Kiss the Boys by Chris Myers as Diana Downey
Book #2: Lost Girls Series
Source: ARC from author
My Rating: 5/5 stars
My Review:

Jake, Noah, and Nate are about as different as three brothers can possibly be. Jake is angry and depressed over the loss of his entire unit and his survival in Afghanistan; Noah, is the happy-go-lucky basketball star who has never known any real tragedy or loss in his life; and Nate is the world-renowned artist who has an uncontrollable temper and a sexual appetite to match. The only thing the three brothers really have in common is their love for their family and their fascination with River.

River is damaged. River is dark. River is sensual and sexy. River is wise beyond her meager age thanks to her circumstances. River is drawn to three brothers who, along with their mother saved her life. Life with a real family is not something River ever thought she would have again following the brutal death of her parents, and life in the foster system made a Stephen King novel look like the Sunday comics. River desperately wants normal but knows that will be very hard to come by for a girl like her. But, River is willing to try even it means putting herself in the line of fire with the angry and often hateful Jake in order to get him moving and back out into the world; trying desperately to convince herself that the kind and gentle Noah is the brother she should be attracted to, and trying desperately to stay away from the one brother her body and mind yearn for, Nate.

Nate develops what can only be described as an obsession with River and she becomes his muse. His art flows in her presence and he makes it clear he is attracted to River but his art has to come before their shared pleasure. From what she’s able to discover, Nate’s art isn’t just fed by her but also by his incredibly dark past. His sculptures and paintings are dramatic and sensual, feature angels and demons, and command prices River can’t even wrap her mind around. The attraction to Nate and his darkness is a terrible kind of right that River simply can’t deny and as she travels with him to his show in New York, their relationship expands and becomes something neither can deny.

In the weeks that follow, Nate and River begin to open up to the other and feed off each other’s darkness. Nate is possessive of River but knows, to a certain extent, he has to share her with his brothers. Jake is beginning to come out of his self-imposed darkness with River’s help and Noah is flourishing under her attention. Though Jake likes to tease River about hooking up and loving her, Noah is serious in his attentions which opens up a whole new world of trouble for Nate and River. Neither wants to hurt Noah and their being together will most certainly hurt him. As if two seriously troubled pasts weren’t enough, fate has a few more kicks to the nuts in store . . . . .

The Bottom Line: Knowing Chris Myers’ work as I do, I expected some darkness in this read but what I got was almost pitch black laced with all kinds of awful. In. The. Best. Way. Possible. Nearly everything that happens in Kiss the Boys happens in a very short amount of time which makes the read feel so much more immediate. There isn’t really a break in the action but not all the action is over-the-top crazy. Oh, don’t get me wrong there is a ton of over-the-top crazy but there is some breathing room in between as well. Make no mistake, Kiss the Boys is NOT under any circumstances a light and easy read but a dark and twisted tale that plays out both publicly and privately. As with most of Chris Myers’s novels, I was taken in from the very beginning and just held on for the ride. The plot is intricate and twisted, the characters – both good and bad – are easily believable, and the naughty bits are some kind of delicious. As a final note, there is a truly excellent epilogue to this read which really made all the dark and dramatic totally worth it. If you’re into somewhat sick and twisted reads that are well-written and engaging, I highly recommend giving Kiss the Boys a go.

P.S. The funeral scene is effing hilarious. Now, if you haven’t read the book yet that’s going to sound crass and uncalled for. Read the book so you can laugh too :) ( )