It’s not often that I go back and reread a book I rated less than 3 stars initially, but after being offered the opportunity to read book 2 in the Men of Rapture series, I felt the need to reacquaint myself with the characters and decide whether my initial mixed feelings about this book were justified.
I hoped to understand Rush and his choices, and totally understood where the author was going with his penchant for using drugs, alcohol and sex to numb his pain; unfortunately, while I’m no prude, and love a whole lotta sex in my stories, Rush’s explicit sex life (quite often in public places) and crude dialogue, made him very difficult to like. But here is where my feelings changed from my first reading of this story, as taking time to really immerse myself in the gritty, self-flagellating lifestyle that Rush felt was his due, forced me to acknowledge the depth of his emotional torture and self-loathing because of events that were essentially out of his control.
Thankfully, one sassy, take no prisoners, get over yourself veterinarian named Alyssa, sees beneath Rush’s sordid and obnoxious persona, to the man who is suffering a wealth of pain, and hell bent on his own destruction. This is definitely not a light-hearted read, and the first few chapters will certainly test your moral endurance; but if you can push past the sleazy and abhorrent behaviour that Rush displays early on, there’s an insightful plot to be found and a well-written and thought provoking storyline within the pages of this book. I’m glad I took the time to revisit Rush, witness his transformation and discover the essence of the person he was meant to be.