The second book in Jax Calder’s Rainbow Redemption series, Reckless Hearts is an angsty, deeply emotional romance that spans almost a decade. While this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone; Tim, Jamie, and a couple of characters from Beautiful Hearts make cameo appearances but while it’s definitely worth reading their story, it’s not absolutely essential to do so before reading this one.

Seb Kleggs has had a crush on his sister Saskia’s best friend Marcus Johnson since the first time he laid eyes on him at the age of fifteen and promptly emptied a box of breakfast cereal all over himself. Marcus is gorgeous – handsome, charming, funny and with the type of voice that would inspire a nun to drop her underwear – and Seb quickly resigned himself to hopeless yearning from afar because there’s no way someone like Marcus would look twice at a gawky nerd like him.

Marcus and Saskia met at university and are the archetypal cool kids everyone wants to impress. Marcus is very well aware of the way people react to him and likes the way it makes him feel, but there’s a damaged psyche behind the handsome face. He knows he’s merely playing a part, the part of Marcus-the-outrageous-flirt-and-charmer that everyone expects of him – and that behind the façade, he’s an empty shell.

A few years later, when Marcus and Saskia are in their final year of university and Seb is in his first, Marcus propositions Seb when they’re at a party. There’s no way Seb is going to turn him down, even though they both know Saskia will be pissed off if she ever finds out they’ve hooked up. But that isn’t going to be a problem; neither of them is going to tell her, and besides, it’s only going to be a one-time thing, right?

Wrong. Marcus doesn’t do repeats, but there’s something about Seb – he’s so comfortably himself, so real – that makes Marcus feel something other than hollowed-out and fake for the first time in a very long time. Somehow, that one hook-up leads to two, and then to more; Marcus can’t explain it, but Seb has captivated him and he just can’t get enough of him. It’s not only the sex – which is fantastic – it’s Seb, his kindness, his complete lack of artifice, his enthusiasm for the things he’s interested in and his ability to draw Marcus out of whatever dark places his mind goes to.

Over the weeks and months that follow, Marcus and Seb continue to see each other in secret, and their relationship develops beyond ‘just sex’ into spending time together and hanging out. Seb, who is studying zoology, takes Marcus to visit the wildlife conservation project he’s passionate about, and Marcus is drawn in even more by Seb’s intensity and dedication – and just a bit jealous because Seb has clearly found his purpose in life, while Marcus remains directionless. But the connection he feels with Seb is like nothing he’s felt before; being with him is so easy and he can be more himself with him than he is with anyone. Marcus has never wanted a serious relationship – he thinks he’s a bad bet owing to traumatic events in his past – but Seb makes him think it might be worth trying. And Seb can’t quite believe his luck, that he’s actually dating the man of his dreams – who not only endures his nerdgasms about random scientific facts but seems to actually enjoy them! – and loves that he gets to see a quieter and more thoughtful side of Marcus that he doesn’t show to anyone else.

But separation is looming. Marcus and Saskia have long-standing plans to visit the US for a couple of months that summer, and neither Marcus nor Seb is greatly looking forward to being apart, even though it’s only for a few weeks. But Saskia returns home alone, explaining that Marcus was “spotted” by a talent scout for a modelling agency in LA, and that he’s going to stay on for a few weeks to see what happens. Seb is quietly heartbroken.

Seven years pass.

The story picks up at Saskia’s wedding, which will be the first time Seb and Marcus have had any contact with each other since Marcus decided not to return to New Zealand. In the intervening years, he has progressed from modelling to films and has become a bona fide movie star, and Seb has earned his PhD and is now doing postdoctural research on fairy terns, an endangered species, in Auckland.They know they’re bound to see one another, but they aren’t quite prepared for the speed with which their attraction and emotional connection come roaring back to life. It’s not long before they’re falling into bed together again, but Marcus’ life is in LA or wherever in the world he’s filming, and Seb’s is firmly in Auckland. Their lives have gone in completely different directions and even though they agree to try the long distance thing, it becomes harder and harder for both of them the longer it goes on. There’s no doubt these two love each other deeply – the author does a great job, right from the very start, of showing that they belong together – but the demands of Marcus’ career alongside the very serious demons he’s struggling to keep at bay soon begin to take a toll on his physical and mental health and on his relationship with Seb. The crunch comes when they have to figure out if there’s ever going to be a way they can both get what they want and need from each other – or if they’re going to just keep marking time and end up destroying each other in the process. Kudos to Ms. Calder for not taking an easy way out here; third-act break-ups are commonplace in romance novels, but rarely do they happen for the right reasons. That this one does makes it all the more devastating.

Reckless Hearts is angsty, passionate, and filled with raw emotion. The development of the romance between Seb and Marcus is extremely well done – they’re very different in many ways, yet they just click; their chemistry is electric and they have a deep understanding of each other – the good and the bad – on a visceral level in a way no-one else has ever had. Marcus’ issues – his feelings of inadequacy and his need to prove his worth – are heartbreaking to read, as is Seb watching him struggle while feeling powerless to help him.

I enjoyed the book a great deal, but it doesn’t quite make the grade as a DIK for a handful of reasons. The seven-year-gap with no contact whatsoever is a bit hard to credit, and the prose is sometimes a little repetitive and overwrought.  And as I said at the outset, the best-friend’s-little-sibling-is-off-limits trope isn’t one I enjoy. Thankfully, it’s not the main cause of the conflict in the story, but Saskia is, for most of the book, simply awful, and I really could have done with seeing less of her. She’s the spoiled favourite child and Seb has always lived in her shadow; she’s not evil, she’s just used to being the centre of attention and getting her own way, and Seb and Marcus spend way too much time thinking about her feelings rather than their own. She does, at least, step up to support Seb at a key moment later in the story.

The characterisation of the two leads is excellent. In the hands of a less skilful author, Marcus and his issues could easily have overshadowed Seb and his ‘normal-ness’, but Seb is just as complex and well-developed as Marcus is. Marcus has lived with so much guilt and pain for so long that he’s locked his emotions down tight – until Seb starts to slowly worm his way through his walls, and finds a way to give him a sense of balance and rightness. Seb’s personal growth is expertly depicted; we see that he’s grown into himself and gained confidence to go for what he wants – enough confidence to be able to tell when he’s selling himself short, and the strength of will to do what needs to be done, no matter the cost to him personally.

Reckless Hearts is an emotional rollercoaster of a read, rife with guilt, self-worth issues and fear of failure in the lows, and full of warmth, wit and gorgeously heartfelt romance in the highs. If you’re in the market for a romance that will tug at the heartstrings and deliver a hard-won HEA, you need look no further.