Without You (Without You Duet) Paperback – March 16, 2020

I've heard so many great reviews about this book, but I kept it in my TBR pile until I couldn't put it off anymore. And I'm SO happy I read this book. I didn't believe people when they said to have tissues on hand, but man, I should have lol. This book is about Deacon and Julian grieving over Rhett, Deacon's younger brother and Julian's boyfriend, while developing an attraction that leads to feelings for each other. They don't know where it came from or why but when Deacon goes back home to celebrate the one year anniversary of the loss of his brother he finds himself feeling things he shouldn't for someone he knows he shouldn't be feeling them for. Julian. Deacon has always felt a certain way about Julian growing up, but those were due to insecurities embedded in him by his own mother, and they were nothing like how he feels now. With the anniversary of Rhett's death, tensions are high, and Julian still struggles on how to go about his life without saying goodbye to the man he once loved and live on his own. He hasn't felt anything in a long time, so when Deacon comes back into town and has the same attitude he's always had with him for seemingly no reason, he's tired and wants to know why. And when Deacon decides he needs to make a change he tries to have more grace when it comes to Julian and Julian starts to see the man Deacon hides behind his mask and it's like he's seeing him for the first time. And he makes him feel. They both experience so much guilt and fear and doubt when they realize that what they're feeling may be forbidden, but it's also inevitable and feels right. They take a while to be able to navigate between their grief and guilt and the newfound intimacy and understanding, but when they do, they're so achingly beautiful and powerful together. Their spicy scenes are off the charts but what makes it so hot is their intimacy that you can feel coming off the pages and they come to a point where they don't want to fight their love and the bond they're strongly and slowly building with honesty, caring and so much love. Deacon's issues with his mom and his feelings of inadequacy break my heart and Julian's struggle to find a way to move on with his new found happiness without feeling like he's forgetting about his first love make my heart hurt for him. They both come to terms with hard truths and embrace each other like they were meant for each other. The whole story was heartbreaking but beautiful, and Rhett's letter and their epilouge were everything

Grief and loss, awakenings, acceptance, and beautiful love are the perfect words to describe this book. Deacon and Julian’s healing is a sight to see. The spice was on the lighter side, but the intimacy is sky high. Enjoyed this

I was so frustrated reading Deacon and Julian’s story-frustrated that my work life and personal life were taking time away from me reading this book in one enjoyable sitting!The story starts out with such pain and loss. The author does such a great job conveying the heartache everyone is going through. Of course, there is a lot of heavy backstory that makes everything worse.However, when the attraction between Deacon and Julian begins to take hold, that also is written so beautifully that you end of so excited for them.I highly enjoy this novel and also highly recommend it be read when you have a lot of time to joyfully immerse yourself in it. This is one I’ll be rereading!

Book: ★★★★★Audio: ★★★★★This is my kind of bittersweet love story! Julian happens to be the boyfriend of Deacon's deceased brother, Rhett. Julian and Deacon have known each other since they were kids, but they barely understand each other because Deacon has intentively distanced himself from his family and childhood friends. It's been years of misunderstandings, and the crushing loss of someone they both held dear made these familiar strangers finally start getting to know each other and fall head over heels in love.The bitter part of this whole story is their guilt and betrayal feelings towards Deacon's dead brother. And also the constant harassment and emotional despise coming from Deacon's own mother. But amidst all that, the love between Julian and Deacon is just so damn sweet. The author really knows how to capture all those heartfelt emotions and make you feel them deep down. And let me tell you, when Rhett's final words come into play, they hit you right in the feels and make your heart melt.Don't forget about the audiobook. It's narrated by two amazing narrators, and it's definitely worth giving it a shot. 這是上次那部What we broke 的關聯作，時間線上發生的更早一些，是車行老闆Deacon 與他老公Julian的故事。這一部同樣是有"失去至親"這麼一個故事背景。Deacon的弟弟患白血病去世，留下傷心欲絕的竹馬男友Julian。Deacon與Julian雖然從小就認識，但從來沒有深交，原因在於Deacon的刻意疏遠，兩人可以說是最熟悉的陌生人。但失去至親的孤獨使得兩人得以有機會相互安慰相互理解。整體故事酸酸甜甜，是我喜歡的調調。一方面對死去弟弟/前男友的內疚和成為替代品的擔憂造成了兩人發展戀愛關係的阻礙，另一方面Deacon母親的情感勒索令人十分心疼Deacon。我最欣賞的是Deacon的家庭問題到最後也沒有真正解決，作者並沒有因為要寫一個cheesy大團圓結局就刻意把“壞人”都寫到改邪歸正，我覺得這樣才比較合理。兩人相處的小細節又非常甜：給對方找伴又暗暗吃醋，忽略時差且無休止的電話短信，各種無微不至的小驚喜小關懷等等。最後，故事以死去的弟弟的遺言作結，這是從故事一開始就埋下的伏筆，溫暖又感人。一連看了兩部這個作者的作品，發現這個作者很喜歡用排比句式。我覺得適當時候使用還是挺優美的，但使用過多的話可能會有點做作。這一點需要斟酌欣賞。有聲書很棒，跟what we broke一樣是雙POV配雙演員，連epilogue都錄了！真的誠意滿滿，而且演員的演繹也很到位。