{"id":12609,"date":"2020-03-08T20:54:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T00:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12609"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:27:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:27:40","slug":"rend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12609","title":{"rendered":"Rend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rend<\/a><\/em> (2018) Roan Parrish<\/a> (Riven)<\/p>\n

\"Rend\"<\/a>Oh. My. God.<\/p>\n

So much crying.<\/p>\n

I hate crying. Yet, I kept stifling tears as I read this story.<\/p>\n

Kids in the system slipped through the cracks in school because they didn\u2019t have a support system. They didn\u2019t have people helping them with their homework, or telling them they could live their dreams if they worked hard or joined extracurriculars so they could go to college. A lot of them skipped school because they needed more hours at work, or dropped out entirely, knowing that as soon as they turned eighteen they\u2019d need to be self-sufficient so they may as well start early. And that was to say nothing of the kids who had it bad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matt Argento survived the foster system and found a man who loves him: Rhys Nyland, musician, singer, and songwriter. They’re married and love each other, but when Rhys goes on tour, all of Matt’s defenses are stripped and he suddenly has to deal with his past.<\/p>\n

The more uncertain he seemed, the more I needed to be reminded of what we had. I wanted him to hold me down and show <\/em>me who I was.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a really difficult book to read. Matt and Rhys are already married, and we do get flashbacks to when the met and their whirlwind relationship, but the heart of the story is Matt learning how to deal with his past without destroying what he and Rhys have.<\/p>\n

Here’s the thing that was hardest–I totally understood why Matt didn’t want to tell Rhys about his past, about just how broken he was, and about the people that broke him and the systems that didn’t save him.<\/p>\n

My chest was so tight I couldn\u2019t breathe. He had told me that. He had. But then every time I\u2019d told him just a piece, shown him just the corners, the look on his face\u2026 the fucking pain he felt for me. It was like he was asking me to touch a red-hot poker to his gut. I couldn\u2019t do it. I couldn\u2019t stand to inflict such pain on him. He loved me so much. I couldn\u2019t bear to tell him things that would hurt him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This story is entirely from Matt’s point-of-view. The reason that’s so important to mention is that towards the end of the book, Matt overhears a conversation between Rhys and Caleb, and although Matt takes it as a prod to take steps he could have ages ago, it also clarifies to you, the reader, that Rhys is not actually as perfect as Matt sees him. It’s a very important bit of the book–not just for the reader, but because Matt finally takes the steps he needs to, to begin his own process of healing.<\/p>\n

And that’s what made this story so damned good. <\/p>\n

In some ways, Rhys has already rescued Matt at the beginning of the story. But being rescued isn’t as easy as either Matt or Rhys things it is, and we are reminded again and again how much work it takes to get through to the other side of the issues Matt has.<\/p>\n

I’m warning you–this book will most likely make you cry. But it’s so damned good, you’ll keep reading through the sniffles and the blurry pages.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Loveswept
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rend (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) Oh. My. God. So much crying. I hate crying. Yet, I kept stifling tears as I read this story. Kids in the system slipped through the cracks in school because they didn\u2019t have a support system. They didn\u2019t have people helping them with their homework, or telling them they could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,207,148,26,56,934],"tags":[210,50,544,212,542,224],"class_list":["post-12609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-mental-health-rep","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-anxiety","tag-boinking","tag-mm","tag-ptsd","tag-riven","tag-roan-parrish"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/siQkW-rend","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18453,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18453","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":0},"title":"Rend","author":"Michelle","date":"November 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Rend (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) Matt Argento was abandoned as a child, and from that moment on has never felt himself to be enough. To be deserving. He has a job he loves, but in the back of his mind he still expects everything to be taken away. \u201cYou were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rend","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Rend.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18434,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18434","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":1},"title":"Riven","author":"Michelle","date":"October 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Riven (2018) Roan Parrish (Riven) This book is full of so many strong feelings and so much angst, yet bits and pieces of it kept tugging on my mind, so I decided to reread. \u201cDon\u2019t ever apologize for doing what you need to be okay,\u201d he said. But still the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Riven","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Riven.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13476,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13476","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":2},"title":"Raze","author":"Michelle","date":"October 1, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Raze (2019) Roan Parrish (Riven) Huey has spent a decade focusing on being sober, and helping others by being a sponsor. But in building his life, he hasn't allowed anything unplanned or unexpected. I liked the dishes to be done in a particular way, and the routine was important to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Raze","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Raze.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21428,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21428","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":3},"title":"The Holiday Trap","author":"Michelle","date":"January 1, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Holiday Trap (2022) Roan Parrish Greta has had it with her family. She may love them, but that doesn't change things. \"I know it\u2019s Chanukah and I know your family, but I must introduce you to my friend Boundaries, and her best friend, Also Boundaries.\u201d Truman needs to get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Holiday Trap","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/The-Holiday-Trap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22184,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22184","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":4},"title":"The Pride of Garnet Run","author":"Michelle","date":"August 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pride of Garnet Run (2022) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) (H)is brain was very loud, and he needed to put thoughts into music to quiet them down. \"This place was built in 1927. This all used to be bigger, but they turned it from one screen to three in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Pride of Garnet Run","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/The_Pride_of_Garnet_Run.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13674,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13674","url_meta":{"origin":12609,"position":5},"title":"The Remaking of Corbin Wale","author":"Michelle","date":"December 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Remaking of Corbin Wale (2017) Roan Parrish Alex Barrow broke up with his boyfriend and lost his job so he has headed back to Ann Arbor and taken over his parent's coffee shop--turning it into his dream bakery. The best bakeries had a cohesive vision. You didn\u2019t want a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Remaking of Corbin Wale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/The-Remaking-of-Corbin-Wale.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}