Book Talk Review; Heartless

I love everything about this book!

For James Motel and Levi Kadish, it's hate at first sight.

Levi thinks James is an arrogant out-of-towner, and James thinks Levi is a smug local with an overblown opinion of himself. Together, the two of them are like oil and water, but Levi likes the way he feels when James looks at him, and James really loves the sound of Levi's voice when he says...

When he says those heartless things.

In the middle of a baking lesson James never wanted, the unresolved tension between Levi and him boils over, and James is left with more than rugburn. Levi's words are emblazoned in his heart, and he's eager for more.

Levi has never had something feel as right as his unconventional relationship with James, and when he finds himself with nowhere to go, he turns to the one man he knows who won't turn him away...even though he's the only man who should.

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Kate Hawthorne plus enemies to lovers plus a kink we don't get to read very often? Yes, yes, please. This book hits every single button I have and then some. 

It was easy to see while reading Reckless who the next book was going to be about, James and Levi had explosive chemistry and I would have whined if they weren't the next book because I don't think the tension between them would have held. 

I love James. Everything about him. From his hot temper to his confusion over why he liked what he liked in bed. We saw in both Unfettered and Reckless that he was the brother who is the most unsettled. Getting to know him, it's easy to see why he's the one who's closest to Cameron. He might be an asshole but he loves his family and he's unapologetic about having an opinion, so you know you'll get the real him. Even when you wish he were a little more delicate about things. The only thing that made me not love him is the fact that he's a toast heathen. 

My heart went out for Levi, it really did. His temper burns as hot as James', they seem to bring out the best in each other, which at times can be seen as the worst. He loves his family as much as James loves his, though he only has his brother Simon. He loves his bakery, even if he wishes he had more freedom. He broke my heart every time he tried to connect with Simon and get on the same page as him. Every fight they had broke my heart, every ounce of insecurity made me want to wrap him up and take the hurt away. 

Levi and James almost set the bakery on fire when they finally give in to whatever has been brewing between them. It's hot and dirty. It's supposed to be a one-off to get rid of the tension between them, but how often does that work out? They quickly find themselves falling into something they have no control over. It's explosive and everything I love about enemies to lovers. 

We all know that Kate Hawthorne is one of the best kink writers out there and this book helps prove that. While it's not formal as some of her other books, the relationship these two fall in is as hot and as well written as all her others. I haven't read many books with humiliation play. It's not an easy kink to write because there's a fine line between what's enough and what is going too far. What Levi and James explore is perfect. They don't understand their play, not at first, they just know it gets them off. It confuses them at first, James especially, who needs a reason why the things Levi does to him gets him off, but there's not too much angst spent on that, thank god. When they catch feelings for one another, that's where you can see the tenderness between them. You can understand how it works for them. There's a scene in the book after they both feel things for each other, which helps cement the type of relationship they have and sets the boundaries for them.   

Though Heartless is vastly different from Reckless it has the same undercurrent of family written into it. In book one, Cameron's wish to have his family around was so strong you could feel it roll off the pages. Here, you learn more about the brothers and see that the same need is reflected in all of them, even if it's not as obvious. Both Levi and James struggle to find their places in their respective families, though both of them have very different experiences. I love that both books have that thread of connection between them and cannot wait for the other books. There's a lot to unpack between the Motel brothers and I hope that the other books help bring them together because so far I am loving all the brothers. 

*Quote-

"I've been thinking lately, and I'm not sure I hate you anymore...I mean to say, I think I do still hate you, but I also actively like you. A little." 

"He held onto James like he was the only thing keeping Levi afloat. And in a way, he was, because Levi was drowning in everything he couldn't admit he felt for the man in front of him."

"Levi had always been a tidal wave, battering against James's jagged corners until he'd worn them down into something soft and manageable. He'd turned the ugly parts of James into something beautiful, but he didn't even realize."

"He wanted James exposed physically and emotionally. With nothing for James to hide behind, there could be no lies between them."