Rating: 3.75 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Ryan Matson’s family completely rejected him for being gay, a life-altering event that sent him running away to New York. There, Ryan found solace in drugs, while working his ass off to become a top-tier lawyer. By the time he graduated college, Ryan had earned his law degree, bagged an incredibly wealthy and naive husband, and took full advantage of his law firm’s hard partying culture. But things fell apart spectacularly when Ryan was beaten to within an inch of his life, overdosed, was disbarred, and got divorced from his husband. Now, Ryan has a shot at getting back on his feet—he just needs a chance to prove himself. Then, he runs into hot former colleague, Logan Silver, who refuses to write Ryan off as a lost cause. But even Logan’s good intentions may not be a silver bullet for Ryan’s problems.
As a kid, Logan idolized his older brother, Todd. Even when Todd fell in with the wrong crowd during high school and began abusing drugs, lashing out at his own family and getting increasingly isolated, Logan still loved his brother. All that changed when Todd overdosed and landed himself in the hospital. It crushed Logan to see his brother suffer, but it destroyed him when he went to visit Todd one day only to discover his brother had disappeared. Decades later, Logan has it made professionally as a contract lawyer, but his personal life is a shambles, scarred as he is by his brother’s addiction and subsequent disappearance. When Logan runs into Ryan post-disbarment, he is convinced he can save at least this one man from further ruining his life with drugs. It also doesn’t hurt that attraction flares white-hot between Logan and Ryan, but can sexual chemistry, a savior complex, and a consuming need for redemption really bring these two men together?
Castles in the Air is a contemporary get-together from author Felice Stevens. It takes place in modern-day New York, with a few short scenes in more rural locations. The narration switches between Logan and Ryan, which sets up a great contrast between how the two MCs think and act when they are alone, versus when they are together. Individually, I felt like I was in a tug of war. Chapters from Ryan’s perspective had me sympathizing with him and feeling like Logan was ignorant of what it meant to live with drug addiction. Chapters from Logan’s perspective appealed to my trope-loving side where all I wanted was Mr. Right to swoop in and prove Ryan was worth fighting for. The delightful contrast came from scenes where these two are together–at least before Ryan has a breakthrough. In a nutshell, I felt like Logan’s white-knight syndrome manifested in ways that seemed stifling and controlling. I didn’t doubt that Logan was actually invested in and hoping for Ryan’s recovery, but his behavior (more attitude than physical reactions) also felt kind of plain icky.
One fun thing about the story is just how many supporting characters there are that actually offer literal support. Half the extra characters seem to have degrees in mental wellness related fields, giving Ryan a safe space to finally start unpacking his addiction. This also eventually leads to Logan beginning to address how intensely he reacts to Ryan’s behavior when their paths first cross in the story. Personally, I thought Logan had a lot of emotional baggage from his brother’s OD, but it didn’t seem to be a focal point of the story and, though he eventually starts addressing this baggage with one of the myriad professionals he befriends, it felt a little late in the game.
As far as romance goes, I thought the “instant attraction” was doing the bulk of the heavy lifting here. Logan does have a crush on Ryan, one he is reluctant to admit when his lawyer partners start asking why Logan is bending over backwards for the disgraced, disbarred Ryan. This felt a bit weak to me, since it’s abundantly clear that Ryan’s history starts with him getting addicted to drugs in college, marrying rich to keep up his drug habit, then ODing and having it all come crashing down. The only real “history” Logan and Ryan share is an intense hookup, but that was enough to sustain them until Ryan was clean enough to know what he really wanted.
Despite the off-the-charts attraction, these two actually go through a slow burn because Ryan doesn’t want to pursue anything with Logan until Ryan is sure he’s got his feet under him. The topic of Ryan and Logan as a couple gets several supporting characters up in arms, as well. With the unbalanced power-dynamic between Logan and Ryan at the start of the book, I thought it was great to see the MCs’ support systems raising the issue of how-fast-is-too-fast and watching the drama unfold on page.
Overall, I thought Castles in the Air was a deep dive into how one man’s recovery from a life ruined by drug addiction could play out. I enjoyed Ryan as a sensitive, well-meaning lead who is by no means perfect, but who eventually finds his way out of the addiction hole. Frankly, I liked Logan less because of his unsavory savior complex, but that is a well formulated part of who the character is. If you’re interested in a story about addiction, recovery, finding love and meaning in life, and a whole lot of found family, then I think you’ll enjoy this story.
