Redeem (Under My Skin #4) [Michael & Stewart] by Christina Lee

This was everything I hoped for. Christina did it again for sure in this OUTSTANDING book were the villains of the world unite and we see they are a bit misunderstood mostly by themselves. Everyone deserves a second chance, don't you think? I loved the way this book progressed, both Michael and Stewart's hangups and how little by little a friendship and then love made them realize they are allowed to have happiness even if their past isn't spotless. I also enjoyed seeing all the other guys and especially their reactions throughout the book.

We've met Michael Walsh, aka V, aka Voldemort, in the 2nd installment. He was in a strange and not happy at all relationship with West (the MC there). Michael was overbearing, high handed and controlling but also keeping West his "dirty little secret", not being able to come out or even acknowledge to himself he is bi. Their relationship was a disaster! and though they had good years in the beginning when Michael took care of West after his family were killed in a fire, they came to an impasse when West took all his staff and left. Michael was left on his own, in his big, spacious apartment looking over the river with only his two pugs for company. He realized he's done wrong, realized he is becoming into the man he hates the most - his father. Now it's time to make things right. But it's not easy.



Stewart Jenkins was our guy to hate in the 3rd installment. In a way he was WAY worse that Michael who, in his twisted way, had good intentions. Stewart was more than just controlling toward his boyfriend Elijah (the MC in the 3rd installment), he was mean to him, he tried to isolate him, and made Elijah act only in the way Stewart saw fit. They might have been happy at first, but Stewart was breaking Elijah to little bits with his wild demands so it's no wonder this relationship was over as well, leaving Stewart dealing with his biggest fear - being left on his own, totally alone. Everything horrible in his past came hunting down and that's when he went to therapy because enough was enough. He couldn't take it anymore. He loved Elijah but truth be told he hasn't opened up to him AT ALL. He couldn't. But everything he did, the way he behaved was him struggling to make sense of his world, trying to put every piece in the right place before it all came tumbling down. But that happened anyway.. He knows now how wrong he was to poor Elijah but he is unable to speak to him knowing just how much he hurt him.

In the very end of the 3rd installment Christina gave us a glimpse into a hot encounter between Stewart and Michael and though I wasn't sure HOW it's going to work, I really wanted this book of them having more than a few stolen minutes together. I believe in second chance and people being more than meets the eye. More than they allow most of us to see. We are complicated beings and sometimes though are motives are the best (towards someone else OR towards ourselves) we somehow screw up ROYALLY. Michael needed to have a hard stare at the mirror and SEE who he has become and why it's imperative mostly to himself he starts acting like the person HE wants to be and not the person his father tries to shape him into. He loved West, he still does in his own way, but he needs to love himself also and from there he could be a good friend to him, and a great lover to someone else. He has A LOT to give and he gives with no effort, and I'm not talking just about money.. But there are still things out there he needs to resolve, he needs to learn how to connect differently than he did before. That's not an easy task.. As for Stewart, believe it or not, he IS a good guy, but in some way he is a shadow of his past. He is controlled by it, and he has manipulated his life to be everything but what he has gone through and without the proper help it turned into a nightmare not only to himself but to the people around him as well. He never meant to be this horrible to Elijah he was just trying to survive and not very successfully..

The few very meaningful times Stewart talked to Elijah and Michael talked to West were EVERYTHING to me.  It showed us not only the people we knew, but also a changed version of all 4 of them. They are in a different place now and they are able to bring out different things in themselves towards one another.

I could write another hour about this book. I haven't said anything about the plot really.. But I guess there is nothing I want to tell more than PLEASE READ IT. It's simply BEAUTIFUL. I suggest starting with the first book in the series, but even if you don't, if you read just this one, you'll get the best kind of second chance life/romance. Stewart and Michael didn't believe they deserved to be happy, they wanted first to change their lives and fix their wrongs somehow, this relationship sneaked up on them. It started with sex, but somehow it progressed to so much more. It was easy to see through their interaction they GET each other on a different level than just what the other one needs sexually. They were truly meant to be. Together they make each other better. Yet each on his own is also so not the person we've seen before. There is no growing up without pain, Elijah and West didn't need to be hurt by Michael and Stewart, yet they did, but all four of them are so very different now and what they went through helped shape them into who they are today.

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I kindly received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. 

This book be is already OUT!  Grab it through Amazon / KU (link below).

Christina Lee 

Mother, wife, reader, dreamer. Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son-- her two favorite guys. She's addicted to lip balm, coffee, and kissing. Because everything is better with kissing. 

She writes MM Contemporary as well as Adult and New Adult Romance. She believes in happily-ever- afters for all, so reading and writing romance for everybody under the rainbow helps quench her soul.

Facebook Fan Group "The Swoon Room" / Website / Newsletter / Instagram

Rating: ★★★★★

E-Book Edition

255 pages

Read on: 26-28 February 2019

ABOUT THIS SERIES

 

Under My Skin is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Contemporary MM Romance series by Christina Lee. It loosely centers around "Doggie Styles" a dog day care. Tristan (the owner) as well as Brin and Elijah all work there and they all SO deserve to find their HEA. The 4th one was a surprise. Our "villains" of the 2nd and 3rd books unite in the best possible way!

The first two were more "angsty" with the third being beautifully tender, the forth gave a wonderful closure in a second chance and not only in romance. They are all awesome MUST READS. They CAN be read as a stand alone ones but I always like starting at the beginning and getting to know the characters "by order". 

Books:
1. Regret [Brian “Brin” Schubert & Nicholas Dell] (Published 25 June 2017) ★★★★★
2. Reawaken [Tristan Rogers & Jonas “West” Hollis] (Published 2 November 2017) ★★★★★
3. Reclaim [Elijah & Kamnan "Kam"] (Published 27 March 2018) ★★★★★
4. Redeem [Michael Walsh & Stewart Jenkins] (Published 28 February 2019) ★★★★★