Review: The Right Words by Lane Hayes

Author: Lane Hayes

Pages/Word Count: 204 Pages

At a Glance: I fell hopelessly in love with this book and can’t wait for the next in the series

Blurb: Escaping an abusive relationship left Luke Preston anxious and spouting panic-induced poetry. Desperate for a fresh start, Luke accepts a job remodeling a tired old beach house for a professional soccer player and his model girlfriend. While his passion is literature, not sports, focusing on the renovations eases his anxiety. Until the job he signed up for turns out to be more complicated than advertised.

Sidelined with a serious injury, soccer star Michael Martinez decides his beach house is the perfect place to recuperate. Remodeling might be the diversion he needs to keep his mind off his busted knee. Falling for the pretty designer with some quirky habits wasn’t on the drawing board. Unfortunately, Luke didn’t build a big enough closet for Michael to hide in. Having a star-powered sports career used to be all Michael lived for, but he’ll have to reevaluate his plans and find the right words if he wants to build more than a beach house with Luke.

Review: When I saw the blurb for this book, I was excited to read it. Athletes are definitely one of big weaknesses, and this book was a great addition to my athlete book shelf. Not only was there a well built athlete but Lane Hayes added in an emotionally hurt man who’s doing his best to get his life back. That just seemed like a recipe for a great story, and it was.

Luke Preston is doing his best to get his life back together after suffering severe emotional abuse at the hands of his last partner. When Luke gets a contract to remodel and decorate a beach house for a soccer player and his fiancé, he knows the job could put his name out there in the business in a big way. After getting all of his ideas together and driving an insanely long way to get to said beach house, Luke is shocked to learn that the fiancé is gone and the job could very well be gone also.

Michael Martinez is a professional soccer player recovering from a knee injury. His new beach house seems to be the best place for him to not only recuperate but to get a little distance from some of the people in his life. Being a high profile soccer player isn’t conducive to Michael living his life the way he wants to, but he is definitely hoping to bring Luke around to his way of thinking.

During the remodel, Michael and Luke become closer and eventually begin a relationship. This isn’t an easy road for these two to travel. Luke has past issues, because of his ex, that cause him to be wary of relationships. Especially when it comes to dating a closeted athlete who may never be willing or able to claim him publicly.

Luke and Michael continue their relationship, and everything seems to be going well on the surface until a person from Michael’s past causes doubt to fall on Luke. Other forces in Michael’s life make the two men to face the tough choices they have been putting off, and those choices will either keep them together or split them apart forever.

Luke and Michael were two well rounded characters that drew me in from the very beginning and had me cheering for them through their entire story. I usually find myself not having much sympathy for men who are in the closet when their closet causes someone pain, but I found myself truly feeling for Michael. Luke was understanding, to a point, but after what he went through with his ex, I didn’t blame him for needing an all-or-nothing commitment.

This story had a great supporting cast that helped move the story along and made me truly care about the outcome for the two MCs. With a controlling sports agent, a best friend/ex lover, and Luke’s best friend and crazy mother, I fell hopelessly in love with this book and can’t wait for the next in the series.