Loren (Van Doren 1) by Crea Reitan -review tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 11, 2024

I will kill to keep him.

Oakley

It’s a new start – brand new school in a completely different state. For the first time, I now have the freedom to be unapologetically me. But as my luck would have it, I have shit taste in men. The first man to pay me a compliment has so many red flags, I think I’m in a storm. Life can’t get any worse… until he turns into a stalker.

Then my stalker ends up brutally murdered, I walk blindly into a serial killer’s nest, and I catch the attention of a sociopath.

Loren

The moment I see Oakley walk into the cafe, I know he’s mine. I may be here to finish a job, but it’s impossible to concentrate on anything but him. My fascination quickly turns into an obsession, which might be fortunate for him because I think he’s trying to get himself killed.

Which is fine; I’ll protect him. It doesn’t matter how many lives I have to end to make Oakley mine.

***

This is a LGBT+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.

•••••

REVIEW:A new series by one of my favourite authors. This one is darker than her usual works.

Loved that it could be a family series. The Van Doren family are a mega wealthy family. Wide spread in lots of companies, but they specialise in tracking and taking care of undesirables! People who think they are above the law! Each family member has a part to play, and at the end of the line is Loren.

He is what society classes a sociopath! He has no emotions (except where his family and best friend, Noah are concerned.

We first got to see Loren and Oakley in different stories (both set in another series) both had only little parts, but I did hope that Loren would get a book.

He looks at the world in black and white, he does see the logic that most people see, so he takes his social queues from Noah and his family. I loved where he would phone Noah up, then remember to check the time zones! 😆

Oakley comes a bigot family! His brothers (except for Oren, who by the way has a book 😉) and father were narrow minded and absolutely horrid to his brother Oren! Oakley managed to stay under their radar by being quiet and agreeable (which didn’t always work!) but it left him feeling guilty about his brother being the brunt of the families meanness! Getting an opportunity to leave the town in which he grew up in, Oakley takes it and never looks back…..

Meeting Oakley is a life changing moment for Loren. All he can see is him! And when he sees his intended target touch HIS Oakley, then it’s definitely sealed his fate! His brother has to keep Loren from exacting his vengeance! And that has never happened! Loren doesn’t understand what’s happening to him, but with the help of family/dad and his best friend, Loren navigates his way through!

Now that Oakley and his best friends have escaped his family’s clutches, he’s breathing so much easier. And starting a new school means a clean sheet, no one knows his background. And as a bonus, he has his first compliment, swapping numbers and agreeing on a date, Oakley thinks his luck has changed…

Watching the new family move into the house opposite has Oakley and his friends wondering who they are. They don’t realise at first it’s because Loren wants to be near Oakley, but then the two houses become friends (it’s funny watching the Van Dorens interact with Oakley and friends)

Date one ends in disaster! Red flags and alarms are going off in Oakley’s head! The guy shouldn’t be this possessive and obsessive! But trying to avoid the guy in college is a nightmare too! And he’s also getting the feeling of being watched! Can his week get any weirder?

I love how Oakley feels safe around Loren(even though Loren isn’t a safe guy to be around!) I really liked how the Van Doren family took oakley in and made him feel like family (think they knew how Loren felt about Oakley, they just wanted it in a controlled environment.)

But how will Oakley react when he finds out who Loren really is? Will his friends be right? Has he jumped from the frying pan and into the fire? Poor Oakley thinks he’s jinxed, only attracting kill£rs! 💀

I also liked the issues Loren has with contact (he gets overloaded and has to step back, and then he worries that Oakley won’t understand!)

Please check trigger earrings as so many people aren’t and then giving bad reviews.

Can’t wait to read the next book. 👍🏻🖤

copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Julie B 🦋

Crea lives in upstate New York with her dog and husband. She has been writing since grade school, when her second grade teacher had her class keep writing journals. She has a habit of creating secondary, and often time tertiary, characters that take over her stories. All of her RH relationships end up being heavily polyamorous – meaning it’s not just all the men for one woman. There’s also some M/M action going on. When she can’t fall asleep at night, she thinks up new scenes for her characters to act out. This, of course, is how most of her meant-to-be-thrown-away characters tend to end up front and center – and utterly swoon-worthy! Don’t ask her how many book boyfriends she has…

When not writing, Crea is an avid reader. Her TBR pile is several hundred books high (don’t even look at her kindle wish list or the unread books on her tablet). Sometimes, she enjoys crafting; sometimes, exploring nature; sometimes, traveling. Mostly, she enjoys putting her characters on paper and breathing life into them. Oh, and sleeping. Crea loves to sleep!

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