Review: Shelter by Ashley John

The Blurb:

Fresh from his fourth stint in rehab, Elias James doesn’t have much to live for. His relationship with his family has never been so strained and with no real life of his own, he has nothing to live for. His overachieving twin sister and his ruthless mother’s political success as Mayor of Havenmoore has left him empty. Getting high started as an act of rebellion but the addiction soon controlled his every waking moment.

Aspiring writer, Caden Walker, thought he had the perfect life until he discovered his boyfriend in bed with his best friend. Leaving everything behind in New York, he returns to Havenmoore to re-evaluate his life from his parent’s guest bedroom. When his mom offers him a job working for the charity she runs, helping people struggling with addiction, he’s not in a position to turn it down.

Caden never expected to find what he did, but when he is assigned to work with Elias, a reluctant attraction quickly blossoms into something deeper. Can Elias find in Caden the one thing he’s always searched for or will his addiction drag him under once again? Is Caden ready to let go of his New York dream to take a chance on something unexpected? Both men are faced with difficult times of change, but can they make it through the storm to find the shelter?

The Stats:

The Review:

Personally, I thought this book was borderline disaster and therefore I don’t have a lot of nice things to say.

The best things about this book? The cover is gorgeous and fits the plot and the blurb hooked me.

I took a break from reading for a few weeks, mainly because of some anxiously awaited new releases that landed. But, for me, the fact that I could put it down with those new books sparkling and flirting with me is a bit telling, especially when I went for several other books on my To-Be-Read list before returning.

I got to 47% before my break when I picked it up again nearly a month later…it took rereading two paragraphs for me to remember everything I’d read thus far and get back into the story. Well, as much as I could get back into it.

Honestly, this probably should have been a DNF because from 48% to finish I was bored out of my skull. But I soldiered on with hope that things would turn around for me and I’d get some answers.

It didn’t happen.

I picked up on tons of inconsistencies in the plot and settings and also had quite a few peeves spark my aggravation. This was not a great reading experience.

A full review with spoilers is posted on GoodReads if you’re interested in more information.