this.

Mr. Hassell has the ability to reach into your heart, grab it and squeeze it for all it's worth and that is exactly what he did here.

Ashton was an interesting character. He was a conflicted, messy & deeply flawed human being. It's a wonder how he still managed to be a sweetheart ; especially to those he cared for.

He allowed himself to be continuously taken advantage of by everyone;family included, all in the hopes of acceptance and love. At a point my chest was literally aching for Ashton and what he was going through(especially with Val's dumbass hot and cold routine). I definitely didn't agree with all his actions/decisions but I understood where he was coming from when he made them.

Now to the man called Val. Sigh.

Based on reviews, I expected to absolutely hate Val but surprisingly... I did not. Granted, he frustrated me to no end and I wanted to wring his neck on more occasions that I could count, but it was obvious that he loved Ashton.

For the first part of the book, he went about trying to hide this love in the worst possible ways in the history of worst possible ways. Evasion, ignoring, denial & rejection were the order of the messed up day when it came to Val. This made for a whole lot of drama which could've been avoided if he'd just opened his mouth to say what was glaringly obvious .Eventually though, he got his sh*t together.

When he got it together at last, it seemed completely out of the blue for the moment on the rooftop. I was like "what in the hell is he doing here? " Later on, it hit me that it was the very real possibility of permanently losing Ashton (after his most brutal rejection earlier that night) that resulted in him running back for him.

One thing that also annoyed me but I totally get now is why he didn't just tell Ashton about the secret he was holding on to. I kept on berating him in my head to just do it but in hindsight, though he shouldn't have waited that long to do so, I got why in his warped sense of preserving what they had, he kept so long.

Moving on, I was glad when Ashton finally grew a pair and started doing his own thing. I just wish he had done so earlier and I also wish that there was more page time showing him kicking ass on his own two feet.

I don't think I have to say anything about the writing, pacing and the like because this was a Santino Hassell after all so you KNOW those were fully covered. It also mentioned that this is the longest so far in the series? Huh. I did NOT notice because the pages just flew by for me.

Charles' book is next and I wonder who he'll be paired with since his on-and-off boyfriend is a serious douchecanoe. I'm thinking Luis maybe? Lol...that would be interesting . ❤️

[Izengabe]

BR con Elsa y Mado. Un placer, como siempre ^^
Pues no voy a añadir nada que no hayan dicho ya mis compañeras de lectura, además que estoy vaga para reseñar.
Vashton maravillosos, la trama un poco floja.
Chupipandi y product placement, que parece que ya son lo habitual... Pero en general me ha gustado mucho, Vashton se van a la balda de OTPs de mi amor, junto con Rayvid <3

[Toni FGMAMTC · Rating 5 out of 5]

FGMAMTC Blog Review + Guest Post & Giveaway

I like how this series embraces the diversity of New York. It has those coming from poor and rich backgrounds, the ones that don't have to work and the ones struggling with several jobs, entrepreneurs, teachers, dock workers, philanthropists and so on. The main couples have been a mix of ethnicities also. In Concourse, Valdrin is from Albanian descent and working multiple jobs to stay afloat. Ashton is from old money and became famous for a bit of 'acting out' and social media.

Honestly, I do not like reality tv or the rich and famous celebrity gossip type stuff. I don't keep up with them in real life and usually don't like to read books with these types of characters. Because of how I am, it seems certain that I would not like Ashton, but I adored him. The author does an excellent job of showing how human he is. He's not just the diva he shows his fans. I've always had a thing for book boyfriends who are fighters, boxers or MMA so my love of Valdrin isn't a surprise. These guys are just perfect compliments to each other. They are almost opposites in many areas but similar in heart.

I completely fell into the life these guys were leading and couldn't put the book down. I love when I have a reading experience like that. Concourse is sweet, sexy, romantic and entertaining. I recommend it for sure.

***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***

Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

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[Lelyana's Reviews]

--- RATING REMOVED ---
https://www.goodreads.com/user_status...

Review will still remained here for my reading record only.

"My heart had always pounded for the androgynous boy with the false smile and sad eyes"

I'm glad that even I'm a one star believers, I didn't just read and believed the one star reviews this time.
Well I guess it's right when you say that you need a certain 'mood' to read a certain book.
Am I right, or right? Of course I'm right.. :)
We met Ashton in the previous books. a spoiled rich Instagram celebrity, didn't care for anyone in his life. Lies!
Ashton was lonely and desperate for love. He need to feel love, and all he had were some assholes who just wanted his body. But not with Valdrin, his long term best friend and long term crush, but Val's also son of his nanny, the help.
It was kind of silly, of course, the way Val was keeping one secret for so long. But maybe I can understand, Val's probably a Taurus, they keep secrets to their graves and torture themselves instead.
Happened with Val. It hurts seeing Ash with another men, but what else can he do? Kinda doormat there, Val. But once again, I feel Val.
I liked their relationship from the start, the chemistry was there. I like seeing Ashton's development from a total bitch to a total sweetheart for Valdrin.

"I think I'm in love with you. And I don't know what to do."
"I don't know what to do either, no one has loved me before."

Note : if you're expected a cheating or orgy, you'll be disappointed. Ash is a sweetheart for Val.
There's also no real angst in this book, just a healthy amount of it, no need to worry for nothing :)
I liked this story. I liked Ash and Val together. Hey, I even liked Luis!
Is he going to have his own story? Who knows...


*ARC provided by publisher through Netgalley*

[Lisazj1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I love best about Santino Hassell's characters is how real they are, messy and complicated and flawed. But it almost worked against me this time.

I could understand Val's reasoning in the past for what he did. However, once he knew that could be taken and used to hurt Ash, and he let his own fear keep him from speaking up, I was not happy at all with him. It made it very hard to be sympathetic to him or even to like him.

Ashton broke my heart. All I wanted was for him to be happy, whatever that took. Once Val got his courage up and told him everything, I hated seeing Ash hurt like that but I knew it had to happen to go forward, one way or the other.

I knew I should have had faith in Santino because he really pulled it off for me. I loved how things worked out, for both Val and Ashton. The epilogue was everything I could have wanted for them. This was another terrific read for me by SH, proving once more why he's an auto-buy author for me!

[Nile Princess]

*** Due to recent revelations, I will no longer be reading/reviewing/rating this author.***

I will, however, leave my reviews up because I took a long time writing them!

-----------------


So ermmm, I was really excited about this book. I mean it's the Five Boroughs series, and it's Santino Hassell. I mean, right? I dropped everything when I saw this book come out, lined up my refreshments and dove in. It started off great, and then turned into this super emo, convoluted, angsty for no good reason, piece of torture. By 45% I was in a full fledged panic because it was seriously looking like I would have to DNF a Santino Hassell book. Whet?? The characterization, chemistry and story telling that I've loved in other books, even when I hated the characters (coughDavidcough), just weren't there. The first half of the book was completely depressing.

Ashton was super emo, like dude grow up and get your life! And Val was this self righteous martyr. I understood their situations, but it just seemed like things were extra angsty for no reason. Ashton kept angsting in circles. He would not be slut shamed because he loved sex, and Val seemed to think Ash only used sex as a tool because he felt it was all he had to offer, and that just wasn't true! Except it absolutely was...and Ash repeatedly admitted it...so why are we still having this conversation fiftyleven times?? I don't want to be restricted, but are we boyfriends or..? Everyone knowing I am with a man would affect my boxing career, but why did you tell Luis we're not sleeping together? Ay ya yiiii.

Just when I felt my heart about to cave in because I was two seconds from deleting this book and moving on, Ash and Val finally, finally gave in to their desires, Nunzio showed up (thank you GOD!), Ashton's brother got involved, and the story got interesting. I did read till the end, and the ending was cute, but it was also anticlimactic because the solution to the characters' manufactured problems had been staring us all in the face for the last 75 pages.

I read that some people hated Ashton. I didn't. I actually understood him, even with all the emo crap. I kind of understood both characters; it's just that my empathy wasn't enough to compensate for my frustration and boredom.

I am also beginning to feel like this 'rich, uber privileged, super villain family' storyline has been recycled ad nauseum.

AND have black people not been invented yet in this world?? Like seriously, it's the Bronx, and Brooklyn, and Queens!! I get that every single Latino group of friends won't have a black person, but I mean it's Book 5! Can we have some diversity?? So we get an Albanian love interest, but not a black one?? Sigh.

I am waiting patiently for Book 6 because I have been waiting for Chris's story since Book 1. And I'm going to re-read Book 1 as a palette cleanser because Nunzio and Michael are still the best damn couple in this series. It is crazy when the best part of a book is the cameo from a Book 1 character.

3 stars
-----------------------------------

I'm ready! I'm ready! I don't remember who either of these people are....or are they new characters?? But I want!

[✦ Ellen’s Reviews ✦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS!!

"Even though he lit up the room for everyone else, he only saw me.

AAHHHH!!!! I cannot believe this is my first Santino Hassell book!! I LOVE his writing style!! Don't be put off by this being the fifth book in a series, it can stand alone in my opinion and also made me curious about the other books and characters in this amazing Five Boroughs world.

This story felt very modern and relevant, mainly because the MC Ashton is an Instagram "star." He is rich, gorgeous, and his life looks fabulous. From the outside. In reality, he is the classic "poor little rich boy," looking for true love and instead hooking up endlessly with meaningless one-night stands.

Val is a boxer from a poor family, the son of Ashton's nanny. He grew up with Ash and has had a crush on him since they were kids. Val sees the "real" Ash, the kind, generous and loving boy that he grew up with.

"The real Ashton—the quirky bastard with the smart-ass smile and thrift-store style—could get me to do anything. The Ashton he played for the rest of the world didn’t have the same power."

Ash is living a reckless life, filled with endless parties and endless men. Val will protect Ash at all costs, even at the expense of his intense training schedule. Val is a rising star in the boxing world and lives a clean lifestyle.

Val always felt like an outsider in Ashton's world. Yet he was always there for him no matter what. Val never felt worthy of Ash and even though he has been secretly in love with Ash for years, Val doesn't believe that Ash could ever love someone like him.

"Even amid other rich folks and socialites, Ashton stole all the attention in the room. Elegant, and gorgeous, and so damn unique that people had paused in their own conversations to watch him approach. His presence was magnetic, and people were helplessly drawn to him. Myself included."

Much of this book is spent with the two MC's in a dance around each other: both afraid to admit their true feelings BUT unable to deny the powerful attraction between them. The writing is beautiful and funny and painful all at once. Would these two gorgeous souls from very different worlds ever find their way back to each other?

"I could never stop thinking about Ashton, and I would never stop missing the quiet moments when it was just us and he was a devastatingly beautiful force of nature that had calmed just for me.

Santino Hassell has now become a favorite author of mine. And I adore the SMOKING hot scenes between Ashton and Valdrin. OMG!! They burned up the pages. Bravo to you, Mr. Hassell! This book had everything I love about contemporary MM romance. Can't wait to read more from this author.

"He drew me into another kiss and, even with people flooding the space to surround us, I didn’t see anyone but him."

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Hassell has done continuously throughout the Five Boroughs series, he takes characters we think we know and sharpens the focus until we see them as they truly are ... or have the potential to be. We met Ashton in First and First and Interborough: “He used to model and is now just semi-famous for being filthy rich and having a sex tape or two.” In Concourse we meet the real Ashton, who knows

After all my family had done, the dismissing and the slut shaming and forcing me into modeling as a kid to “make use” of my appearance, I would still do anything to feel . . . like part of their family.

It's honest-to-gawd heartbreaking how Ashton acts like he's "only good for being someone’s fuck toy" and doesn't realize, as Nunzio tells him, “You have value, kid. And you can make more of a difference than you know.” Seems the one person who truly knows Ashton is Valdrin but their relationship is thorny, to say the least. In a nutshell, I love and hate that we get Ashton and Val's POV throughout - mostly because of the Big Secret Val agonizes about through most of the book, while Ashton worries about the way Val treats him, not knowing it's because of the Big Secret. This is probably my biggest niggle with Concourse - the torturous reflection and reexamination was just .... exhausting.

Other reviewers here have said it much better and in glorious detail, but finally Val and Ash work their way to a happy ending, and while I'm still exhausted, I look forward to the next book in the Five Boroughs series!

I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him in for an out-of-breath kiss. I loved the feel of his lips and pounding heartbeat against my own after sex. I loved how he folded himself around me with contented sighs. I just fucking loved him.

I received an ARC from Riptide Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Review also posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!