Rented HeartRating: 4.75 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

Businessman Liam Mallaney left London to be closer to the beach and grieve the loss of his husband. He has kept himself mostly isolated for the past year and with work busy, that’s all he’ll allow himself time for.

Zac has also left London and his drug addiction behind and has moved to a smaller town. His life as a rentboy is all he knows and when he sees Liam outside of a club, he sees his score for the night. But Liam surprises him when he treats Zac with respect and their one night remains on Zac’s mind for weeks. As much as Zac wants to imagine that he could have a life with Liam, he has his best friend, Jamie, to think about. He would never leave Jamie behind, but Jamie’s drug addiction is threatening to destroy the small life they have made.

challenge month 2016While Liam is still caught up in his grief, he is also caught up in the chemistry between him and Zac. So caught up that he doesn’t give much thought to Zac’s home life until danger comes straight to Zac’s door. Liam must then find a way to ease his own grief while showing Zac that he could be his permanently and not just a heart available for rent.

Garret Leigh writes authentic British characters from different areas that offer a view of life in England. This book is perfect for the Around the World Challenge for what reads as a genuine British experience.

Liam is devastated after the loss of his husband, Cory. They had been together for ten years and Cory was the only man Liam had ever been with. The traveled together and built a business together and Liam went from surfer, to graphic designer, to CEO after Cory’s death. Liam’s interest was never from the corporate side, but he had to step up to fulfill Cory’s legacy. On a rare night out, Zac approaches him and only after Liam agrees to go home with him does Zac name his price. What follows is a night of unexpected chemistry mixed with unexpected passion and the guys fall in love just a little bit in that one moment, but it’s certainly not that easy.

Zac has been on his own for what feels like forever and being a prostitute is all he knows. A former drug addict, he moved away from the temptations of London. He lives day to day or really night to night as he looks for his next mark. He figured this was his life until Liam put his hands on him. But Zac can’t even begin to figure out what else he can do with his life and he can never leave his drug addicted best friend, Jamie. I found it clever that Zac and Jamie’s backgrounds were briefly explored, but the details were intentionally omitted as that wasn’t the focus of the story.

This is a character-driven story that deals with self respect from two different sides. Zac thinks all he will ever be is a “whore” and Liam can’t get past paying Zac for his services and having Zac see him as just another “john.” Each time they are together and each time they are apart they tie each other in knots in different ways, but in the end it’s the same as they are both incredibly lonely. But despite all of this, in addition to the heat they bring, there is an underlying sweetness when these two are together. It can’t be easy for them because then there would be no story. There were clues along the way, but this story isn’t about startling revelations and although there was a misunderstanding followed by no communication, when the break came it was still devastating.

What truly impressed me here was the dialogue. Leigh writes everyday conversation without pretense and the characters sound so very real. This is the best of a Garrett Leigh book with great characters, authentic dialogue, and a love story for two guys from different worlds whose hearts beat the same.


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