He Owns My Heart
Evie Drae
(Owned Heart, Body, & Soul #1)
Publication date: August 11th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
2019 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® Finalist in Contemporary Romance
2018 Romance Writers of America® Heart-to-Heart 1st Place Winner in Erotic Romance
2018 Romance Writers of America® Gateway to the Best 2nd Place Winner in Single Title/Contemporary Series
Only true love can free a captive heart.
Landon Jenks, retired four-time Golden Glove-winning shortstop for the Chicago Cubs, is lonely, heartbroken, and in desperate need of simple human contact. Trapped in the sticky fine print of an ironclad contract that forbids him from revealing his very-much-single status until the season finale of his reality show airs, he calls an elite male escort service that caters to the rich and wretched.
Accustomed to servicing his often less than savory clients at more upscale locales, twenty-six-year-old Toby Carmichael is surprised when his handler sends him to a run-down motel off I-55. But “surprise” doesn’t come close to describing the shock that rocks his system when a delightful stuttering mess covered in tattoos and nearly ten years his senior stumbles into the room—and right into his heart.
For the first time since Toby was forced into the life of prostitution, a kiss sparks a desire that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with genuine chemistry and the faintest beginnings of something so much more. But Toby’s dark past and troubled present make it impossible to see a future with Landon. And when the truth comes to light, a horrified and helpless Landon is determined to save Toby at all costs.
Content Warnings: Discussion of childhood verbal abuse by an adult survivor, homophobia from a close family member, discussion of previous self-harm/cutting behaviors by an adult survivor, prostitution with dubious consent (all interactions between the main characters have full consent and there are no on-page depictions of dub-con situations), consensual and experimental Domination/submission play between mostly-novice characters, mild violence between a main character and antagonist, and human trafficking associated with illegal drugs (nothing explicit on-page, only discussions related to and psychological/mental ramifications of addressed in moderate detail).
Review:
“An Intensely Emotional, Strengthening, Beautiful Story”
An exquisitely beautiful, intense, highly emotional story about love, sacrifice, strength, and, devotion has just left this reader with one massive book hangover. Massive being the operative word as the depth of truly indescribable heartache and turmoil has blown this reader away with its absolute magnitude. If there was one story that I needed to skip right to the ending to guarantee a happy ending, this was one of them. Alas, I didn’t, and it was very difficult not to do so. But, in the end, it was so-very-worth-it.
He Owns My Heart, by Evie Drae, is undoubtedly a tremendously powerful story. It contains a deep, dark, gut-wrenching, desperately beautiful storyline, with main characters with such unwavering strength, that would ordinarily take only a slight breeze to knock anyone else right over, in similar situations, had there been the slightest provocation.
This is a story that contains major difficult-to-read trigger-filled heart-breaking moments; mental and physical abuse, depression, human trafficking, attempted rape, and, annoying self-centered ex-boyfriends. Throughout the story, there were many seemingly never ending moments of pain, shock, numbness, and, disbelief. I was glued to every-single-page as I read through this love story heavily disguised as a life time of heartache, depravity, and a yearning for normalcy. I needed to on many different occasions jump right through my kindle so as to shield the character(s) from any kind of further suffering. Hence the need to skip to the ending for that needed reprieve.
He Owns My Heart in its own right, it is an incredible story. Its storyline is heart-breaking, and yet, stunningly gorgeous and breathtaking. With a lengthy and, at times, exhausting plot, it was a relief that the characters were great and addicting; ones that I either loved immensely, found myself cheering, and, fist pumping, or needing to strongly request the removal of ones brain out of their..behinds. Throughout this story, as the plot, and sub-plot(s), had progressed, as such, it was also a welcoming relief, for this reader, to have such sizzling chemistry between the two main characters, so as to bring another dose of levity throughout such a difficult read.
That being said, however, I also found there to be sporadic bouts of confusion, as a result of a differing pace, slight repetition, and a need for more of a noticeable transition throughout the developing plot, as well as a desire for a slight development to the sub-plots.
All in all, He Owns My Heart is a powerful story, with addicting characters, an intense storyline filled with humorously needy moments, strong chemistry, and, surprisingly giddy moments as well. In the end, I do recommend this story, as it does contain a deep and necessary storyline, with the added warning, due to the existence of such triggers, which may be difficult to read. I enjoyed reading the beginning of such a strong journey for Landon and Toby. 🙂
*star rating: 4.40 ‘I liked this story’ stars*
Author Bio:
Evie Drae is a registered nurse by day and an award-winning male/male romance writer by night. She has won first place in seven Romance Writers of America® (RWA®) competitions, including the prestigious title “Best of the Best” in the 2018 Golden Opportunity Contest. She is a double finalist in the 2019 Golden Heart®, in both the Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense categories, and finished as a second-place runner-up in four additional RWA contests.
One of Evie’s favorite things to do is encourage her fellow writers. To that end, she started the #writeLGBTQ and #promoLGBTQ hashtags on Twitter to support and promote LGBTQ+ authors and allies while providing a safe space to connect and grow as a community. She is married to the love of her life, is the mother of three wonderful fur babies, and runs almost entirely on coffee and good vibes.
Evie loves to link up with fellow writers and readers. You can reach her directly at EvieDrae@gmail.com or find her on her social media accounts listed below. Twitter is where she’s most active but be sure to check out her blog too. She focuses on reviews for LGBTQ+ authors and allies with the occasional quirky advice/recommendation post just to toss things up.
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Great review! This sounds like a really addicting and very well written story! I love how the characters seem to really pop of the pages!
Thank you! It certainly was a great story! 🙂