I received an ARC from Netgalley and I am happy to give my honest review.

This is my second book by this author and I requested this book because I’ve heard so much about the author’s inclusive characters in books. This was no different. It starred Felix as a gay older brother who cared for his younger siblings all of his life and Huey/Dane an older bar owner and former narcotic addict.

I liked the trope. I liked the characters, to a point. Felix definitely had some immaturity and I did like Dane except he had some emotional blockage moments that frustrated me. The two together were a good match.

There are two things that I am not a huge fan of and this author does them. One: pulling in characters from all of the other books to an extreme. Yeah, it’s nice to catch up with people you may have read about already, but you get lost in the names and backstories and relationships if you’re reading this as a stand-alone. Two: the dialogue is immature, in that a lot of colloquialisms are used. I’ve listened to an audiobook by this author and it made sense like hearing a normal person in an informal conversation. Reading the dialogue written like that was offputting.

In the end I do recommend this book and this author. I think I’ll take a break from other books due to the dialogue writing style and try some more again in the future.

An nice read on the whole but I just struggled to connect with the characters or feel anything for them. Likeable enough this wasn’t a stand out read or anything I would rave or write home about.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book had lovely, layered, utterly relatable characters that are the heart and core of this story. Felix is sweet and vulnerable and has an emotional honesty that borders on reckless. It was Huey/Dane who utterly melted my heart though. I loved how he wrote quotes on his body every day to keep him grounded in reality, how he struggled so hard to retain control and how the need to atone for his past wrongdoings as an addict nearly rent him apart. I thought it was a genius dichotomy to make slight, gentle, sweet Felix emotionally fearless; while intimidating, rigidly controlled Huey was constricting every aspect of his life out of crippling fear. His character arc was an emotional gut-punch that was supremely satisfying to see finally resolved.

This is a character-driven story and was therefore somewhat light on plot. I usually prefer a little more action in my reading, and so I somewhat trudged through the first half of the book which reflects more my personal tastes than the writing which was wonderful. The author managed to give each first-person narrator a distinct voice that perfectly reflected who they are and where they were at in their lives. I also adored the respective communities of which they were a part. Huey in all his aloofness had a cast of loyal friends who called him out when needed and were unwaveringly supportive nonetheless, and Felix has a large, boisterous family who both anchor him and for the longest time hindered him from progressing in his personal life. I loved how this cast of fleshed-out side characters were woven into the main story. Lastly, I loved how the main characters being gay was just naturally a part of the story instead of being made an issue. Nobody ever even blinked an eye and that's how I wish all books on the subject were written.

I’m normally a bit anal about reading books in a series in order but I got this ARC and I was approaching the pub date so I just went for it. I haven’t read the other books in this series and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this one at all. Huey is a cinnamon roll and I completely fell for him early in the story. I love how Felix provided a perfect compliment to him. While the story may not be action packed in the traditional sense, it is definitely emotionally packed. The storyline plus the writing just kept me flipping the pages.

Thank you LoveSwept and NetGalley for the ARC!

I love Roan Parrish, amazing author! The way she tells a story, I was just drawn in and the words take over. I get lost in the pages, it is always a joy to read. The two men in this tale were great characters with a lot going on in their lives. Huey and Felix will stay with me for a long time. Very enjoyable book, a great summer read!!

Huey's story wasn't at all like I was expecting. The previous two books were angst filled while Raze had a more slowed down approach. There was angst but not over the top.

The story center's around Huey living his life post-addiction. I felt that aspect of the story was nicely written. He had always come across as strong and steady, but in reality, he was being held prisoner by fear.

Felix, on his end, was going through many changes. From a young age, he became "the man of the house." As he got older, his sister Sofia helped carry the weight, and suddenly she found her life taking off without him. He felt alone and at a loss as to do with his future.

Huey and Felix together were each other's missing piece despite their age difference.

There was a lot to love:

-Romantic (swoon-worthy!)
-Some angst
-Smoking hot chemistry
-Dual POVs
-And a strong HEA.

Why not 5 Stars? There was a point in the story where Felix was needy, and it did begin to irk me. There was a scene in particular where his actions bothered me. He came across as selfish and immature. He did redeem himself, though.

All in all, Raze is an excellent addition to the Riven series. I have fingers, toes, and legs crossed that we get a book for Coco and Sofia.

4 Stars

I've been a big fan of this series since the beginning and this installment was no different. Huey especially grabbed me and broke my heart several times. His struggles were so real and honest and showed that sometimes it's easy to fake it even when you're still torn up inside. The gradual way we got to see behind Huey's defenses made the story unfold in such a smooth way that I didn't even realize Huey was falling apart until it became unavoidable.

That's not to say that Felix's story is any less real or meaningful. As a caretaker, it's so easy to lose yourself in the role and the way Felix navigated his emotions about his changing role was very honest.

Of course, I loved spending time with the characters from the first two books again. I especially adored seeing behind the curtain of Huey's relationship with Rhys and how it has changed and grown. As always, Theo holds my heart and his appearances made me rememeber why I fell in love with him (and these books) in the first place.

This book was amazing. Very rarely do authors get certain things right and Roan just absolutely floors me every with every new book that comes out. Raze had me laughing, and crying, and longing, and relating. I understood so much about what these guys were going through.

[b]A perfect end to a glorious trilogy.[/b]

Raze is the third book in the Riven trilogy (the other two books are titled Riven and Rend) by Roan Parrish, who is absolutely my go-to author when I want to feel all the feelings while reading romance. This book (this trilogy, really) does not disappoint. The main characters are Huey and Felix, so it’s a M/M romance (as are the two previous books) with a bi/pan (Huey never says explicitly that I can remember) + G pairing.

For those who have read the first two books, Huey is a familiar face. He is Caleb (one of Riven’s MCs)’s NA sponsor, and runs a bar in Brooklyn, NY. In the first two books of the trilogy he is very silent, very wise, always there at the right moment, and I actually [i]longed[/i] to hear his voice, his story. Felix is a completely new addition to the Riven-universe. He is very [i]fuchsia[/i], as is the gorgeous cover of this book. OMG, how much I LOVE THIS COVER. The color is amazing and the model chosen has such a stunning face; so interesting, so expressive. Anyway, Felix is younger than Huey, louder, somewhat bolder. But the two have something in common: they both lived so long to help others they almost forgot they deserve to take some happiness for themselves. They are both like Atlas - a classical comparison cited in the book -, the titan who is condemned by others (and this is the key point) to carry the world on his shoulders. But unlike Atlas, since we are not, we are never, like the Greek mythological figures we liken ourselves to, trapped in the eternal repetition of the same action, the same pattern of behavior, they do not have to. And at the beginning they both don’t realize this.

Their journey as they learn to live the life they want to leave, as they carve space for each other in their respective lives, as they fall in love was a wonderful one. It left me with a warm feeling in my heart, I could not stop smiling and crying at the same time - because this is a Roan Parrish’s book and she knows exactly which strings to pull to release the Niagara behind my eyes. The depth of Huey’s ability to love is astounding. The tenderness of his soul… I do not have words to explain.

Looking again at the covers of the three books in the trilogy, I finally understand the meaning of the colors chosen as background. If Riven was a fundamentally black story, so full of darkness - Caleb’s own darkness inside, Theo’s hair, their love so much in your [i]face[/i], as black paint thrown on a blank wall - and Rend is so white - pure like Matt’s soul, simple, like Rhys’ way of viewing the world, white as the cloth given after a baptism, symbolizing regeneration and rebirth -, Raze is a story that’s the color of the brightest flowers of summer. Because Raze is about moving from simple rebirth - from Spring - to summer, when nature shines the brightest and gives its best. It’s about living life to the fullest, not just surviving. So Raze is somewhat calmer than the first two books - which frankly came as a surprise: Caleb&Theo had to fight the darkness of their winter, plant the seeds of their love and betting on the fact that they would grow; Matt&Rhys were in the Spring, their love had grown, but a sudden recrudescence of the cold threatened it. Bur Raze… Raze is brightness, it’s light. It’s hot summer days in the countryside, when you take a walk and all around you there’s life just [i]buzzing[/i] and a light breeze hits your face and all you can smell is grass freshly cut and wheat. I loved it. I loved the trilogy. The struggle, the pain, the euphoric happiness of its ending. These characters are scored in my heart. Once again, Roan Parrish has outdone herself.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

It looks like Raze is shaping up to be a love it or leave it book, but I for one loved this slow burn, May-December romance. For those familiar with the Riven series, this is Huey’s story in all its messy, sharp-edged glory. For those who haven’t read the previous two books, don’t be scared to dive right in with Raze because, though there is character overlap, it’s a whole new couple and can be enjoyed as a standalone. Raze definitely packed a punch, but it isn’t delivered as a quick fire barrage of hits. Instead, this book slowly unveils the truths both heroes try to hide while they shore up all those around them by giving whole chunks of themselves.

Although the magic of a slow build can sometimes be killed by a frustratingly languorous pace, that didn’t happen for me with Raze. I immediately liked Huey and Felix and found them to be characters I was desperate to know more about. While it took time to do that, the delivery of little tidbits along the way kept my attention and prevented me from feeling like I was turning in circles. Add to that the way this author can bring emotions to the surface, making them palpable for the reader, and I was completely hooked. In fact, I found it exceedingly hard to step away from this book. I loved watching Felix and Huey realize their own value and grow over the course of the book as individuals and a couple, and found many of their struggles relatable on in way or the other. This is definitely one of those hard-fought happy endings, but the resolution left me happy and warmed. If you like a good, emotional romance and are in for the slow build, I’d not hesitate to recommend Raze.

Raze is a sweetly emotional book that is very much in the style of other Roan Parrish books. The love story between Felix and Huey was well developed and written. The chemistry between them was very sexy and kept you rooting for them to sort through their emotional immaturity. The reason I'm only giving this book 4 stars is because the ending was very sudden abrupt. I almost wish that the epilogue had been shorter in lieu of a better ending to the last chapter. But overall, this is definitely a beach read this summer! 4 chilli peppers of hotness.

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for my unbiased opinion. All thoughts are my own, thanks NetGalley and Loveswept for the ARC.

Dane "Huey" & Felix really are a pair of mismatched men that are made for one another. They have the ability to nurture and guide each other in just the way one other needs, whether they realize it or not. The chemistry is there, who will take the first step? The beginning of the book was off to a great start with the character introductions, and piqued my interest to see how it would all unfold. Huey came off as little too stilted and stiff for me. Felix was the exact opposite and was an emotional seesaw. Each of them possessed a trait that the other really needed to balance them out. The story moved along well enough, with the details of each of their lives being told, but there wasn't anything that was super stellar about it overall.

Felix is at his best when he’s taking care of someone. Responsible for his siblings at a young age, he knew there was more to life, he just wasn’t sure how to get it for himself.

Huey has been alone for a long time. His past and addiction kept him from a full life. Then Felix steps into his bar, bouncy, sweet, unsure, but wanting to take a chance on the big guy, he couldn’t say no.

Felix was outraged when he found out Huey was a nickname on their first date.. He looked much more like a Dane than a Huey. Dane was amazed that Felix made him FEEL. Dane brought the neediest parts of Felix to the surface, something he’d never allowed.

Life should of been good for our heroes but life seldom follows a set path.

Both men had enough issues to fill a dumpster. I liked the book and feel that maybe it’s the strongest in the series but at times their isolation from themselves and the world in general made me want to skip parts. After finishing the book I understood that’s what needed to happen to tell their story though. I really liked the visual (that I got from the story) of them Razing their walls to the ground to truly find each other.

Roan Parrish has a talent for writing emotionally heavy books but which have such a satisfying conclusion. Huey has been a repeat face in the Riven series, first as Caleb’s friend and sponsor then as a friend of Rhys’. From early on I hoped to learn Huey’s story, and Raze did not disappoint.

Huey has been sober for over ten years, and in that time he has sponsored many people and is used to being relied on and not relying on others himself. He meets Felix one night when Felix and his sister Sofia come to his bar to sing karaoke and he feels Felix would be a good fit for the band Riven since Theo left the limelight. Felix is also used to being the one relied upon, having helped his mother with bills and his younger siblings from the moment he was old enough to get a job. He and Sofia have always been a team, but he will always sacrifice everything for her dreams, and in that way he gets Sofia connected with Riven as their temporary lead singer.

Both Felix and Huey have a lot of baggage to unpack and histories of sacrificing themselves on different ways to work on. Huey is used to distancing himself, which is part of what has made him such a good sponsor, but lately he’s found cracks are appearing and he’s starting to feel. Felix worries about being seen as needy if he asks for anything because he’s so accustomed to being the one constantly giving.

I really enjoyed this book and seeing the ways Felix and Huey learn to heal and learn healthy habits, and especially love their support networks and the ways they support one another. As much as I enjoyed it, though, it didn’t feel as emotionally satisfying as others by Parrish, almost as though Raze is too similar to others in the series. It was a satisfying story around addiction, healing, and learning to want for oneself, and I definitely recommend it but it wasn’t my favorite book by Parrish.

Where to even start on this review. I started reading this story and could not put it down. It grabbed me because I’ve never felt two characters so unmatched to each other and yet so drawn to each other. These two have such hang ups and the author does a great job explaining why. Felix, who has basically given up his life to care for the other members of his family, now can’t find where he fits nor where he wants to be. He doesn’t even know what dreams he might have had. He and his sister Sofia have been each other’s support since they were small children and that change adds to Felix’s issues. Felix could have been the rock star but just doesn’t feel it’s him.
Dane who lost his mother when he was twelve and lost his father to grief over the loss of his wife. He and his father have been strangers since then. He is recovering from an addiction and is so set on recovering that he gets addicted to his schedule and activities. He has learned to shut out everything and try and keep his feelings to himself.
After these two meet the interaction or lack of almost causes them to not be together. Their personalities are so opposite that they can’t seem to communicate.
The secondary characters add so much to this story. Sophia and Coco Swift rock start guitarist and their relationship. The other guys who all seem so happy in the relationships they are involved in. Even the places they work and go to are so well described that I could picture them in my mind. I love the way the author also pointed out how the two could lean on each other and deal with their differences.

Huey and Felix have such a sweet and emotional story! The things they want in a relationship are all the mushy gushy love stuffs- the cuddles and tender moments. They have great physical chemistry as well, but that's not what I'll remember most about this couple.

I've loved this series. Huey is a hulking man of many words, who is misunderstood and struggling with more than anyone realizes. Felix is a man who is floundering, without direction, and in the midst of figuring it all out. They both have tremendous personal growth along with the blossoming of the relationship. Also, we get to see how our other favorite couples are doing. All in all, Raze made me melt and swoon.

I liked this a lot. I especially loved Dane and how he dealt with his past. It showed so clearly that addiction is traumatic that still affects people years later.
I also loved how they both had been so focused on taking care of others that they had neglected themselves, and how they both found a way to live their own lives but also found each other.
I liked the other characters and now want to read the other books in this series.

3.5 stars

I was excited to see that there was another book in the Riven series. I had enjoyed the previous two books and was hoping that I would like Raze. For the most part, I did like it. But the parts that I didn’t like did affect my rating.

Raze’s plotline was enjoyable to read. It was well written, and the author didn’t let anything lag. She also didn’t drop storylines. The plotline was also a fast moving one. Put it this way; I was able to sit down and read Raze within 2 hours.

I liked Felix, but man, he annoyed me. He was too whiny and too clingy. He didn’t know how to talk to people. He was immature. But, when he wasn’t being any of those traits that I mentioned, he was a good guy. He was a good son and a great sibling. He cared about Huey. But those good traits were buried beneath the stuff that I didn’t like. I wish they were showcased more.

I didn’t know what to make of Huey. Getting his backstory was like pulling teeth. It was leaked a little at a time. It drove me nuts. I didn’t like that I couldn’t pinpoint what his feelings were for Felix. Again, drove me nuts. I liked seeing a different Huey appear by the end of the book. He was grounded and happy. Loved it!!

Like I stated in the paragraph above, I couldn’t get a handle on Huey’s feelings for Felix. Because of that, the romance between them seemed forced.

The sex scenes were hot. What Felix and Huey lacked in the romance department, they made up for with sex. Those scenes were so hot that I was expecting my screen to implode. The only scene that didn’t do it for me was the ass eating scene towards the end of the book. I am open-minded about everything but I just couldn’t with this. As I was reading that scene, I kept thinking, “What if he didn’t wipe good.” Which then led my thoughts too well, you know where I am going with that.

The end of Raze was heartwarming. I was left wondering if there was going to be a book 4 or if this is that last book in the series. There were some characters (Grin, Morgan, Jhoi stand out the most in my mind) that I would love to see get their happily ever after.

I would give Raze an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread Raze. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

I've been invested in these character. Theo and Caleb. Matt and Rhys. Huey... always sat in my peripheral waiting for his turn and I waited with him knowing that what ever Roan gave us would be absolutely worth it. I never would have guessed that Huey, or Dane as we soon learn, was simply torturing himself every day to try and keep himself together. I also never would have thought that a young mother hen type would come along and shake him up. And even though I know that Roan write for the LGBTQI genre I always thought that Huey would end up with a younger less world weary woman. In a way he did. Felix is phenomenal.

I started Raze with a lot of assumptions(seeprevious sentence!) that I didn't have in the previous books. I couldn't tell you why. Past experience with Roan's books tells me that her characters are flawed and broken and bent whimsical and talented and scared, but their pieces fit so well together.

Huey completely surprised me. Felix absolutely blew me away.

Together they're a mess of contraindications that mesh and compliment. They hold each other up. Bring each other in tight or let them loose. Huey, even being older, was not the wiser one and even though Felix spent years raising his siblings he wasn't exactly the smartest in the relationship either. They learned and took ten steps forward for every twenty backwards. This type of writing makes Roan Parrish's books and instant read for me. Her words are real. I feel them to my bones and and when they struggled I stopped and thought 'yup... I remember feeling like this too!'

You don't have to be gay or trans or bi to feel a kinship with any of the men from the Riven Series, simply being human with feelings and wants, hopes and dreams and fears makes you the perfect addition.

Side note: despite being a Roan fan I hadn't actually noticed the use of "they and them" as pronouns. I didn't latch on right away when Huey was meeting with a sponsee and it took me a moment to adjust but after that initial sight it fit perfectly and became natural to see.