Color Me In

By: Riley Hart

Narrated by: Nick J. Russo

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's Summary

Caleb White has been a lot of places and made a lot of decisions he isn’t proud of. He’s ready to settle down and figure out who he really is. Where better to do that than Last Chance, the home he was ripped away from at 16? A fresh start is in order, but he has no idea how to do that when he’s not even sure what he wants in the first place.

Ryan Daily is a pro at hiding his insecurities. He’s never fit in and has spent most of his life knowing there’s something missing. Just when he thought he’d found it, his whole world fell apart, and he lost everything.

Then comes a sleepless night in a 24-hour café, where Caleb and Ryan forge a connection full of laughs, junk food, and whispered secrets. In the middle of their budding friendship, desire blooms unexpectedly. Ryan has kept his heart protected after having it shattered, and Caleb - no stranger to attraction - finds that what he has with Ryan is on a whole new level from anything he’s experienced before. In a world of black and white, they bring each other color.

But life is never simple. When the past comes knocking, Ryan and Caleb will have to reach through the darkness to find the light they see in each other or risk slipping into the shadows for good.

©2018 Riley Hart (P)2018 Riley Hart

Loving the Men From Last Chance

When I listened to Riley Hart’s ‘Depth of Field’, my heart went out to Shane. He had lost his best friend Caleb at a very critical point in his adolescence. Caleb had disappeared without a trace and Shane often wondered what happened to his first love. Of course the arrival of his childhood tormentor, Van, brings the loss of Caleb to the surface. Shane falls in love with Van, but Caleb’s spectre looms large.

So, to say the least, I was thrilled Caleb was one of the heroes of ‘Color Me In’. I had also been introduced to Ryan, Shane’s mechanic, and he was a curiosity for me as well in the first book and I was thrilled to see he’s one of the heroes in the book. Both men have fascinating backstories that are slowly revealed. Although Caleb has faced some hard times, I didn’t feel his pain as much as I thought I would. It was Ryan’s tragedies that tore at me. I’ve never gone through what he has, but it doesn’t mean my heart couldn’t ache for him and his losses.

Ryan has always believed himself straight, so his attraction to Caleb takes him by surprise. But first comes friendship – bonding over Dodge Chargers (color IS important), late nights at the diner, and, eventually, living arrangements.

I’m a firm believer that there are people on the spectrum from straight to gay who fall in the middle. Bi-sexuals are the most prevalent, most misunderstood, and most spoken of in derogatory terms. But there are others on the spectrum – asexual, demi-sexual, polyamorous – who exist and are trying to navigate the heteronormative binary world. There are people for whom gender isn’t as important as the person they choose to love. That is why I was so pleased with this book! The men got their deserved happy ending and that means everything.

Both men have issues they have to address and Ryan’s are more immediate and pressing, although Caleb’s are no less important. As they navigate the world as a couple, they both discover inner strength they had never known. The title is as apt as the last one in the series. ‘Depth of Field’ referred to Van’s photography while ‘Color Me In’ is about the process of adding color to a world that has felt bleak – black and white. By the time Caleb and Ryan got their happy ending, their lives were full – of color, of love, of laughter, and of family and friends. Just what two men who have lived through so much deserve.

Nick J. Russo is a great narrator and I enjoy his work. He didn’t narrate the first book in the series, but that had no impact on me as he did a great job with this one.

Riley’s books are consistently a hit with me and this was another one.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Another great Riley Hart

An amazing story, and a great read. Caleb returns to Last Chance after being taken away at sixteen by his parents. Ryan finds his way to Last Chance before Ryan's return. After what feels like an awkward first meeting between the two, you can start to feel the connection between the two of them.

Caleb and Ryan's story is the second book in the Last Chance series, you can read it as a standalone, however it does touch on the characters from the first book Depth of Field, so it was nice to see some of the characters from the previous book. I can't wait for the next!

good

like this book will read other books l have listen to other books by this author and was please