I feel like this book *should* have checked all of my boxes, honestly - it's a queer romance set in a world in which queer love has been totally normalized and is accepted, which is already a big plus. It's a soul mate trope, which I love, and has some enemies-to-lovers, which is one of my favorite tropes! The writing is even really solid, so... why didn't this work for me? I was just uninvested throughout the whole thing. This is definitely a book I'd be willing to give another try in the future, just in case it was an issue of my mood at the time of reading, but for now, I can't recommend this one too highly. To be honest, I think the biggest part of my problem was the fact that I've seen the endless tumblr threads that this entire plot seemed to be inspired by, so it didn't feel clever or creative at all to me.

Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke was not an anticipated novel for me this year, but I had seen quite a few of my fellow blogging friends reading and enjoying it, and so I, excitedly, requested it.

Taylor Brooke should be praised for so effortlessly creating a world where queer sexuality is the norm. From my understanding, everyone in this semi-contemporary world has no problem with sexuality, and in fact most of them are queer; in fact, the main characters are queer too: Shannon is bisexual and Aiden pansexual. There was also a brief mention of non-mongamy and the inclusion of three or even four soulmates. The queer rep is fantastic and something many other authors should strive for in their novels.

The main characters, Shannon and Aiden, felt quite individual with distinctive character voices. Shannon is a cop who is trying to live up to his father’s police reputation, but feels as though he is failing. Aiden is a thief who suffers from disassociated dysthymia, and who constantly feels inadequate. I adored their relationship and even swooned a few times at the romantic scenes. They fit well together as a couple, despite their many differences, and I enjoyed reading about how they learn to overcome their issues.

Brooke’s writing was quite beautiful. There were many sentences that just blew me away. She has a great gift for writing and encouraging the reader to keep reading.

There was a lack of world building in Fortitude Smashed, which lead to many occasions of confusion. My only knowledge about the soulmate pairing and the technology implanted under people’s thumbs came from reading the blurb. Embarrassingly, I just skimmed the blurb when I requested this book; basically, I just saw a few of my friends enjoying the book and assumed I would too, so I thought that everyone was born with this Camellia Clock imbedded under their thumb, not that technology had advanced enough for scientists to calculate the exact time soulmates will meet. Part of this confusion was my fault – read the damn blurb next time! – but there wasn’t much explanation of the Clock within the novel, aside from brief descriptions, and nothing about the history behind it.

An issue I had with the novel is considered a major spoiler, but I feel like I can’t adequately explain my problem with the book without including this in my review. The spoiler is hidden on my blog and on Goodreads.

There’s a character who is introduced late into Fortitude Smashed called Daisy, who is Aiden’s long-lost childhood friend. She is a great character, who assists Aiden in a multitude of ways, but the treatment of Daisy was upsetting. Daisy is sexually assaulted by a stranger around the 83% mark, and the only reason I can understand why it happened was to bring Shannon and Aiden closer together. Her trauma doesn’t really serve another purpose. I was very upset by the use of violence against women as a plot device in any novel, and was quite uncomfortable by it’s inclusion here to make two characters admit they love one another. Personally, I feel that there are many other ways Shannon and Aiden could have confessed their love without the inclusion of sexual assault.

Another issue I also had was the use of the stereotypical self-centred, blonde ex-girlfriend who is jealous of her ex’s new love and tries to screw up his new relationship. That’s a very common trope that irked me. However, the character – Chelsea – does grow from this, and the next book is about her, so I am excited to see what direction Brooke takes her character in.

One minor issue that I want to mention is the way Aiden and Shannon’s ex, Chelsea, solve the problems between them: Aiden basically yells at Chelsea until she strikes him across the face, and then they’re friendly. That just … didn’t seem very realistic to me? If someone smacked me in the middle of an argument, I would not become their friend minutes later. I also don’t like it when female violence against men is viewed as acceptable, when it definitely is not.

I did except a little more from Fortitude Smashed, but for the most part – putting aside personal issues – I did enjoy the novel. I found the characters engaging and their romance beautifully plotted out. I really hope Brooke features Aiden and Shannon in the next book in the series, even for just a chapter or so.

Delightful and fun, with a premise I find deeply fascinating and quite romantic! Loved, loved, loved this.

The last thing Shannon Wurther expected was to meet his soulmate in the middle of an art heist, but here he is: caught by circumstance--or maybe fate--with Aiden Marr, art thief extraordinaire. It probably wouldn't be such a big deal, except that Shannon is a police detective. Now Shannon has to decide whether to turn Aiden in, pretend he never met him, or let fate lead them into something more.

The romance is satisfying, with a little sci-fi flair brought on by the idea of scientifically-predicted soulmates. However, the worldbuilding needed to be fleshed-out on the page--terms like Camellia Clock and Rose Road can be understood through context, but without firmer explanation, the basis of the story seemed a little insubstantial. The plot seems to depend on readers being familiar with the "soulmate tropes" currently popular in fanfiction, and indeed there are places where the story's fanfiction origins can be discerned by the reader.

Short review for a short read. While I found the romance in this actually somewhat instalovey, the exploration of depression and mental illness was lovely, and as a result I'd firmly recommend this.

Full review may / may not be posted on my blog - life's getting temporarily busy, and I don't know if I'll be able to give this the time of day it deserves.

This book gets four stars from me because it succeeds for what it is; it's a self-contained little love story in a universe with set soulmates. It didn't blow my mind, but I would say that for what it was, it was successful and people who are into this kind of story will enjoy it.

I requested this book because the whole "soulmate" thing is something that I've seen written extensively in fanfiction with varying levels of success, and although I'm not a huge fan of the trope, I was curious to see how it would play in original fiction. I do feel like the general plot arc was fairly familiar to me, as I think this book retained a lot of similarities with soulmate fanfiction, despite its longer length and original characters. This isn't necessarily, but for people who have read similar stories, it will not feel completely original.

The actual soulmate gimmick is fine here; I've seen the clock thing before, but it's a fairly simple mechanic and a good setup to explore how a relationship can progress when you already know that you're soulmates. I did appreciate that the author touched on what happens to people who lose their soulmates, whose soulmates are not a healthy partner for them, and people who go to counseling to deal with the prospect of meeting their soulmate. This was a fresh element that I hadn't seen from soulmate fiction before and I really liked it; it made the whole thing feel more realistic and less gimmicky.

The relationship between the main characters was fairly well-written. They have good chemistry, and just because they're soulmates doesn't make their relationship easy, which I appreciate. There were certainly moments where I wanted to scream at them because their problems would be solved with simple, honest communication, but I have those moment with almost all romances in literature, and to this book's credit, some of the other characters tell them as much (One of the characters tells them that physical intimacy is not a healthy replacement for open and honest communication, and I think I yelled "YES!!!" out loud because she basically voiced my exact thoughts). But, lack of communication and all, I was rooting for the main couple, because despite their issues, they did truly care for each other, and I really appreciated how they helped each other work through their respective issues without it being a case of "love cures anxiety/PTSD/every othr major issue."

Another thing I really appreciated was the book's honest portrayal of anxiety and PTSD. It's heavy, stuff, but especially in romances I feel like authors may shy away from it because it's not a cute subject, or else act like a partner's love will completely cure the person. That is not the case in life, and it's not the case in this book; rather, the one partner helps and supports the other and promises to be there for him in any way necessary throughout the process of recovery and living with a mental illness, which I think is awesome (especially being that I personally have anxiety).

The side characters were also delightful; I really appreciated that despite the main romance being between two males, there were several interesting and well-developed female characters who were not completely relegated to being supporters of the main relationship without any lives of their own. A lot of times M/M romance tends to completely ignore women, and this book, thankfully, didn't do that.

On the whole I would recommend this book to people who enjoy simple romances about two people trying to work out a relationship and all the highs and lows that come with it. Despite the soulmate aspect, at its core this book is simply a well-written romance between two real and complex people.

Unfortunately this book did not work for me. The idea appealed to me but the execution left me wanting, especially in the romance department. The whole soulmate thing wasn't explained very well, I think, and it basically was just another way to make insta-lust more interesting. Sort of. It's basically the same thing, the guys met and BAM! their bonded. It's not something I dislike, it just didn't come across as anything new AND the guys didn't have any chemistry in my eyes. Nothing I would write home about....

So yeah, that basically was a death sentence for me. I tried, but never got into the story, or truly enjoyed the characters.

I found the writing good! But it was too drawn out for my liking; I got bored real fast :(

Still, I appreciate the time and love the author put into creating this book and its characters. I’m certain there are the right readers this book out there; many probably!

So, don’t let my review hold you back: give it a try! :)

▽

Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review

3.5 Stars

Taylor Broke is a new author for me, and I must say that her ability to describe emotions and the world surrounding her characters was both beautiful and lyrical. There was definitely an almost poetic air to this novel, which both helped and hurt the final product in the end. Fortitude Smashed was based on fated mates—without any type of paranormal aspect. As far as I could discern from the world in which the characters lived, it was a contemporary one, essentially our current time yet with an interesting twist. Each person had something called a Camellia Clock embedded in their thumbnail which reflected the amount of time they had until they would find the one person meant for them. The day the clock hit zero they would find their soul mate, which is referred to as their “Rose Road”.

For Shannon Wurther, a up and coming police detective who had made his grade well ahead of others through sheer drive and determination, the camellia clock was a point of worry. Who would he find? Would he really feel that connection that others had felt, and did he really want such a connection? It was hardly magical when he discovered his soul mate attempting to rob an art gallery, and found himself unable to arrest him due to the sheer enormity of his instant attraction for the guy.

Aiden Maar was hanging onto the edge of life with both hands. He views his life as a time before and after—before his adoptive parents died and after he fell into the abyss that leaves him both an insomniac and in a very dark mental place. Adrift, both spiritually and emotionally, Aiden steals for the thrill and not necessarily for the financial aspect. He simply wants to feel something, anything, that doesn’t resemble the dark despair that is lodged so deeply within him. When he meets Shannon, every alarm within him goes off. He is certain he will ruin whatever happiness his rose road has the potential to offer, and he angrily pushes at Shannon, making it almost impossible for them to explore a relationship.

Gradually, both men come to terms with the fact that their soul mate is far from what they might have chosen for themselves, and realize they cannot continue to deny their feelings for each other. But the anniversary of Aiden’s loss is looming, and he’s not sure if he can survive yet another year being balanced between such all-consuming darkness and the fight to choose living in the light. Shannon will have his work cut out for him if he is to convince Aiden that they can make it together, that the love they feel for each other will not only help them survive but bring the happiness that Aiden craves and deserves.

This book, Fortitude Smashed, was a lovely romance and one that I wanted to watch unfold. Pacing-wise, I felt that the speed with which the author unwrapped all the layers surrounding the hearts of her main characters was fairly spot-on. At times, the first half of this lengthy novel felt a bit bogged down in the more descriptive passages used to establish what made Aiden and Shannon tick, but, overall, I really appreciated that these two men simply didn’t fall in love instantly and then work out their many differences. The pairing of a criminal and a cop was pure gold in my book, and this is where the book really shined. I felt their physical connection and understood how deeply they needed to move beyond that to an emotional connection that could exist beyond the bedroom. I loved that they found communication difficult, stilted and uncomfortable. Anything less from these two men would have felt forced and unrealistic, given how they were set up from the start of the novel.

Where this book really fell apart for me was in the unpacking of exactly what the Camellia Clock was—why everyone had one and what that meant for this world. When I finally read the blurb for this novel, prior to writing this review, I was astounded by the premise the clocks were based on, for none of that was even mentioned in the novel itself. In fact, other than a small scene nearly three-quarters of the way through the book, I was unaware of the idea that the clock was even a discovered bit of science. I kept waiting for the author to explain this whole phenomenon in the novel, and I grew increasingly frustrated when it never happened. This, to me, was a major oversight and one that made the book uneven and unfinished. There was also a brief mention of some who tried to defy the clock and avoid their rose road, but even that was glossed over and the consequences of their actions never really discussed. Therefore, the whole premise of this novel remained a mystery and that, I felt, really hurt this story in the end.

Fortitude Smashed is a wonderful romance that was well-paced, thoughtful and intense. Unfortunately, the novel was left unfinished when it came to evolving the premise upon which the entire story was based, and that left me questioning how much better it could have been had the full picture been presented.

Fortitude Smashed was a title which had shown up on my twitter timeline several times and I always though: mhmh, nice cover, what it is? but then mostly ignored it for a while. At the end I am so happy I didn’t and took a closer look and got a copy of the book.

The book is, and I don’t exaggerate, a gem I found. I read the blurb and the mentioned Rose Roads & Camellia Clock, this soulmates concept picked my interest. I am a sucker for biological things in books when I read a sci-fi-esque (don’t worry, this book is set in the present time and only the implanted chip is the “futuristic” thing) book. So, it’s a high praise when I say that this book blew me away. :3

It has a pretty calm writing, at least it feels so. That doesn’t mean it’s boring. No, the thrill lies in between the lines. And that’s the strenght of the book: the deep, sometimes high poetic way of writing. The words are flowing, some things are told explicit, other are just a vague mention, especially the sexual encounter between Shannon and Aidan.

We get the on-page erotic but wrapped in such a great way of writing. You have touching, kissing – loads of kissing, so hot, so sensual, so sweet – groping, but also the vulnerabilty. Not only because Aidan is a virgin, no, it’s more that there is a pure connection between those guys.
Of course the fact that they are each other’s Rose Roads, soulmates, is one thing but we learn it’s a decision the person have to take by themself. The choice to accept is still there, therefore the bond between Aidan and Shannon is even sweeter. Both are the opposite, but they compleate each other so perfectly. ❤ And never is Shannon nothing but understanding and never forces Aidan to do things he won’t like.
Also their sexuality is never a problem, never a deal-breaker and the representation of so many varieties of the sexual spectrum is amazing. It is also explained in which way the Camellia Clock works.
In the blog tour of the book, hosted by Interlude Press, there are so many informative blog posts about the book’s background, the character, inspirations. See this overview graphic and visit the blogs. 🙂 I also advise to folllow the author on Twitter to get more glimpses of the further books in the series or deleted scene snippets. :3

The different representations of sexuality are so well included, in fact, Shannon’s parents have a bet on their son’s Rose Road’s gender and it’s no matter for them. It’s super funny how easygoing those two guys in general are, in fact the whole “meet-the-parent”-part with Aidan. You love the parents right from the start, you can’t help yourself. ❤

As I say they both come from a different background, both have different “jobs” (if you cound Aidan’s as one ;)); we have kinda enemies to lovers, but it’s more because of the moral aspect. Shannon is constantly forced to challenge his priciples, his believes, and Aidan can’t help himself and has his own reason to steal things. The reason for it is explained.

That’s a thing I adore, no actually LOVE about the book. The on-page explanations are there, the reasons behind the character’s behaviour is shown, it’s palpable through the whole book which makes it sooo awesome.
Also there are trigger warnings given right from the start, and that’s what I want to stress out. The warnings are necessary and so, so essential. :3
The whole book is dealing with mental illness, constantly, because Aidan is suffering from dysthymia, but it nether tries to solve the problems, never wants to “heal” the person. It’s more the acceptance to live with the mental illness, with the effect it have to the daily live, to the person.

And, ohmygod, Aidan, he is such a sweet character and the one part where his brother Marcus (shout out to this character, one of the best supporting character in a book) is saying he is a “teenaged tiger”, already dangerous but not full-grown, is one of the best scenes. :3
(While reading I posted on my twitter account he reminds me of Yurio from the popular ice skating anime Yuri on Ice and I ment it as a true compliment to Taylor Brooke and her writing. <3).
The mentioned scene is this:

<<“You’re like a six-month-old tiger; people wanna pet you but they’re also scared you might kill them. That’s the best way to be.”
Aidan threw his hands in the air […]
“Why a six-month-old tiger?”
“Because they’re not totally grown yet. Still fluffy and cute, but big enough to eat you. Teenaged tiger. Emotionally constipated, brooding tiger.”>>

It also shows the bond between the brothers and I melted away. ❤
This guy, Aidan, deserves so much love and the moment he and Shannon fall for each other, is pure magic.
You see how needed the intimacy is, but I don’t mean necessary the sex, it’s just one part, I mean they have a connection, the term soul mate is truly fitting for them. ❤

In general I love the charming character display; so many different people and all diverse in the unique characterisation Taylor Brooke is showing. The character’s behaviour is believable in the actions and you see the charming, lovable parts as well as their flaws. They are true, honest, they are broken, but all in all: they are human.
And that’s entagled in a poetic writing, full of deeper meanings, spiked with analogies and metaphors (and so many other figures of speech, it would be interesting to go through the book and indicate them;)); pictures are build in the reader’s mind, sometimes it’s clear written, sometimes hid behind a complext phrasing, and it’s a true joy to decipher these parts. ❤

I can’t wait to read the next book, Taylor Brooke already confirmed it’s about Daisy and Chelsea, so we get a F/F couple. :3 Also there are plans for further books (with poly-rep and ace/aro characters), and I hope they will be published (so, people, buy this :D). :3

Review originally posted on my blog with added content on Mikku-chan / A world full of words

There is so much I want to mention in this review because... you guys, this book! I love it so much that I'm already reading it for the second time.

First thing I noticed (and have to do a shout-out for) was the content warnings for each respective chapter at the beginning of the book.

The characters!
I adored every character, though Aiden is without a doubt my favorite character. His brother says it best when he describes Aiden as a teenaged tiger.

"You're like a six-month-old tiger; people wanna pet you but they're also scared you might kill them. That's the best way to be."
[...] "Why a six-month-old tiger?"
"Because they're not totally grown yet. Still fluffy and cute, but big enough to eat you. Teenaged tiger. Emotionally constipated, brooding tiger."

That just nails it. For those who don't know him he appears to be "hard" and prickly - and he can be those things when he wants to - but it's a safety mechanism; once you get a look behind the walls he's put up he's such a sweet and precious cinnamon roll. He doesn't think of himself very highly, but he's someone who'll buy a homeless person a meal, just to do something good. I also loved how tactile he was. And can anyone who walks his cat be bad? Because I don't think so.
I really treasured that with Shannon, Aiden could just be. Aiden trusts only a small circle of people, so seeing him open up to Shannon made my heart skip beats.
Shannon appears to be "perfect" compared to Aiden. He's one of the youngest people to ever become a detective - he's determined and successful in what he does. And he never expected his Rose Road to be someone like Aiden - someone who wears leather jackets and rides a motorbike. At first glance you'd think they have nothing in common, but - and that's something I really enjoyed - over the course of the book they realise, that they have more in common than it looks like at first.
Surprisingly Chelsea really became a character I liked as well. I wasn't so sure at first - ok I didn't really like her - but I've really come to care about her and am looking forward to - hopefully - see more of her in the second book of the series.

The Bi/Pan rep!
The Camellia Clock doesn't care about gender. Because of that there's no surprise when one's Rose Road turns out to be of the same sex. I don't think enby people were specifically mentioned, but the way I understood the Camellia Clock is, that it pairs you with another soul - no matter where on the binary or non-binary someone is and also no matter if you're allo or on the asexual spectrum. It simply pairs you with the person who is perfect for you. It was weird at first to read about a world where there is no queerphobia. Seems like such a fantastical place where no one cares about who you're with. If I could, I'd move there within the hour!

The Mental Health rep!
Aiden wasn't magically cured. He got his happy ending, yes, but his dysthymia didn't magically disappear because he found his Rose Road. We see him have bad and good days during the book, and everything in between. The author mentioned on twitter that the mental health rep is #ownvoices. I don't have dysthymia, so I feel like I'm not the best to judge, but I think that the way Aiden's mental health is handled here is good. I'm not sure if there are ownvoices reviews regarding the mental health aspect out there yet but you should definitely check those out.

The Prose!
So lyrical, enchanting and consuming. Brooke created this gorgeous, layered - slightly SciFi-y - setting and filled it with life. The prose reminded me a bit of Jude Sierra's writing style. They're not the same, but both have this beautiful way with words that just leaves you in awe. More than once did I reread a passage simply because it's so beautifully written. Fortitude Smashed is just all around gorgeous - the characters with their struggles and hopes, the way the mental health is handled, but most of all the love and care between Aiden and Shannon. Their back and forth was sweet and delicious. This book isn't just another soul mates-story where you wouldn't know that the characters are soul mates without being told about it - it's a story where you can really feel why these characters were destined to end up together.

I also loved the way Brooke handled consent in this story. And not just consent but also how considerate Shannon is. Aiden is a virgin when he meets his Rose Road. Usually virginity is treated like something you just have to lose by a certain age - not just in fiction, but in real life as well. If you're still a virgin when you're over that age, it's talked about as if one should be ashamed of it. Losing "the v-Card" is treated like it's a status symbol and to see Shannon not react in that typical macho way was just everything to me. He doesn't just say that they'll do things at Aiden's pace, but actually walks the talk. And there's nothing sexier than that. I don't think I could love Shannon any more than I did in that moment.

Taylor Brooke is definitely an author to look out for. All that's left to say now is: read it.

When I saw this was a story about fated mates in a contemporary setting and the characters were not shifters, I was sold. It started out so promising and there were definitely things I liked about this story, but, there were also what I saw as glaring omissions from the plot and a definitive lack of world building.

The characters were easy to engage with. Shannon is driven to be successful because his father was and he feels like he has a lot to prove. He’s perfect on paper, including having a perfect driving record, which Aiden finds hysterical. Aiden has a rougher edge to him. He steals for the thrill and because he can. He has family issues and guilt that slowly come to light over the course of the book, as well as depression and mental health issues. He is Shannon’s opposite in almost every way, from his leather jacket and motorcycle, to his personality, to how he sees the world. However, one thing remains the same: they both cannot wait to find their soulmate.

The style of writing in the book is poetic, highly descriptive, and even lyrical at times. Being that this is an Interlude Press book, I have come to expect that from this publisher and it is one of the reasons I reach for their books time and again. The initial chemistry between the men is tangible, but when their clocks time out and they meet their fate, they don’t want to want each other.

Shannon sees Aiden as unruly and volatile and Shannon has to look past that, while Aiden sees Shannon as too perfect and Aiden definitely feels not good enough. Their chemistry drives the story. The early part of the book is a sensual world of lips and skin and touches as they fall into each other at every meeting. And Shannon comes to terms with finding everything he always wanted, but just not in the package he expected.

Where the book went wrong for me was the fated mates aspect. Each person has what is called a Camellia Clock embedded in their thumb that counts down the time until they meet their soul mate. The soul mate is then called the person’s Rose Road. This is what the book is based on, yet it is never described in the book how this came to be. I went back to the blurb and found an explanation but this is the only place the entire basis of the book is talked about and that was a huge issue for me. I certainly needed more on how this came about. The book appears to be present day and the characters discuss this as if we are all supposed to know exactly what is going on. The term Rose Road is used about 50 times during the course of the book, and while the definition is given, it just became an overused phrase with nothing to back it up.

At many points, not much was happening. The storyline is about Shannon and Aiden finding common ground to have relationship and there are times this absolutely works, but the pace here was off for me. The lyrical descriptions I enjoyed in the beginning began to detract from the story as it wasn’t believable that both of these men spoke and thought like this all of the time. Not to mention the extreme amount of blushing they both did.

Their attraction is what the story is built on and in the beginning the descriptive style was more romantic and I was riding along with it. As the story went on however, the fade out feeling began to detract from the true intimacy that was being described and seeing more of it would have enhanced their time together and their bond.

The later part of the book moves to Aiden’s issues and a scene of violence through a secondary character and that all of a sudden takes over and the pace really faltered for me at the end. There were some good moments here, but the extreme lack of world building for the fated mates aspect was a complete detractor for me.

*´¨✫)I just really
¸.•´¸.•*´¨)✯ ¸.•*¨) could not get
✮ (¸.•´✶(¸.•`¸.•*¨)¸.•´¸.•*´¨)✯ ¸.•*¨)enough!!

5 stars, despite no actual sex scenes on page, but the descriptives made up for it. New to me author Taylor Brooks made me a believer. I am such a sucker for Sci-Fi.

According to the Camellia Clock, Aiden Maar was his future.

What would you do if fate decided your future? What would you do to give it all away?

Fate was a wiley woman and unforgiving at times. In Fortitude Smashed, cop Shannon's soulmate clock ran out the moment he grabbed art thief and wanted man Aiden. How cruel, considering opposite should not attract in this instant.

Fate didn't come for him, though. No, fate had sent a cop.

My ending is better than my beginning. Oh. Heavens. Me. I am floored. The raves about Fortitude Smashed, are so much more than that. It is the beginning and the end. It is all the summers, springs and winters. It is death and rebirth. It is forgiving and forgiveness. It is life.

I won't lie, I really, really wanted to read this story after catching a whiff of someone's comment. Then, foolish me, took a look at another one or two and I was almost, ALMOST sure that I would be put off. Thank heavens for my persistence in always going against the grain and making my own decisions. Had I not, I would have missed out on one of the best books I have read this year.

Fortitude Smashed gave me life. It gave me a look at what it would be like to not have to think of soulmate and wondering when they would be met. Like all that is going on in the world, the Clock that scientist have invented in this story is not fully explained, but it gives enough to keep one captivated. I am so reading book two and hope it keeps me riveted!!

I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this book without bias or persuasion from Netgalley.

I liked the concept of the book but there were too many stereotypical things in it like the ex girlfriend makes the new girlfriend jealous. I also didn’t like the sexual assault part that didn’t really have a point other than to bring two characters closer but didn’t really serve any other point and I think that could have been accomplished with another plot line. I gave it three stars because I enjoyed the first half of the book before it kind of went downhill for me.

I've recently been trying to make my reviews more impartial, looking at the good and the bad. That's going to be difficult for this one.

Fortitude Smashed is an important book, for the mentally ill, for the queer, and for those looking for love. 

The mental illness rep was some of the best I've ever read. As someone who has lived with multiple mental illnesses over the years, reading this book made me feel accepted. What I found the most important was how Taylor didn't brush over or shield anything about Aiden's dysthymia. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly, and that's what I really appreciated. Because depression isn't pretty. And Taylor didn't shy away from that, and I finally felt like I saw my depression in a novel. While Fortitude Smashed is technically a love story, Aiden's dysthymia wasn't reduced to "being cured" while his relationship with Shannon developed. Instead, both people learned ways to live with it. While I personally didn't connect with the love portions, Fortitude Smashed still went into how friendships affected someone's mental health. However, I cannot stress enough that this book can be highly triggering. 

I also appreciated the queer rep. While it doesn't say it in text, Shannon is bisexual and Aiden is pansexual. (I only know this because I follow the author on twitter.) While the sexualities aren't mentioned in text, what you get is still a very healthy and pretty sexy M/M romance. I also adored how no one really seemed . . . surprised or bothered that they were together. I even had a good giggle when it turned out that Shannon's parents had bet if his Rose Road was a guy or girl, which was kinda adorable. At first thought, I had problems with the soulmate idea, because it could be very excluding of asexual, aromantic, or even polyamorous people. In a chat with Taylor, though, not only are triads and quartets featured, but aro/ace people would still have soulmates: and depending on them personally, that would be how their relationship would work. Taylor put a lot of thought into the Camellia Clock world, and I'm very impressed (and very excited for the rest of the series.)

Now, the characters. Oh boy. Aiden Maar is the. best. He is the snark master. He's also a thief in love with a cop, and it's hilarious when they talk about it. Shannon get's so upset and Aiden just can't stop. It's not obvious at first, but when Taylor wrote them as soulmates, she meant it. I was entranced with their relationship, and I just couldn't get enough of them. Even the minor characters! Marcus, Aiden's brother, was really relatable ("That was adorable") and his and Aiden's relationship was just as interesting as Aiden and Shannon. You could tell that Taylor took her time in developing her characters, and I really couldn't get enough of them.

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Overall?

I don't know what I was expecting this book to be, but it certainly wasn't this. I was expecting one of those cliche soulmate stories where everyone is happy and rainbows and butterflies. But, hell, Fortitude Smashed is not that. It was an intense read, especially when I realized that this book would spell out my experiences to the dot.

Would I Recommend?

I couldn't not recommend this book. I . . . it just means a lot to mean, okay? It can be highly triggering, but, for the first time ever, there was an Author's Note in the beginning that gave chapters with serious triggers. Taylor cares about her readers so much, and honestly? That means a lot to me more than how good the book actually was.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

After scientists stumbled across an anomalous human hormone present during moments of emotional intimacy, further research created the ability to harness the direction of living energy and pinpoint when two lines will merge. Personalized chips are now implanted beneath the thumbnails of every infant, where glowing numbers count down to the moment they will meet their soul mate. Fate is now a calculation.

But loving someone isn’t.

When Shannon Wurther, the youngest detective in Southern California, finds himself face-to-face with Aiden Maar, the reckless art thief Shannon’s precinct has been chasing for months, they are both stunned. Their Camellia Clocks have timed out, and the men are left with a choice—love one another or defy fate.

The idea of a sort of inbuilt clock counting down to Day X isn't exactly a new idea. Usually, Day X marks the person's death. In "Fortitude Smashed" the Camellia Clock counts down to the second when you meet the love of your life, your soulmate. I think that was an interesting take on things.

With the whole Camellia Clock and personalized chip set-up, I'd expected a Science Fiction story. What I got, however, was a contemporary story set in  present-day California.  I must admit, I was a bit disappointed by that. It almost seemed a little bit lazy to me, as if the author didn't want to bother with coming up with a whole new world. Instead, she opted to set it in the present day and just added the Camellia Clocks. Consequently, there was very little worldbuilding involved. I would've liked to know how the whole Clock thing actually works and if there is a way to opt out of having that chip implanted.

Considering Shannon is a cop and Aiden is a thief, I'd expected lots of tension there. So I figured, even if there's no SciFi plot there, at least there's still gonna be lots of conflict. Unfortunately, there just wasn't. Aiden stops his thievery pretty soon and the tension between the two is the usual romance-tension. I will say that I'm normally not a reader of contemporary romances, because I always feel like I need a little more than "just" a love story. And that's just what "Fortitude Smashed" is: Just a contemporary love story.

I liked that both Aiden and Shannon had their issues. Especially Aiden struggled with mental illness and Shannon was wonderfully supportive. Neither of them was exactly perfect but they still worked together really well.

There were plenty of sex scenes and they were really hot, without being overly explicit. Taylor Brooke definitely has a way with words. All her descriptions are wonderful, no matter if she was writing about the landscape or body parts. She definitely also has a sense of humour and I found myself laughing out loud a lot.

Overall, "Fortitude Smashed" was a bit of a disappointment to me. I'd expected SciFi but got contempary. I'd expected a crime plot but got a "normal" love story. I guess I mostly just had the wrong expectations. As I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of contemporary romance novels and I probably wouldn't have picked this up, if I'd known it wasn't Science Fiction.

Still, this book did have its moments and I'm sure lovers of contemporary romance witha bit of a twist can and will enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me.

Cover: I really like the cover. It looks very summery and is a nice change from the usual covers of M/M romance. And it matches the feel the story gave me.

The clock stops. Fate decides. A police officer falls for a thief. A man struggles with grief and depression. The lives of their friends and the pain of their pasts intertwine with the love story neither of them is sure they’re ready for.

Fortitude Smashed is that soulmate AU where everyone has a clock counting down to when they meet their soulmate, but in a weird way, because it doesn’t quite go all the way there. There are hints that this society is different from our own because of these clocks, but it’s not completely fleshed out, perhaps understandably — it’s a love story, not a think piece on how our world would change if we could predict when we will fall in love. What Fortitude Smashed does play with is the idea of questioning fate. Aiden’s struggle with how he feels about Shannon is tied to his guilt over the death of his parents years ago. The question is not just will they accept each other, it’s whether Aiden can start working toward recovery and trust Fate when it’s never been kind to him before.

So the story is about personal decisions and not so much, you know… plot. And the hints the blurb drops about whether the two men will “love one another or defy fate” is not really the question that dominates the story — it’s solved fairly quickly compared to Aiden’s struggles with depression and his past. It’s slow moving, over-dramatically introspective, but ultimately surprised me with its intensity and the use of its minor characters. I really liked it, as much as I like to grump about the cheesiness and lack of plot. Just go in realizing the conflict is really internal, and it’ll be a better experience.

Where to start with this book, it is different and quite original.Having said that it did remind me of John Marrs recent book, The One , the idea of having a soul mate who is your one true love is very similar, but the two books are quite different.Both Aiden and Shannon seemed ok, neither of them seemed very exciting to me though I did like the cat ,I always like animals in books and therein lies my problem, if the most exciting part of the book for me was when the cat got taken for a walk, then it doesn't say much about the rest of the book.I may be being over critical, the idea of the Camellia Clock was great and I wish I had liked the book more it just felt a little flat for me .I do hope other readers enjoy this book more than I did and I feel a little guilty for only giving it 3 stars, but I have to be honest.Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC.

Disclaimers: I got a free copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I don’t usually read romance.

I generally won’t pick up a book if I know it is just romance, but the speculative element of Fortitude Smashed, the Camilla Clock, got me curious. The opening was perfect — it had interesting characters, plenty of tension, and just enough world building to show this world was like the real with one slight difference — the clock that timed out when people met their soulmates.

The characters were complex and fluid. The prose were gorgeous. In fact, the description was so well done that it almost made me want to go to Laguna Beach, even though the southern parts of california are on my list places to avoid (its a pretty long list).

My favorite parts of the book were the ones with the most tension — when Aiden and Shannon’s past selves collided. However, I did feel like there weren’t enough of these, like it was too easy for Aiden to stop being a thief. Sometimes I got a little bored with all the kissing and biting, and would’ve rather seen a little more cop work and stealing (or trying not to steal).

The other area the writing shined was in the parts of the book showcasing friendships. They were real, raw, and emotional.

If you like romance, literary, and/or science fiction, then I recommend reading this. It’s lyrical and successfully crosses two genres. I’m glad I read it.