BRAINS & BRAWN BY R.L. MERRILL : BOOK REVIEW

Brains and Brawn (Summer of Hush #2) by R.L. Merrill 

BLURB 

A rock star with a secret is injured in a freak accident. A single-dad Navy corpsman comes to his aide. Neither expected romance to bloom, but now that it has, will their secrets end it before it begins?

Billy “Brains” Brennan has achieved rock stardom in not just one, but two chart-topping bands, but events from his past have him convinced he’s living on borrowed time. Brains and his brothers-in-Hush are ready to take the last cross-country Warped Tour by storm...until the actions of two drunk dudes with bad attitudes set off a chain of events that leave him incapacitated...and face-to-face with a handsome stranger who inexplicably feels like home—and not the home Brains fled at sixteen.

Chief Petty Officer Paul McNally has spent his 25-year career as a Navy Corpsman responding to emergencies and caring for wounded soldiers. When fate has him in the right place to provide aid to a fallen rock star, it sends his life spiraling on a trajectory he never planned for. Instead of concentrating on his impending retirement and a second career, he’s now playing nursemaid to a fascinating younger man…and falling in love—a fact he can’t seem to figure out how to explain to his adult son. 

A health scare, band drama, and pain from both their pasts threaten to end Brains and Paul’s fledgling relationship. Fate brought them together. It will take trust, honesty, and hope to keep them together. 

REVIEW 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the second book in the Summer of Hush series, but can be read as a standalone.

Paul McNally is a forty two year old navy man. Growing up, he never thought he would be in this line of work, but here he was missing another one of his son’s birthdays and working overseas.

To compensate for his absence and to make it up to his son, he gifts him tickets to the last Warped Tour along with a pass to Brains’s Drumming Technique workshop.

When he attends said workshop with his son, he is taken aback by the depth of his sudden attraction to the goth Rockstar, but what surprises him the most is his concern for the vulnerability behind Brain's confident and professional exterior.

Let this be your worry-free zone. Let me be that for you. There will come a time when you’re in a better place, and we’ll figure it out then

Billy Brennan also known as 'Brains' to his fans is the drummer of his band Hush. As the oldest and most experienced of his bandmates, it made sense for him to be in charge of their band. He loves his found family and would do anything it took to keep the band afloat.

Brains is less than thrilled to be doing a behind the scenes workshop but a certain stacked, muscular attendee definitely makes it more bearable.

When Brains is injured by a tent collapsing on him, he immediately finds himself been taken care of by the handsome and capable  Navy Corpsman.

Playing nursemaid to the sexy rockstar is no hardship for Paul, and he can't help but fall for the intriguing and vulnerable young man.

Will Paul and Brains act on their mutual attraction? But most importantly how will Paul explain to his son, Bowie that he is falling for a younger man?

Brains wanted to listen to music with Paul and talk, laugh, love….

Oh, he wanted Paul, wanted his body, wanted his mind, even wanted to keep kissing him, and that thought alone made alarm bells go off.

 I appreciated the depth of emotions between the characters. It was very heartfelt and realistic.

Paul has been lonely for far too long and Brains just needs someone in his corner, supporting him for a change.

Even though the attraction was instant between them, we get to see their relationship grow and evolve.

I loved the author's writing style and that the characters were so real and relatable.

If you are looking for an opposites attract, age gap romance with witty dialogue, self discovery and a ton of emotions, I definitely recommend this!

Follow along with the Summer of Hush Playlist on Spotify: here