Book Overview

Title: Checking Out (City Boys Never Sleep #)
Author: Jay Leigh
Published: Rainbow Brigade Books, June 29, 2023
Pages: 350
Intended Audience: Adult
Genre: Romance
Sub-Genre/Tropes: Forced Proximity, Opposites Attract, Workplace, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking While Sick
Representation: LGBT, Mental Health, Disability (Dyslexia)
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Pacing: Medium
Moods: Emotional
Content Warnings: Childhood trauma, neglect, grief, addiction, death of a parent, homophobia, injury, depression, and anxiety

Summary

Shiloh Corbel is just a simple boy from a small town.

When he and his twin brother are thrown headfirst into the deep end, their status quo is turned upside down. They never even knew their father’s name, but a knock on their door early one morning finds them suddenly inheriting a luxury hotel empire. Clueless about how to handle this change of circumstances, they have to figure out how to navigate the fast-paced city lifestyle and the burden of maintaining a successful business. All while struggling to come to terms with the upheaval of learning about their sordid, secret history.

Trey Guillebeaux has been with Talbot & Co Properties for almost a decade.

He’s worked his way up from bellhop to executive assistant with the grit and determination needed to succeed in this fast-paced industry. But when tragedy strikes, his world is turned upside down. Now he is faced with the uncertainty of working alongside the Corbel twins and his late boss’ grieving wife as they try to keep the dream alive. The weight of it all threatens to crush him, especially as he tries in vain to deal with his own addictions and demons. Alone.

Forced to learn how to work together, Shiloh and Trey find themselves slowly drawn into the orbit of one another, even as they desperately try to deny the magnetic quality of their attraction. The task becomes even harder when the secrets and nightmares lurking in the alleys of their pasts step into the light. As the layers are peeled back, they are left raw and vulnerable, fighting against their demons for a chance to find something real together.

Review

Although different in tone from her debut, Checking Out is just as captivating and takes you on a journey of loss, recovery, and hope despite difficult circumstances.

As a highly empathetic person, this story definitely put me through the emotional ringer. The characters have their demons, like childhood trauma and neglect, grief, addiction, and depression and anxiety. However, Leigh handles it beautifully in a refreshing and comforting way. Too often in romance, larger issues seem to be either magically fixed by a romantic relationship or ignored once the characters get their happily ever after. And though, yes, Shiloh and Trey get their HEA, it is not at the expense of their healing. It is because of it. It is because they take the time to confront their demons head on and heal that they can move forward together in a healthy, loving, and truly inspiring.

Unsurprisingly, given how much I adored the entire Rainbow Brigade in Whisper into the Night, I fell in love with the entire cast of characters in Checking Out. Shiloh was an absolute sweetheart, and I loved his relationship with his fiercely protective twin, Mason. Trey was a perfect mix of compelling and swoony (I am such a sucker for a dark-haired, French-speaking hero).

Checking Out is a truly beautifully complex story that stuck with me for days after staying up way too late reading it. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this universe and from Jay’s writing.