Review: Hawaiian Orchid by Meg Amor

Title: Hawaiian Orchid (The Hawaiians: Book Two)

Author: Meg Amor

Publisher: Loose Id

Pages/Word Count: 302 Pages

At a Glance: Love does conquer all, and Hawaiian Orchid will tug at your heart and make you believe.

Reviewed By: Lana

Blurb: Kulani Mahikoa is “The Orchid,” a young, insecure, pro surfer from a rough background on the Big Island of Hawai’i. He’s Beau Toyama’s cousin from Hawaiian Lei and a healer with a heart as deep as the ocean he’s part of. Like many of the great Hawaiians, Kulani epitomizes the spirit of aloha and love. Kulani’s healing his own wounds, and “The Lost Boys”–young, homeless abandoned and abused gay boys he cares for.

He meets the lone and lonely New Zealand widower, Rob Masterson–a wounded psychologist who’s trying to come to terms with his husband’s death. When he died, they were separated but still living together. Rob needs to reconcile all the pieces of guilt and love to heal before he can fall in love again.

The age difference raises one barrier, and besides that, Kulani has more layers than Rob–with his own New Zealand heritage and tangled knot of emotion–ever bargained for. Traveling between the South Sea Islands of beautiful New Zealand and the exotic Hawaiian Islands, they forge a bond–two wounded men find a home for their shrapnel-laced souls.

Review: Hawaiian Orchid is the follow-up book to Hawaiian Lei, and for me, it hit all the marks! It has complex characters, a solid storyline, and Hawaii, an island that I have to visit. And, like its predecessor, it was all about the feels.

Hawaiian Orchid is not exactly a sequel, but it follows Kulani, who is Beau’s cousin from the first book, and Rob, another Kiwi. Rob is in Hawaii to recover from personal tragedy. He is a fifty-something who’s finally ready to move on with his life after the death of his husband.

Kulani is a troubled young man, with a tragic past. Because of his difficult childhood he has taken it upon himself to take in homeless gay youth. In his own way, he’s trying to erase his past wounds. He also happens to be a famous pro surfer, who is known as “The Orchid”.

Rob is not interested in an unstable man, but there’s something about Kulani that he just can’t resist. It’s not all about the sex, they connect on a very emotional level, and it just pours off the page! Rob and Kulani’s relationship has a rocky start, but their connection keeps them coming back for more. Their chemistry is off the charts! There is also a whole bunch of secondary characters that were just great, and added another level to the story.

Again, the island of Hawaii and its people play a major role in this book. There is so much rich multi-layering to Hawaii this book brings out that I just don’t have the words to describe it. As with the first book, Hawaiian Orchid is a very emotional story, so keep the tissues handy. There was a couple times where I teared up.

Hawaiian Orchid is a story about two men who overcome emotional obstacles to be together. Love does conquer all, and Hawaiian Orchid will tug at your heart and make you believe. A story full of emotions that will stay with you long after you are finished.

 

 

 

 

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