*Grabby Hands* Release & Review - The Debt by Tyler King

Image and blurb from Goodreads

Title: The Debt

Author: Tyler King

Publication Date: May 10th, 2016

Category/Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever Yours

Hadley saved my life . . . and I ruined hers

Hadley's my best friend. We share a house, our friends, a life. She knows all my secrets . . . except one. My desperate need for her is inked on my body, it's the best I can do. But Hadley needs to hear the words . . . 

Growing up as foster kids, Hadley made me feel whole-sane. And what did I do? I destroyed our chance to be together. I ran out on Hadley when I should have stayed, and something broke between us. Now I'll do anything to fix it. 

I'll never leave her again. I won't ever let her feel afraid again. But the more I try to protect her from my pain, the more I just make things worse. I'm terrified that if I tell her everything, she'll never forgive me. I'm even more terrified that it may be too late to make her mine. I have to try to give her what she needs . . . it's a debt I'm determined to repay.

Goodreads 

Pre-Order: Amazon 

I would:

• Befriend: Asha
• Go out on a date & kiss: Trey
• Take to a desert island and leave behind: Scott
• Travel to Vegas and let Elvis Presley marry us: Josh

If I took them out, we'd go to a/an:

• Bar where we'd listen to some music and drink, because Hadley would coook for us when we got home.

4.5 “OMG this male POV” STARS

ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you, Forever Yours!

Is getting inside a man’s head your fantasy? Oh, well, “The Debt” might help you fulfill it.

A NA contemporary romance, “The Debt” is heavy on angst and tension and deals with tough topics such as abuse, anxiety and OCD, but those weren’t the elements that made this book stand out. These topics alone would’ve made it a good book among other good books in the same genre. This was special because of the incredibly strong voice and the awesome side characters.

Told from Josh’s POV, the story follows this college student suffering from severe anxiety because of a history of abandonment and abuse when he was a child. He spent some time in the foster system where he met Hadley (his BFF and love of his life) and was adopted by a lovely couple who taught him all about love and pursuing dreams. (So much love for his adoptive parents!!! *hugs*).

With his mom’s help, Josh turned into a piano prodigy and toured the world when he was younger, but soon tragedy (and the trauma from his childhood) took the things he loved most away from him. He almost lost Hadley, too, and though she’s still present in his life, they aren’t on the best terms.

You know how it goes from here, right? Lots of angst and heartbreak and denying himself what he wants most because he either can’t have it or thinks he can’t have it.

Like I said, it sounds like many stories I’ve read from the same genre, but it’s told in a way that makes it fresh and extra compelling because we’re not inside the head of the girl who comes into the guy’s life to make it better. Nope. We’re right there with the guy himself. From the first page to the last, we’re treated to a lot of Josh and nothing hurts.

What. A damn. Voice.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but gimme a strong male POV and I’m done. *swoons* Gimme a strong, well-written, real male POV and I’m… what’s more than done? Dead? Whatever. *dies* This is what this book did to me.

I loved Josh from the first couple of pages because he didn’t give me much of a choice. He made me love him. Damaged. Hot. Sexy. Damaged (again). Funny. Do I need to go on or do you get what I’m saying? Tatooed. Pierced. Sexy (again)…. The list goes on.

Reading the sex scenes from Josh’s POV? Ovaries >> explode.

tazeen.net

Getting inside his head while he thinks/dreams/obsesses over his love for Hadley? Goosies (Yep, I went all J.Lo here). And I didn’t even care for Hadley that much. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s a cool girl just as damaged as Josh is, so they make the perfect couple. Oh, she’s pretty funny, too. And Josh loves her so much, you can’t help but feel something. But I was too absorbed by the male characters in this novel to form a deep connection with her. I also felt like her character could’ve been a little lighter to counterbalance Josh’s heaviness, especially since I didn’t entirely agree with the way her situation was handled.

Before I talk about the rest of the boys, let me just say that I really liked Asha. She was a minor character but she got the story moving and she was interesting. Everyone needs a friend like her at least once in life – someone who isn’t afraid to tell you how it is and leave you to deal with it. Life is tough.

The boys… dude, the boys. I loved the bromance between Trey, Corey and Josh. Those three together made my day. The way they stuck together through everything, having each other’s back, dealing with Josh’s not-so-friendly attitude, taking care of Hadley, talking about love, life and sex, and making fun of each other? My heart could barely take it.

These guys gave me my new favorite sentence: “Shit or get off the pot”, and they made me laugh with the whole kiss and “He’s a bottom” thing.

When do I get books about Trey and Corey?? Soon, right?

The only thing I didn’t care much for was the *SPOILERS* brain tumor plotline. Didn’t think it was necessary and it showed its lack of importance when it was resolved faster than it’d started. Plus the characters didn’t show me the emotion I needed from them to care for the outcome. *SPOILERS*

Tyler King is a debut author who impressed me and I don’t know what she’ll write next, but please, oh please, let it be another male POV so I can devour the book just as fast I did “The Debt”.