When You Come Back to Me is the second book in Emma Scott's "Lost Boys" series. This is Holden and River's story, and it is a MM romance. After meeting Holden and River in the first book, 'The Girl in the Love Song", I was excited to read their story and it definitely didn't disappoint.
I typically do not read a lot of MM romance, but two of my favorites have now been written by this Author. Emma Scott writes her characters in such a way that you feel like you truly know them, like they could be your friends. You feel every emotion, every struggle, right along with them and you can't help but fall in love with them too.
We get to know a little bit about Holden in Lost Boys #1 and in Emma Scott's other MM romance "Someday, Someday." Holden has been through a traumatic, life altering experience at the hands of his parents who could not accept that their child was a young gay man. The mental anguish caused by this experience and the year that follows leads Holden down a path of self hatred and destruction.
When Holden meets River, he feels an overwhelming connection to him and begins to fear that he wants more than he could ever have or deserve. River, the high school football king, is struggling with his own grief and feelings that he doesn't understand. His entire life has been set on a path that he now realizes that he doesn't even want, but he can't bring himself to be so selfish as to go after his own true goals.
My heart broke for both Holden and River. They both built up so many walls to protect their hearts, and River tried so hard to protect those around him even at the cost of his own happiness. This is an emotional story but it is one that needs to be told, and it's a journey that I'm glad to have taken with these characters. Beautifully written story of trauma, grief, hope and love.
