Tuesday, October 2, 2018

New Release-Review & Giveaway: JAMES - UNCONTROLLABLE by Felice Stevens (Man Up #5)

James - Uncontrollable (Man Up, #5)

Author: Felice Stevens

Genre:M/M Romance
Release Date: October 2, 2018

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

It's time to travel with James and Malcolm through their twenty year history as they battle each other and struggle to hold on to a lifetime of secrets.

James
Never good enough.
Not the real son.
I will prove him wrong—prove everyone wrong.
I am someone.
I will succeed.
I don’t need my brother to help me.
I don't need anyone.
My enemy holds my secret.
He teases me.
Taunts me.
Follows me with his eyes.
Our hot, angry kisses keep me up at night.
I don’t want him.
I hate him.
But I can’t stop thinking about him.
That there's more to him
I want to discover him.
The truth is unexpected.
My enemy might not only be my friend but the love I never thought to have.

Malcolm
Live, love, laugh.
Life is too short to worry when you don’t know how long you’ve got.
I want every day to be my best.
Like it’s my last.
My friends see what I let them.
Not the real me.
Only one man has ever crawled beneath my skin.
He drives me crazy.
Makes me wild.
Makes me care.
A night of bad decisions changes the course of my life.
Everything I've known no longer makes sense.
My enemy now stands by my side.
I’m no longer running.
I want to stay.
I want a future.
Hate has changed to something new and wonderful.
Something terrifying.
Uncontrollable.
Love.

Carra's Review

We’ve all been waiting on the edge of our seats for the story of the enigmatic owner of Man Up, and James - Uncontrollable didn’t disappoint! This story had it’s fill of tension and angst, with an enemies to lovers theme that as you might expect led to some scorching, passionate, emotion-filled scenes—plenty to keep me glued to the pages and reading this book straight through.

James didn’t have it easy early in life, and with his (and Rhoades’) father being the jerk that he was, it’s no wonder James took the path he did to become who his is today. Driven to be as successful as possible—just to show his now-gone father that he’s turned out to be more than he expected—and to help others who are at-risk or down on their luck, in the process he’s cut himself off from feeling anything for anyone on a personal, intimate level. Unless those feelings include loathing and hatred…

Malcolm comes across as a typical trust fund playboy, a love ‘em and leave ‘em type who travels the world partying and pursuing physical pleasures without a care. Looks can be deceiving though, and he has things in his personal life that he hides from even those closest to him. He’s an expert at pushing all of James’s buttons, and has been doing so for a long time.

A large part of the first half of the book focuses on James becoming who he is now, and how things between him, Malcolm, and his half-brother Rhoades get to where they are. That means a great deal of the tension and angst right up front, giving the story a rough edge until James and Malcolm show signs of giving in to what’s been building up between them for so long. Even once they do, James still keeps trying to push back…thank goodness Malcolm is the persistent sort! And all of those high-strung emotions naturally give way to a great deal of passion and intensity between them.

Once they do get together, it did feel to me like things progressed pretty fast to the point when they were declaring their feelings, so while the first two-thirds or so of the book went at a more even, steady pace the last part felt more accelerated. This could be due to the intensity of things between Malcolm and James once they finally give in to their pent-up feelings, but even so it still felt a bit fast to me. But I did like that not only was James finally finding what he needed with Malcolm, he also was working on resolving the built-up tension and hard feelings between him and Rhoades going back to when they first met.

James - Uncontrollable was a solid 4-star read for me, and I really enjoyed finally getting to know the story behind the man who made Man Up possible. There’s so much more to him—and Malcolm—than you might expect, and watching the battle between them as their relationship evolves was pretty entertaining. While you could read this as a standalone, I would recommend reading the series in order to get the most enjoyment out of it. This book is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.

Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending around the corner, Her characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy and that includes love.
Felice has written over twenty books in the gay romance genre. Her books been translated into German, French and Italian. Her novel. One Call Away, part of her Soulmates series, was mentioned in Buzzfeed as one of the best “Out for You” gay romances of 2017.
Felice lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Her day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass or two of red wine. She recently retired from the practice law and now daydreams of a time when she can sit by a beach somewhere and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there are bound to be a few bumps along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.