Review: Kaden

Kaden by R.J. Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love. How the hell had that happened? How was it that pretending to be in love had become so much more than that?

Oh, this book! THIS BOOK!!!! This story was so much more than I was prepared for, and I don't know if I can even do the story justice in my review.

Kaden is a boyfriend for hire story - a fake relationship with a little bit of forced proximity where the acting becomes more than just acting in which Kaden and Ryan find a way to heal the hurts that the past has left behind for both of them. I think I've found a new favourite for this trope! It makes me want to rewind and read Darcy to get the full feeling of the series! Yes, this is the second in the Boyfriend for Hire series but it can totally be read as a standalone because that's what I just did!!



I wasn't expecting this book to be so hard for me to read - please don't get me wrong, it wasn't because this was a bad story! Look at my rating, this was an excellent story on par with what I expect when I read a book that has R.J. Scott's name attached to it. The reason it was so hard was because of Ryan's history with his ex - because I lived that kind of relationship. I've been there, got the t-shirt and all the PTSD and trust issues to prove it.

Where Kaden's issues came to his family life and how he was raised, Ryan's with an emotionally (and implied physically) abusive ex. What was worse was how Ryan was stuck in a cycle of pain because of a damning viral video that was leaked to the media that threatens to turn his skyrocketing career into flaming wreckage because of that relationship. I won't spoil exactly who leaked the video, or even who filmed it because both are an integral part of the story that brings him to his moment of healing when he could stand up and say Me Too without complete embarrassment and fear. That was the most beautiful part of this whole story - just seeing Ryan make those steps towards the long road to healing his soul and finally taking a chance on loving someone else and giving them the trust required to hold his heart in their hands. I can't say I'm completely there yet myself, but I don't shy away from the fact that I've lived it. I've accepted that there was no fault in me that made those things happen. That wasn't love, and I didn't deserve the treatment I received and it was something beautiful to see Ryan feel safe, to be honest with the world and let his story be heard.

Normally, I would give you my favourite lines - but so many of them are spoilery this time that I can't do as many as I usually would. So here are the few that stuck with me…

Favourite Lines -

"I should have stayed on Destiny Cove; it was easier there."

Carmen smiled, then said, "You were lucky to get out before the alien dinosaur baby storyline, which you know would have deteriorated into Dino-porn, where you'd forever be known as the T-Rex of handjobs."

That kiss. That had been everything he'd ever wanted. The taste of it, the confidence, the experience - it was all the things that he'd never had with anyone else.

I want more.

I can't have more. Not for real.

Trust was fragile, like a thin layer of ice over water, and he didn't want to endure the heart-rending chill of the freezing waters below, not again.

Seriously, people, you need to read this book. Read it for the beauty that R.J. Scott and Meredith Russell have brought the world shining a light on what love and relationships look like when you are a survivor of an abusive relationship. One click this baby today! You’re going to love it!!!



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