Runner
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4.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Matt Bowers’s life ended at sixteen, when a vicious betrayal by someone who he should have been able to trust left him a shell of himself, fighting OCD and PTSD, living in constant fear and always running. When he buys a remote tract of land, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world and attempt to establish some peace. For ten years he believes he’s found a measure of comfort, until the day a stranger begins to run on Matt’s road.
He returns every day, an unwelcome intrusion into Matt’s carefully structured life. Matt appeals to the local sheriff, who cannot help him since the jogger is doing nothing wrong. Gradually, after tentatively breaking the ice, Matt begins to accept the man’s presence—
But when the runner doesn’t show up one day, it throws Matt’s world into chaos and he must make the hardest decision of his life.
Customer Reviews
4.45 ~> Matt is Perfectly Flawed & Will SHRED Your Heart!
✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ FOUR & 1/2 - STAR ✩ REVIEW ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩
> > Judging a Book by it's Cover < <
Handsome young man peers out window, watching another man jog by. Background looks misty or foggy, obscuring any other features of the neighborhood. The left hand on the window does not look like it belongs to the man at the window, strange placement and spatial differences. Strong, bold title and author fonts. Intriguing synopsis.
> > Looking Deeper < <
POV ~> First person, Matt's POV.
If your heart doesn't break, even just a little, for Matt then you surely must not have one beating in your chest to begin with. Matt's story is emotional. From the time he was sexually assaulted at sixteen by a trusted figure to now, thirteen years later, Matt has battled nightmares, terror, depression, anxiety / panic attacks, OCD, and a form of agoraphobia. It's not until murder mystery author, Charlie, moves to town and takes to jogging the dead end road that runs past Matt's house that Matt starts to feel that his safely isolated world is truly lonely. Charlie seems like a nice guy and made fast friends with Matt's brother, the sheriff. An accident brings the two even closer, bringing each man a completion and balanced inner peace that neither expected.
The secondary characters are few, but lend a supportive role to the plot. The old store owner tries to steal his scenes in the most enjoyable ways. The story is dynamic, emotional, and perfectly paced. There are conflicts along the way that are addressed in very human ways, often in not the most efficient manner, but more real for their flaws. Predictability was low. In fact, I'd kind of hoped for some wonderfully tragic news to reach them regarding a certain person but sadly that not never happened. The ending is solid and satisfying with a playful hint that their story was not over (although more may not be written).
Overall, YES, I would recommend this book to any of those M/M readers that love the perfectly flawed, wounded warriors, tragic past type characters and tropes. It's well-written characters draw you in and Matt will SHRED your heart early-on with his struggles!
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Rating: [R] ~ Score: 4.45 ~ Stars: 4 (4.5 if I could!!)
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⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I received a copy of this book from Dreamspinner Press with the hope that I would voluntarily leave unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐