Title: Rock Solid (Rock Solid Construction #1)
Author: Riley Hart and Joe Arden (Narrator)
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: June 7th 2016
Genre(s): M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
Reviewed by: Belen
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5
Blurb:
Trevor Dixon has made too many mistakes to count. Sober for thirteen months, he’s determined to do the right thing: rebuild his relationship with his family, and help his brother get Rock Solid Construction off the ground. Failing them again isn’t an option. Too bad the first estimate Trevor goes on alone is for an uptight doctor with a superiority complex.
A hand injury took away the only important thing in Dr. Simon Malone’s life—performing heart surgery. He doesn’t do well with people and has no family, but being a damn good surgeon? He always had that. Now, he doesn’t know who he is. The last thing he wants to deal with is the young construction worker who blows his shot at remodeling Simon’s home.
Trevor and Simon form an unlikely friendship. The more time they spend together, the more Trevor starts wondering if maybe Simon’s not as straight—or uptight—as he thought…and maybe Trevor’s new attraction for Simon runs both ways.
There are too many reasons they shouldn’t be together: they have little in common, their age difference, Trevor needing to focus on his sobriety…yet there’s something about each other that they just can’t shake. They don’t feel so lost when they’re together. But with their footing so unsteady, forming a relationship that’s rock solid seems impossible. There’s blow after blow, and the last one just might be powerful enough to crack their foundation for good.
Solid romance about two men struggling with what their life is now.
Trevor – sober and living one day at a time and trying to make up for the years of addiction and pain he’s put his family through.
Simon – dealing with the loss of his career and identity as a cardiothoracic surgeon after devastating nerve damage to his hand following a brutal home invasion.
I liked the story, but I didn’t love it. I think part of that is due to the narration. Joe Arden reads this with a very matter of fact tone and the way he emphasizes certain words (often the last word of a sentence) of the narrative made me feel like I was listening to a true crime reality show or documentary. He doesn’t do it during the conversation portions, which means it was a deliberate use of tone, and it just didn’t work for me. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. I felt like it had the effect of dulling what could have been a seriously emotional read. It wasn’t horrible by any means, but it could have been better for me.
As for the story itself, I think that Hart did an amazing job capturing what it’s like to wrestle with addiction, on both the addict and the family’s behalf. I really liked the depiction of how Trevor struggled with his recovery and his ultimate growth as a person throughout the story. I did feel like I missed some of that growth with Simon. I believe part of that was his personality, but some was, I believe, because of just a bit too much of the focus on Trevor.
It’s a solid story with low/medium angst, good hurt/comfort, smoldering sexy times, character growth, and interesting side characters. But I would definitely recommend listening to the audio sample before purchasing.
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