He Owns My Heart - Evie Drae

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).

Goodreads / Amazon

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.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

My Review

I didn't realise when I started this that the book is actually the first in a trilogy that includes the same main characters. When I did discover this, I was a little concerned that I would be left with a cliff hanger and dying to know what was going to happen next. Although there is clearly far more of this story to come, it does actually reach some kind of conclusion that at least gives you a little breathing space and sanity while you wait for the second instalment.

The book itself has a huge amount of warnings about the content. While I think that it is important to warn people about what they may face, I think that some of these were a little unnecessary. Don't be put off thinking that this book is too heavy or too dark. Yes, there are darker themes and both Landon and Toby have faced some pretty bad stuff in their past, but the story itself still has it's lighter and more gentle moments. 

Toby and Landon make a great couple, there are moments where I'd like to grab them both and just tell them to keep talking to one another, but that's often the case with romance books. For the most part they do communicate well and consent is a big part of their story. Probably even more obvious for them, due to what they have both dealt with in the past.

Overall this was a really interesting read and I loved learning more about their relationship. As mentioned before, it's obvious that there is more to come for them and other things to deal with. But, I was still left with a contented smile when I reached the end of He Owns My Heart. Now it's just a case of waiting to see what will happen next for this well-matched couple. 

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