Review: Circle by Garrett Leigh (Roads #3)

September 07, 2017

Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

“I wish you didn’t know.”

“Why?”

Pete sighed. “Because it haunts me, and you don’t need any more fucking ghosts.”

“You carry mine as much as I carry yours. We’re wasting our time, otherwise.”

And here we are, at the book that prompted me to go looking for those that came before it. By the time I had finished reading the first four--two of which were full-length novels and the other two short stories--in Garrett Leigh's Roads series, my expectations for Circle were sky-high. I'm guessing that this is the finale to this heartrending yet hopeful story of life and love between Ashley Fagin and Pietro Adams--aka Ash and Pete, who affectionately call each other "babe" from time to time, but more often so prefer to go with the always endearing "fucker". It reads like the conclusion to their epic tale, but maybe it's more apt to call it the book that helps everything come full circle for these two men. However, before they could get to that happiest of happily-ever-afters, fate wasn't done with them yet, and this time around, they'll both have to choose to stay and fight...or not.

Pete Adams and Ash Fagin have been together for six years and counting. They've faced personal demons and hurdled obstacles that threatened to take both their lives and their love. It hasn't been easy, but there's no turning back for either one of them. But Ash knows Pete all too well and it's become increasingly obvious how weighed down he looks and acts. That spark of happiness that's been a part of Pete for so long is gone. In order to get it back, Ash needs to know what made it go away in the first place, but this is one particular secret that Pete is keeping solely to himself. Working himself ragged is how he's choosing to manage the darkness within him, but Ash knows all too well how easy it is to drown in it. When an opportunity to get away from Chicago pops up, Ash would like nothing more than for Pete to come along, but doing so will be a decision that Pete makes on his own.

These two are made of stronger stuff than they give themselves credit for, and I cheered them on each and every single time they were confronted by challenges. While they may have been Pete and Ash in late 2007, they became Pete AND Ash once they allowed themselves to connect in October of that year. It may sound cheesy, but they truly were stronger together, and they had formed this rag-tag family with those nearest and dearest to them. In this third full-length read, they forge new friendships that have the potential of changing the course of their lives. Change, after all, is inevitable, but when we choose to make those changes willingly, the possibility that they're for your betterment is greater. I'm sad to say goodbye to Pete and Ash and the rest of the Roads crew but I'm glad that I was along for the ride. Now to get my hands on Jed and Max's story... I highly recommend Circle. Five-plus stars. ♥

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Read my reviews for the Roads series: