Extraordinary Things
(Star Shadow #4)
(Star Shadow #4)
by Beth Bolden
Publisher: Beth Bolden Books
Cover Artist: Cate Ashwood Designs
Genre/s: MM Rock Star Romance, Existing Couple
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 50 000 words
It is NOT a standalone story. Reviewers need to have read at least Terrible Things.
Release Date: June 26, 2020
Buy Links - Available on Kindle Unlimited
Extraordinary Things is a continuation of Leo and Caleb's love story from Terrible Things.
It should not be read as a standalone.
Blurb
Leo and Caleb have been through hell—addiction, destruction, and even a five year separation—but they’ve come through on the other side with their love stronger than ever.
Caleb knows he’s earned Leo’s forgiveness. He wants to believe he deserves it, but just when Leo needs him more than ever, a voice in his head insists that maybe he doesn't. It’s so loud, he can't block it out. So loud, he’d do anything to silence it.
Including risking everything he and Leo, and the rest of Star Shadow, have built together.
Excerpt
“If you don't want to buy another house, you just need to tell me,” Leo said, and then wiggled out of Caleb's grasp, walking over to their big oversized walk-in closet. “Then I'll tell the realtor,” he said, his voice muffled. “But I feel stupid going to look at all these great places, when you end up hating all of them.”
“I don't hate them,” Caleb said quietly. That was true. He didn't hate them. There wasn't even anything really wrong with them, but there was this voice that kept telling him it was a mistake to move. A mistake to buy a new house, even though they had enough cash they could buy ten houses. “I just like this one.”
“I do too.” Leo walked out of the closet, wearing only a pair of skintight briefs, leaving nothing to the imagination and sending Caleb's pulse through the stratosphere. His voice and expression had softened, and Caleb thought if he kissed Leo, he wouldn't push him away. Not now. “I just wouldn't mind having some additional space.”
“Maybe,” Caleb said, clearing his throat as he began to unbutton his own shirt, “maybe we could look into an addition.”
Leo gave him a soft, chiding look, like he could see right through Caleb, straight into him, into all those ugly places that he tried to hide, and tried to hide from. “Maybe,” he said. Even though they both knew perfectly well that there was no extra room on their small, beachfront lot for an addition. If they wanted a bigger house, they would need to buy one. But for right now, Leo seemed to have let the problem go, and so Caleb decided that now when they had so much to celebrate, what was the point of continuing to argue about it? They'd figure it out—someday, anyway, Caleb reasoned.
“Hey,” Caleb said, shucking his shirt and reaching for Leo again, his hands sliding up his soft curves, reveling in the way his skin felt against his hands. “Hey, let's go to bed.”
Leo gave him a sly, lopsided smile, reaching up and intertwining his fingers through his curls, pulling Caleb down so their lips were nearly touching. “And what do you think I was trying to do, this whole damn time?”
“Torture me?”
“Maybe just a little,” Leo acknowledged, raising himself up so their eyes were nearly level. That deep, endless blue was something that Caleb had gotten lost in for the first time at the age of sixteen, and he'd never ever gotten over it—and the truth was, he never ever wanted to. Leo was as much a part of him as his red hair or his too-big hands or his mediocre ability to play the bass. Even when they'd been separated, and it had been years since he'd seen Leo, there'd always been a part of him yearning to be with him again, to feel that hot wild blue gaze wash over him, calming and exciting him, somehow all at the same time.
“I love you,” Caleb said, even though the words didn't feel like enough to possibly explain the feelings surging through him. Love and lust and tenderness and winding through all of that, a golden thread of abject gratitude.
Leo was the toughest person Caleb knew—the most relentless, and possibly the least forgiving person on the planet. So if he'd forgiven Caleb, and they'd moved on, that must mean Caleb deserved that forgiveness.
“You look,” Leo said thoughtfully, tapping a finger on Caleb's bottom lip, “you look like you're not thinking of what you should be thinking about.”
Carra's Review
I adored Leo and Caleb in Terrible Things, so it was wonderful to revisit their relationship here in the final book of the series. This time, the story is told from Caleb’s point of view and peppered here and there through the story are “interludes”—flashbacks to a couple of years ago when Caleb had returned to the group and his and Leo’s relationship restarted. While I’m not generally fond of flashbacks, here it helped knowing Caleb’s thoughts from those scenes from the first book.
Since not every relationship is an automatic happy ever after—even if it may seem so at the time a previous story ends—Extraordinary Things lets readers see Leo and Caleb continuing to work on their relationship. Yes, they love each other; that’s obvious even as they seem to hit some bumps in the road. Everything they’ve been through up to this point makes their hard-won happiness even more solid.
Now, I’m going to admit—if I had never read this book, I would have been perfectly happy with how things were left at the end of Terrible Things. But the insinuation of possible issues between Caleb and Leo at the end of book three (Hazardous Things), and the opportunity to get Caleb’s point of view made me glad I read this story. Bonus points for getting to spend some time with all of the guys again, and the author just HAD to squeeze in something to make a couple of tears fall (for those who’ve read it…the story behind the tattoo).
Extraordinary Things was a solid 4-star read for me, and it closes out the series on a high note (pun intended). Please note that this is not a standalone—at a minimum you need to read Terrible Things first, though my personal recommendation is to just read the entire series in order to get the most enjoyment from this story. This book is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and sexual content.
About the Author
A lifelong Oregonian, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband and their sweet kitten, Earl Grey. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published eighteen novels and six novellas.
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