Review: The Loner by Riley Hart
SYNOPSIS:
Declan
As a founding member of The Vers, a queer podcast I host with my three best friends, I’m The Loner—quieter than the others, and except for them, I don’t let myself get too close to people. Most of them just let you down anyway, or maybe it’s just that something about me chases people away.
Infrequent, no-strings-attached hookups have always worked for me. Who knew my favorite one would become such a popular movie star? But Sebastian Cole and I made it work, meeting up whenever he was in Santa Monica and in the mood—until he called it off when he got a serious boyfriend. A boyfriend he later found in bed with another man.
Now Sebastian is back in California, taking a break from acting. He needs a friend, and for whatever reason, he decides that should be me. We’ve known each other intimately for years, and yet we’ve never spent much time together with our clothes on. When he starts taking me places, it feels suspiciously like dates…and surprisingly, I like it.
Despite our differences, Sebastian’s lonely, like me. The more we hang out, the more I realize I’ll never get enough of him.
A loner dating a celebrity doesn’t make much sense. I don’t know how to be someone’s boyfriend, let alone be in the public eye. But to call him mine, I’ll need to leave the past behind and finally allow myself to move forward with him.
REVIEW:
I absolutely adored this story. So much so that this is probably my favorite Riley Hart read since she published The Endgame. The plot line of the podcast was refreshing and unique, something I haven’t come across in the 100s of romance novels I’ve read and the romance itself had me smiling and swooning endlessly.
I’ll start with Declan, whose prickly personality instantly had me endeared to him. While yes he is a loner, you learn exactly why over the course of the novel. It all comes down to the fact that he has been let down by people one too many times over his life and he can’t get hurt if he never puts himself out there. But Sebastian has weaseled a way under Declan’s skin over the last decade and is about to turn his life upside down.
Sebastian was the big-hearted softie I was hoping for. He perfectly balances out Declan’s harsh edges and is able to push Declan’s comfort zones while also never pushing too far to chase him off. I loved the constant battle of fighting of feels. It had me smiling and added a playful ‘will they or won’t they’ touch to the story.
But the real *chef’s kiss* to this story was the whole rag-tag team of men that make up The Vers Podcast. The friendship and found family had my heart soaring and I couldn’t get enough of Parker, Corbin, and Marcus. The way they rally beside Declan had me grinning and giddy for the next book in the series. While I initially excepted a light, sweet romance; Riley blew me away with hidden depth and a whole lot of heart.
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