BLOG TOUR STOP: REVIEW, EXCERPT AND GIVEAWAY: The Making of Matt by Nicola Haken

Matt Carter, self-proclaimed sex-god and drummer for world renowned Souls of the Knight, didn’t have the time or inclination for planning his future, preferring to fill his days with music, women and alcohol. He didn’t want or need anything else in his life.

Until the band parted ways and he found himself no longer living the dream.

Bored and lonely, with too much time and money on his hands, Matt turns to his best friend, Alex Clark, to help devise a new direction to take his life in. Together, they embrace their newfound venture, as owner and manager of one of L.A.’s hottest gay clubs – Kaleidoscope. For the first time, Matt has a plan. He knows where life is heading.

Until a devastating phone call turns his whole world upside down, sending him straight into the comforting arms of his best friend and leading him to doubt everything he’s ever known or believed about himself.

Alex had always been content with his unrequited feelings for his rockstar friend, but as Matt starts to question if he might actually feel the same, he runs as fast as his feet will allow.

Has Matt gone too far? Has his reputation as an irresponsible womanizer who refuses to take life seriously, finally managed to push his best friend away for good?

Or is Alex hiding secrets of his own?

Matt Carter lived wild and free as a rock star so it only seems right that when he finally falls in love, it’s hard and fast – pun intended.

As the drummer for a famous rock band, Matt’s lived a great life, drinking, carousing, and performing. Regardless of the plethora of women, money, and fame, Matt’s never made a romantic connection with anyone. Besides his family and his bandmates, Matt is committed to no one, and he likes it that way because it allows him to do what and who he wants and never think about the repercussions. But when the band breaks up to pursue other interests, Matt’s left trying to live the rocker lifestyle without being a musician anymore. He’s floating through life without a purpose or a path that will lead him to doing something that can redefine who he is and what matters most, and by Matt’s side to help him figure out what comes next is the man who’s always been there regardless of how different their lives are and that man is Alex Clark – the guy who has always loved his manwhore, straight best friend.

But what if things aren’t as black and white as Alex thinks? What if Matt has only used women as a release, feeling nothing but a climax and then moving on to the next hole? What if the person to give Matt a purpose again is the man he’s always had feelings for but never took the time to name them until now?

What I love most about Matt and Alex’s story is the way that Nicola Haken illustrates the idea that conventionalism should not be a factor in any relationship. Matt has always gone by the beat of his own drum, and while a lot of the time, he’s a complete douche, not thinking before he opens his mouth; that type of living also allows him not to have to put himself in a box or label himself in any way but how he chooses.

“Labels should be for products, not people.” I absolutely adore this idea, and it epitomizes Matt’s feelings for Alex and helps Matt to understand the connection he has with Alex is something that he wants to delve deeper into and see what they could be together.

But what Nicola Haken also demonstrates through Matt and Alex’s relationship is that regardless of how deep feelings can be, without open communication, divulging hard truths, and working through issues instead of running away, nothing will last.

The Making of Matt is a steamy, angsty, and revealing read about how realizing true feelings can transform someone into who he was meant to be and in a relationship that makes him whole. It may not come easy and there will definitely be highs and lows along the way, but in the end, all that matters is finding that one person who gets who you are and wouldn’t change you for anything.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Poison Apples