Junkyard Heart by Garrett Leigh

Title: Junkyard Heart

Series: Porthkennack 07

Author: Garrett Leigh

Genre: Contemporary 

Length: Novel (195pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-62649-549-4

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (4th December 2017)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts

Reviewer: Aerin

Blurb: Tired of the London rat race and the heartbreak that comes with it, photographer Jas Manning returns to Porthkennack, the Cornish seaside town where he spent every childhood summer on his father’s farm. Resigned to year-round rain, wind, and homemade jam, he’s sorely unprepared for the impact that artsy carpenter Kim Penrose has on his heart.

Kim’s free-loving reputation precedes him, and he’s as generous with his inked-up body as he is with his time. The sex is hot, the easy friendship even better, and Jas’s time with him building his family’s new farmhouse canteen is everything Jas was missing in his empty city life.

But Kim’s carefree existence isn’t as simple as it appears. He’s worked hard to vanquish his demons and build his dreams, but the devil on his shoulder is ruthless, and when it comes to call, their happy bubble bursts like it was never there at all. The canteen opening looms, but Kim is gone in more ways than one, and it’s down to Jas to shore up Kim’s soul and convince him that he deserves his place in Jas’s heart.

Purchase Link: Riptide Publishing 

Review: I’ve admitted long ago that Garrett Leigh is like crack to me, but unlike some addicts, I don’t have any desire to get clean. I love Leigh’s brand of angst, love how it rips my heart and makes me bleed, love feeling the angst like a physical blow while I fear it at the same time. Junkyard Heart is definitely Leigh’s creation and I feel like I could tell who wrote it even if I had to guess.

We know Kim from the previous Porthkennack book written by Garrett Leigh. Kim is a bisexual man whose open relationship with his long-time girlfriend made me skeptical about reading his book. Kim is battling his own demons in the form of alcohol addiction and a sometimes fragile mental health. His need for Jas runs bone-deep; Jas a that one person that Kim needs to have in his life in whatever way possible.

Jas has been a player all his life, a serial cheater who has always dated both men and women at the same time. That is until karma caught up to him, and the person Jas fell in love with and has dedicated 5 years of his life to was revealed as a married man. Jai’s broken heart drove him all the way to Porthkennack, where his father, step-mother and brothers all live. Jas believes he’s no relationship material and he’s done falling in love with men or women both, but his chemistry with Kim turns his world upside down. Staying away from Kim is simply not possible, no matter how complicated their relationship is.

I loved Jas and Kim together, their relationship and chemistry is intense and passionate, pretty much everything I could hope for. What didn’t work for me, and the real reason this book only gets 4 hearts from me, is Lena and the weird part she plays in Jas and Kim’s relationship. I get who she is to Kim, I understand their friendship, but…. why the fuck would Jas desire to see Lena and Kim fuck? I didn’t feel like Jas and Kim’s relationship had any room for a third, even if that third person is only hypothetical. I disliked that Lena watched Jas and Kim fuck, and it creeped me out that she kissed Jas’s head in the middle of it. I was half expecting her to guide his dick as well! *Lena did not have any actual sex with either of them and there was no cheating!*

Aside from the awkwardness that is Lena, I love everything about this book! Great read!