Review: Wounded Pride (Wounded #2) by BLMorticia and Remmy Duchene

Renford Kline is straight… right? He got over his experimentation in college and moved on. Then how does he explain his blush-inducing fantasies about Brian Daystar? Fantasies he’s having when he should be focused on his career move from attorney to professor. When Brian comes to New York, Renford knows he’s in trouble. Everything about Brian attracts him—from his tight body to his beautiful, dark hair—but Renford is straight… right?

Brian Daystar needs a break. He’s been working nonstop to turn his Montana ranch into a safe haven for at-risk youth—so much so that he can’t even bring himself to care when he finds out his partner, country star Corey, is cheating on him. Their relationship has been over for a long time, but it might take his feelings for Renford to make Brian accept it.

Both men have decisions to make. Renford must come to terms with who he truly is, and Brian is going to have to decide if he will shun his happiness or embrace it.



This story started off strong. I really enjoyed the introduction to both Brian and Renford. Both had clearly defined personalities, and both were interesting. Character development was great, and the story followed a nice clean path.

The chemistry between the two was steamy and convincing. I enjoyed Brian’s flirting. I enjoyed Renford’s unexpected reaction to Brian. The club scene was delicious, and the flirting over the ice-cream…. Yummm.

I had some issues with how Renford defined his sexuality. The story reads like he is bisexual, but that’s not the word used. I’m not sure how many men ‘experiment’ in college and still call themselves straight, but I’ll forgive the confusion. It didn’t seem like he wasn’t into women, so I’m really not sure how he could be gay rather than bisexual when he was turned on by both. This is a sticking point for me in a lot of books where bisexuality is erased purely for the comfort of defining a relationship between two men. If he was in fact gay the whole time, this should have been made clearer as to not erase bisexuality as a valid and very much existent sexuality.

That aside, I enjoyed their relationship development and how they interacted. Brian brought a lightness to Renford’s character and brought out his personality a bit more.

The turning point was Brian’s flightiness. I couldn’t figure out the why of it. It just seemed abrupt and only to achieve drama in the story. This could have been done a different way. I didn’t like it at all and it completely changed how I felt about Brian and the outcome of the story. I thought Renford followed a very clear path of how the future would go and Brian caused the issues that arose in a very contrived way.

Overall the story was enjoyable to read. I like the writing style of these two authors. I like the way the story flowed (for the most part) and I really enjoyed the supporting characters.

Recommended to all readers of MM erotic-romance with an opposites attract feel.

A review copy was provided for an honest opinion



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