I loved Unscripted so much, and I ended up loving Rewritten, too… but… I have to tell you that this was a difficult book for me to read. It’s one of the most angsty stories I’ve read in a while and an awful lot of it was almost too real for me.

Before I go any further, I must remind you that you HAVE to read book one before this. Rewritten is not a standalone story.

Unscripted dealt quite a bit with Quell’s problem with depression, but Rewritten really hyper focused on it and what it does to his relationship with Hale. It’s not pretty; it’s gritty and it’s real. Some of what I’m going to say below is a repeat of what I said for Unscripted because I don’t really know how to say it differently.

I am very familiar with depression and how it affects family members. I feel like the book portrayed Quell’s difficulties so well that it literally hurt me at times to read it. It’s heartbreaking to watch someone you love suffer from something they really have no control over. Depression is almost always misunderstood. A lot of people think you just have to psych yourself out of it but that is not the case. I could feel Quell’s suffering and his anguish.

I think J.R. Gray did a good thing in writing Rewritten as gritty and real as he did. Depression should not be hidden and it should not be something to be embarrassed about but I know it is for many people. Clinical depression isn’t something you just get over and people need to understand that.

Because this is a romance, I knew that things would eventually work out for Quell and Hale but boy did they have to work for it. There wasn’t a lot of sex in this story until very near the end and then it was hot, angry sex – scorching hot!

Like I said in my review of book one, at times I had trouble keeping track of who was speaking/thinking. The story is told in first-person, alternating between Quell and Hale. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I had this trouble. In any case, my overall love of the story made this be a minor inconvenience for me.

I would really love to read another story about Quell and Hale and see how they are doing a year or two from now. Maybe something a bit less angsty.

Reviews for J.R. Gray

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Chapter 1 tease:

Hale

“What a morning.” Quell grabbed a robe and slipped it on, leaving it untied as we headed towards the kitchen.

“What because you’re internet gay or because my dick is being talked about on TMZ?”

“Both. I really do want to see what they are saying about you.” He started the coffee pot and turned to lean against the counter.

I already had my phone out and was pulling up twitter. “I have a shit load of tags.”

“They are tagging you in this shit?” He looked a little annoyed on my behalf.

“Oh yeah, and #HalesPackage is trending.” I turned my phone around to show him and it was back to laughing. “Mark wasn’t kidding. This has turned into a monster.”

“I know what your next birthday gift is!”

“I’m not sure I want to know with that look on your face.” I stuck my phone back in my pocket and got down mugs.

“I’m going to find the best ones and print them and get them framed for the office.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “The sad part is I know you probably will.”

“Fuck yes. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.” His joy was contagious. I wanted to take pieces of it and save it for rainy days.

I etched it into my memory, knowing I would keep it all close to my heart.

“For you. You should do it for your own birthday.” I took the coffee he set in front of me and followed him out to our deck.

He took a seat in one of the chairs and kicked his feet up. I sat in the chair next to him and ran a hand over his shin. This was intimacy. Little moments with him. My heart ached at the idea of being separated from for so long in only a few days.

“I’m going to dig through this tag,” Quell said, pulling out his phone after smiling at me.

“Of course you are. Don’t favorite any of them.” I pulled up TMZ instead. I wanted to see what kinds of things were being said. It was probably the worst thing to be doing but I couldn’t stop myself. I was curious and I knew it would be eating me alive if I didn’t

“Why not?” he asked, laughing.

“Are you serious? Do you realize that will be top news? If Quellcrist King is faving thirst tweets about me?”

“Oh… good call. Maybe I’ll wait a few weeks to do that.”

I glanced over, blinking at him. “A few weeks?”

He shrugged, giving me a wink. “We’ll see how public stuff goes.”

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