Signs of Life

Signs of Life opens with massive heart break and I immediately knew I was in for quite the journey. I should expect not less from this author by now, but her ability to write characters with difficult or tragic pasts still floors me. Signs of Life was no different in that respect. There’s this honest quality to the characters and story that forces the reader out of their comfort zone to experience the tragic circumstances Jeremy endures and empathize with Kai’s troubled past.

This is the second standalone book of the series. While there is minimal overlap of characters, it doesn’t overtly affect the characters or storyline if you haven’t read Everything Changes. However, it does offer a couple glimpses of Jase, who’s a close friend of Jeremy’s and the epilogue was a huge bonus for Carey and Jase fans. *happy sigh* There’s a lot of heartache in this book, and with both men’s pasts offering plenty of baggage, I was pleasantly surprised the dreaded plot points caused by failure to communicate were minimal. The characters were fairly up front about their feelings and expectations, so the focus remained squarely on the relationship development and personal character growth. I really liked the way the plot built around an extended timeline. It gave Jeremy the opportunity to work through the grief and self-destruct, ensuring it felt realistic when he starts exploring a relationship with Kai. I also liked the break in time between Kai and Jeremy’s initial lust-fueled encounter and their second meet-up, enabling the physical chemistry to morph into something more at a believable pace.

Once again, Robert Nieman offers a great narration. There’s emotion, voice variations to match the characters and scene’s moods, and good pacing without it feeling overacted. I found Signs of Life to be a gripping story of characters overcoming personal loss and finding love on the other side of tragedy. While it didn’t quite blow me away like Everything Changes, the characters and romance were just as well-developed and I’d certainly recommend it.

*Reviewed audiobook for Alpha Book Club*

Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

This review is based on the Audiobook version of Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen. I have not read or listened to any of her previous works. Shame on me. I will say that after listening to the first chapter of this I was reluctant to continue. I was not in the mood to listen to another sad heart breaking story. Oh yeah, this story starts with one heck of a heartbreak, but I continued on. Very smart choice. What made this audio book good, in my opinion, was the calming voice of the narrator. Nieman was able to convey the deep emotion without being overly dramatic. The plot of this story is without spoilers I hope, is about Jeremy Speer. Jeremy was a very successful lawyer deeply in love with his husband and the life that he expected to live vanished in two blinks of an eye. Heartbroken and empty he sells everything and relocates to a new home where he exists day to day spending his time running. After two years, his grief although still raw, Jeremy ventures out of his bubble. He goes to a gay bar in the city where he meets and hooks up with Kai Daniels. Kai has made a decent life for himself. After a rough start where he spent some time behind bars, Kai became a teacher where he is determined to help at-risk kids make a better life for themselves. The chemistry between these two is very intense. After the hottest hook-up Kai had, he is confused when the running man from their town just leaves him in the alley. When their paths cross again, it is under strained circumstances. As the men work with each other they build a strong friendship that develops into something that neither one of them expected. The pacing of this story in emotional, heartbreaking and intense. The story reads quickly. This story has a strong emotional ending that will happy that you read this amazing story. The character development is strong. We learn so much about these strong men that pick up the broken pieces of their lives and are able to build a new life.
PLOT: 5 Stars
CHEMISTRY: 5 Stars
PACING: 5 Stars
ENDING: 5 Stars
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 5 Stars



Review Copy of Signs of Life provided by the Dreamspinner Press I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. Reviewed by Mollien from Alpha Book Club

Signs of Life is the second book in Melanie Hansen’s Resilient Love Story series. The first book Everything Changes was one of my favorite books of 2014. It featured rockstar/EMT Jase and Marine/lower leg amputee Carey. For fans of that book, I am happy to say that we get to see these boys again and witness their swoon-worthy HEA. *dreamy sigh*
There are two things that absolutely define Signs of Life for me.
1. It is full on angst. Deep sorrow, soul crushing Amy Lane level angst.
2.The sex is mind-blowing and some of the hottest I’ve read since Ella Frank’s Temptations series.
Let’s start with the angst: In the beginning of the book, Jeremy Speer suffers two life altering events. Literally the worst thing that could happen to a human being happens to him. Twice.
I ugly cried right away, feeling Jeremy’s acute loss deep in my heart. I instantly feel in love with him and considered making a voodoo doll of Ms. Hansen unless she gave Jeremy a spectacular HEA worthy of gospel singers. (She does give him that, and more, but more about that later. I didn’t end up making that voodoo doll.)
I had to break for some happiness and went to my go-to happy place by watching a few Corgi videos.
The meat and potatoes of the book happens two years after Jeremy’s loss. After drowning his sorrow in drugs and alcohol, Jeremy is fresh from rehab and living in a secluded cabin in Oregon, working on putting his life back together. He meets Kai Daniels, alternative school teacher and former gang member, in a club in Portland and the two have ridiculously hot anonymous sex in a back ally. They meet again several months later when Kai volunteers to supervise a group on teens (who vandalized Jeremy’s house) in a clean-up community service. They eventually start a friends-with-benefits sexual relationship that quickly becomes more for both men. And the sex? OMG, the sex!

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Jeremy’s voice was guttural as he whispered, “I want to strip you naked and spread you out on my bed, hold you down while I lick and suck every inch of your body. I want to taste you, fuck you with my fingers and tongue until you’re crying for my cock.” As he spoke he tugged on the piercing, flicking his thumbnail over the hard tip of Kai’s nipple.
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Kai flattened his chest against the granite, stretching his arms over his head to grip the opposite edge of the counter as he gave himself up to Jeremy’s use, and Jeremy pulled up on Kai’s hips, yanking him to his toes as he gave him long, hard strokes, looking down and growling at the sight of his bare cock, slick with Kai’s own come…
Yes, the boys fall in love and, yes, we get a fantastic epilogue with the boys riding off into the sunset, hand in hand.
The angst is great folks, but if you push through the sadness, you will be greatly rewarded with hot monkey-sex and a great romance.
Recommended.