Surrender

An M/M Hurt Comfort Romance (Wrecked, Book 2)

By: Kelly Fox

Narrated by: John Solo

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

I have a feeling we're all going to need a little therapy after this.

He survived the Rwandan genocide to become an NBA legend. I survived a few hours of truly amateur torture to become the guy who falls apart when someone drops a tray of dishes.

We both volunteer at my brother-in-law’s gym for combat vets, and we’ve been circling each other for a year now.

It’s possible that pairing a seven-foot wall of sunshine with me—the guy who gets snarky about that one time I got waterboarded—might just be the mother of all bad ideas.

An even worse idea? Let’s add a splash of kink to the mix.

Damn, but I feel safe when he puts his arms around me.

Surrender is a post-military hurt-comfort MM romance with gentle power exchange, a therapy office set next to a sex club, and a gym full of meddling, scorching-hot veterans.

This is the second book in the Wrecked series. Jake and Jean-Pierre first appear in Scout and the Lavender Girl.

©2020 Kelly Fox (P)2023 Kelly Fox

Poor Jake

Reading these in audio makes them feel much more emotional. Deciding to re read these in audio was a good decision.

So in here we have Jake, who popped up a couple of times in book one. He teaches yoga at the gym and has severe PTSD and is a recovering alcoholic after being tortured in France while working for the government. Yep, the same group as DB, from the series spun off of this one.

We also have Jean Luc, a massively tall ex basketball star that Jake has been getting off to since his teen years. Jean Luc is a wealthy star who is gay but never came out nor had a relationship with another man. He escaped a war torn country and also has PTSD.

These two actually talk to each other, explain all the complexities with each other's mental health, and decide to become a couple. Jake is actually 6'3 but next to 7 ft plus Jean Luc, he is tiny.

While there were other things happening, what made this book shine was the two mcs.

John Solo was fine in this one, I hated the inflection that was used for Jake, but I learned to live with it.

So, so incredible!!!

I just can’t get over how much I love this series - Wrecked and all of its inhabitants seem like the place is like to be. Kelly Fox has delivered her signature heat, love and amazing writing; John Solo has given an amazing performance (as always) and made me fall even deeper in love with JP and Jake!

Beautiful!

I absolutely love this series! Surrender focuses on Jake and Jean Pierre. Each man has a traumatic past and are working through their PTSD triggers. There is a beauty in their broken bits, and a strength when they are together. Throw in some bad guys, a bit of light kink, and more of the Wrecked family and you have an overwhelmingly beautiful and positive story. I’ve read this story over and over, and now am able to enjoy it read aloud by John Solo!

The Raven and The Angel

I rated the overall story the same as I did on Amazon but gave the narration a higher score because I love John Solo and he did an amazing job with this as usual.

The overall arc of the story was beautiful...how Jake was suffering from major PTSD and through family, love and therapy was able to overcome it. However, the reader is made to think that Jean-Pierre has PTSD too...but for the one scene in the park that somehow ( I never really understood how ) triggered JP’s PTSD, we never really got a good picture of it. We got JP’s backstory but it didn’t really explain his PTSD like Jake’s backstory did.

Also, the kink aspect seemed like it was just all of sudden thrown in there and then that was what the rest of the story was about. It didn’t make sense to me. Maybe it’s just me...

Like I said, overall the story was beautiful in how Jake and JP came together and loved each other and was there for one another.

Book 2 in the Wrecked series

This series revolves around the Wrecked gym and the combat vets that work out there. We meet more characters, in this world building, with each book in the series. Pay attention or you'll miss something good!!!

This book is about Jake and Jean-Pierre.

Jake – Evie's brother, ex covert military operative, artist, has PTSD, recovering alcoholic, volunteers at Wrecked leading yoga classes.

Jean-Pierre - retired NBA player, friend of Scout (Evie's wife and retired WNBA player), has PTSD,

These 2 have been dancing around each other for over a year. When they finally come together there is much to work through and secrets are revealed. This is hurt-comfort with a HEA.

I loved John Solo's sexy narration of this book. Can't wait for Roly's book to come out on Audible.

ᗩᑎOTᕼᗴᖇ ᗯOᑎᗪᗴᖇᖴᑌᒪ 'ᗯᖇᗴᑕKᗴᗪ' ᗩᑌᗪᎥOᗷOOK

Fantastic narration of a wonderful story!! 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 to Jake and Jean Pierre was incredibly more emotional and tender than I probably allowed myself to be while reading the book.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕-𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍.

I absolutely loved the author’s note in the beginning; I could almost hear Kelly Fox’s actual voice shine through John Solo.

LOVED

John Solo does a wonderful job narrating Surrender. He brings he characters to life!
Jake and Jean-Pierre have both been through so much trauma. Can they heal enough to be what the other needs and wants?
I loved the chemistry and heart between these guys.
These two are so sweet! I love the guys at Wrecked and their whole extended family!
Perfect amount of angst, comedy, and romance.

Emotional narration and story!

Narration: I definitely think John’s narration fit the first book better than this one. I think we needed a dual narration for this one. J-P really needed someone who could nail his accent. And I know that there’s not an abundance of narrators willing to narrate MM stories, but I would have preferred a Black or POC narrator to do J-P’s part. But overall John did a good job and I do love how much emotion he puts into his narrations. There were parts where my heart was really aching for these guys!

Story: Jake and Jean-Pierre (who I’ll call J-P) was introduced in Scout and the Lavender girl, written under this author’s FF pen name K.C. Littleton (which I quite enjoyed). I have been eager for their story since then and it’s been a bit of an impatient wait on my part, but it was so worth it. This story is interesting and fun and sexy and romantic. I love love love that both Jake and J-P have their own pasts to overcome, which are similar yet so different, and they’re the perfect match for each other. They never have to go into the full details of what happened to them and exactly how it’s affected them. They never just connect over their trauma. J-P feels so much affection towards Jake and Jake needs the unconditional, tender love that J-P has to offer. And dang, they are hot together!

Also - thank you to Kelly for stressing the importance of, but hurdles associated with, seeking therapy. Deciding to pursue a therapist isn’t the true challenge (although acknowledging it can be hard); it’s finding a therapist you trust and who understands how best to help you. Jake’s therapist is pretty kick ass!

This can be read as a stand-alone, but the MCs from the first book are an integral part of this overarching world and I highly recommend reading the series in order. You do not have to read Scout and the Lavender Girl, but it’s a great story.

Swoonworthy

I loved the book both times I read it, and hearing John Solo bring these characters to life was a treat. The story has plenty of heat, a bit of snark and fun, and a boatload of swoony hurt-comfort romance.

Amazing!

I've made it known time and time again that I adore Kelly's stories, This book is no different. Jake and Jean Pierre are so freaking sweet together. I know everyone goes on and on about Roly and Heath being the best couple in the Wrecked series. But for me? It's JP and Jake, 💜

I don't typically care for John Solo's narration, I really enjoyed this though. This will absolutely be a comfort listen for me.