Review: Love and the Real Boy by J.K. Hogan

Title: Love and the Real Boy (Coming About: Book Two)

Author: JK Hogan

Publisher: Wilde City Press

Pages/Word Count: 196 Pages

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb: How much heartache can one man take before he breaks? Rich Langston asks himself that question every day.

A Seattle advertising exec who uses his designer suit and showy car like a suit of armor, Rich refuses to let the world get to him. His traumatic childhood has ruined any faith he had in people, friendship, and love. After a meltdown that led to him alienating everyone in his life, Rich agrees to help with the restoration of an antique sailboat as a form of penance.

Roped into heading up with the boat repair by his mother, marine restorer Patrick O’Dowd finds himself having to babysit a moody, spoiled rich boy with absolutely no carpentry experience. His easy-going nature is sorely tested, but he quickly realizes that things are not always what they seem; sometimes a fancy suit is nothing but an elaborate deflection from what’s real.

Through unavoidable personality clashes and fierce attraction, both Rich and Patrick explore their hidden pain and inner demons, and they end up finding with what really matters—love.

Review: I liked this book a lot. I did not like Rich, I feel guilty for saying that, but it’s just the truth. The story flowed nicely not too rushed, and the details on restoring the boat were so good. It really showed the author put a lot of time into research. I like to learn something with each book I read, and no doubt this land dweller learned a lot.

It’s amazing you go from hating Rich Langston (aka Ricky Dalton in I Survived Seattle, the first book in the series) to kind of liking him. At least you now learn why he is a prickly douche bag in Love and the Real Boy. I found I wanted him to find happiness and acceptance for who he is. How is that possible? It takes a really good author to weave their magic and help us forget all the dreadful things he said and did in the first book. This book gives us a reason to understand Rich and why he was so angry as a boy named Ricky, and doing that through flashbacks explains a lot .

What did I like about this book? What made it special? Why, when looking back over I Survived Seattle the first book in the series, I found myself two hours later re-reading the entire book? What was so special about this book?

The ketch (a two-mast sailing vessel) and Patrick O’Dowd . Restoring the Galeocerdo was amazing to read about. The research that must have gone into writing this book was very impressive. I am not a boat person, and that’s putting it lightly. The love that went in to the restoring of the boat shined through. I couldn’t wait to see it done.

Patrick O’ Dowd: Who could not like a man who’s gentle, sexy, patient, handy with both a hammer and battery cables, and then tie that all up with a lilting brogue. What a great character, the perfect combination to get Rich to lighten up and start living his life.

Why did I give this book a 5 star recommended read? The research, the storyline and the natural flow of the book. Instead of just going back and forth in time by inserting chapters, Rich would be sparked by a something that would make him remember . I liked the natural flow of that. The twist of the story was unexpected, and I liked that it wasn’t resolved in just a few pages but twined throughout the book. It kept the book a lot more interesting.

This book and I Survived Seattle, the first book in the series, is worth your time. You will read a great romance book and learn something on the way. Patrick O’Dowd’s accent is worth the price alone.