REVIEW: 'Bleeding Like Me' by Riley Parks
Title: Bleeding Like Me
Author: Riley Parks
Published: November 21, 2017
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
Genre: Dark Erotic Romance
Length: 324 Pages
Tags: Gay; MM; Crime; Forbidden Love; HEA; CW: Explicit Violence, Murder, Addiction, Substance Abuse
About Bleeding Like Me Being gay in their neighborhood is perilous. Being gay in a street gang is unheard of. Being gay and in love with a man in a rival gang is a death wish. Through drug addiction, brutality, and seemingly endless peril, they remain; finding stability within each other that shouldn’t exist in their volatile world.
BEAUTIFUL CONTRADICTION
He didn't paint people; the curves of their bodies and angles of their faces never interested him as much as cityscapes. The circumstances of his life had compelled him to create new worlds that he could get lost in rather than reflect the features of the people he ran from. He constructed buildings from their foundations, making them taller and stronger than he was. He adorned the edifices with countless windows, always left open or cracked so hope could pour in and fears could seep out. Tree lined streets reminded him how to breathe, pumping oxygen through the atmosphere, off the canvas, and into his lungs.
He didn't paint people until the day he no longer desired the anonymity of his cities. The streets didn't feel like his escape anymore, not like him. Cerulean skies gave way to pale blue eyes and bus routes to pink pouts. Evan didn't paint people until he painted Jackson.
5 HEART READ
REVIEW:
Bleeding Like Me is a captivating and compelling story by debut author Riley Parks, and I’m enchanted. Yes, it’s a romance, but there’s so much more going on and Parks put me through the ringer as I watched these rival gang members infiltrate each other's lives.
Reading through Bleeding Like Me transported me into another world, and when I reached the end I scrolled back to the beginning and started it again.
This is a hard review to write without using spoilers, and at best a difficult one for me to write period. There is so much emotion, action and tension, plus anticipation it’s almost impossible to put into words everything this story evokes. I never knew what was going to happen next or how Riley Parks would ever bring these guys through it all to get their happily ever after.
I love a dark romance, that excruciatingly wonderful feeling of dread and trepidation, and Parks builds this story perfectly.
Rival gang members, Evan and Jackson hook up in a park on the west side of Chicago because, in Evan’s words, both have “too much to lose if his proclivities saw the light of day.”
Their initial attraction is purely sexual, but as they get to know each other their connection deepens. Parks does a wonderful job of creating two distinct characters and letting their unique traits unfold. Evan’s got a soft side, he’s an artist with a sense of humor, and he’s cocky with self confidence. Jackson is outwardly cold and ruthless but he has a beautifully submissive side and longs to be taken care of. I loved watching these two men come to grips with their committed relationship, reeling from the unfamiliar feelings of desire and affection and embracing everything that comes with it.
I thrilled at all the twists and turns in Bleeding Like Me and the way Riley Parks builds Evan and Jackson’s journey up to the perfect ending. I’d love to know what’s next for these men and I sincerely hope this is the first in a series. Regardless, I can tell by the wide range of themes and emotions Parks explores so nicely that she has a wealth of stories to tell. Where Riley Parks goes after this I can only imagine, and I can’t wait to follow along!
A copy of Bleeding Like Me was provided to Kimmers’ Erotic Book Banter, by Boroughs Publishing Group, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
Meet the Author
Riley has always loved to write, believing that life has the possibility to be its most beautiful when it’s portrayed on the pages of a book. Feeling the need to create and liberate in the midst of the political landscape, Riley writes novels that focus on LGBTQ protagonists, wanting to honor a community that deserves better representation depicting lives, loves and triumphs in all facets of fiction.
For more from Riley be sure and visit her website!
