This story is as sweet and beautiful as it is raw and painful. The layers of each character that are peeled away as the story is laid out will somehow simultaneously break you down and glue you together.
Ezra, the gorgeous broken boy, comes on to the scene in quite a dramatic fashion. Joshua Miller, the sweet do gooder, is just biding his time in backwoods Alabama. He’s counting down the days until college, convinced that’s when his life will really begin, when his life is turned upside down. He was just minding his business in his fishing boat when an angel literally fell from the sky - or jumped from a bridge. Semantics. Isn’t this the way the best love stories always start? This entire scene around the bridge really is a beautiful metaphor for their entire relationship. One of them always throwing themselves into the thick of it with no remorse and the other pulling them out gasping for air, but alive.
I’m not going to give a whole synopsis for the book, I believe you should just fully immerse yourself in the story. I would be absolutely remiss if I did not talk about the amazing writing that Ellis James did though. The descriptions of the scenery alone are so beautiful and captivating that it’s hard to believe they are just words on a page. Every effort was made to make the reader feel like they were in rural Alabama and it paid off. I’m from southern Georgia and I could feel the clay between my toes on the lake side, smell the pine trees and hear the cicadas as I was reading. I could practically see the heat waves rising off of the street after an afternoon rain shower. Hanging out and enjoying the eerie calm that is so beautiful in an old cemetery is an intrinsically southern right of passage. I understood and felt every bit of it. If the scenery is described this well, you can only imagine what James does to your emotions. You will feel everything down to your bones. It’s a visceral ride that doesn’t let go once the book is over. All of this to say, yes, this book is 700 pages, but every word has a place and purpose in the story. The craft that Ellis James shows in this book is unforgettable.
As far as the boys go, you will have no choice but to love these characters. None. There may be times when you want to deck Ezra or shake Miller but it’s because you love them. You will have zero doubts that there have never been two characters more deserving of loving each other. They are a perfect match in every way and even when the world around them tries to make it impossible, their souls are so intertwined that there is no real way to separate them. I love them individually (Millsy is my new number one book boyfriend) but together they’re ✨magic✨ and unstoppable. Joshua and Ezra’s love reminds me of the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Their story may be one of broken men, but they are fused back together with gold and ultimately made stronger and more beautiful than before

Wrath: An Enemies to Lovers MM Sports Romance Standalone (A Sinful Secrets Story)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 4,392 ratings
Price: 30.57
Last update: 06-16-2024
Top reviews from the United States

5.0 out of 5 stars
Josh and Ezra were destined for each other
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2022

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2022
Ezra, the gorgeous broken boy, comes on to the scene in quite a dramatic fashion. Joshua Miller, the sweet do gooder, is just biding his time in backwoods Alabama. He’s counting down the days until college, convinced that’s when his life will really begin, when his life is turned upside down. He was just minding his business in his fishing boat when an angel literally fell from the sky - or jumped from a bridge. Semantics. Isn’t this the way the best love stories always start? This entire scene around the bridge really is a beautiful metaphor for their entire relationship. One of them always throwing themselves into the thick of it with no remorse and the other pulling them out gasping for air, but alive.
I’m not going to give a whole synopsis for the book, I believe you should just fully immerse yourself in the story. I would be absolutely remiss if I did not talk about the amazing writing that Ellis James did though. The descriptions of the scenery alone are so beautiful and captivating that it’s hard to believe they are just words on a page. Every effort was made to make the reader feel like they were in rural Alabama and it paid off. I’m from southern Georgia and I could feel the clay between my toes on the lake side, smell the pine trees and hear the cicadas as I was reading. I could practically see the heat waves rising off of the street after an afternoon rain shower. Hanging out and enjoying the eerie calm that is so beautiful in an old cemetery is an intrinsically southern right of passage. I understood and felt every bit of it. If the scenery is described this well, you can only imagine what James does to your emotions. You will feel everything down to your bones. It’s a visceral ride that doesn’t let go once the book is over. All of this to say, yes, this book is 700 pages, but every word has a place and purpose in the story. The craft that Ellis James shows in this book is unforgettable.
As far as the boys go, you will have no choice but to love these characters. None. There may be times when you want to deck Ezra or shake Miller but it’s because you love them. You will have zero doubts that there have never been two characters more deserving of loving each other. They are a perfect match in every way and even when the world around them tries to make it impossible, their souls are so intertwined that there is no real way to separate them. I love them individually (Millsy is my new number one book boyfriend) but together they’re ✨magic✨ and unstoppable. Joshua and Ezra’s love reminds me of the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Their story may be one of broken men, but they are fused back together with gold and ultimately made stronger and more beautiful than before
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Soul Changing Story of Love and Survival…
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2022
This is the first book I have ever read by author Ellis/Ella James and it definitely will not be my last! As “Wrath” is a phenomenally written, angst filled, taboo tale of stepbrothers falling in love under the direst of circumstances is full of as much unbreakable devotion and care as it is tumultuous heart break!
This one is the fourth book in James’ “Sinful Secrets” series, and with it she pens a story so emotionally overwhelming, I found myself frequently rubbing my chest to try and relieve the ache. Simply put, if this book does not irrevocably affect you, you simply have no heart, as this profoundly loving and harrowing tale of Ezra and Josh, two high school seniors thrust together unexpectedly after their parents marry. Josh being a shy but popular small-town guy living in Arkansas with his mom and stepdad. A seemingly all-American kid who studies hard, plays sports and drums in the school’s marching band, and interacts well with his peers all while guarding his true self. He silently vows to wait for college to come out and be who he really is, away from the prying and feared judgmental eyes of his small southern town. A rather straight forward plan until stepbrother Ezra comes to live with them from up north. And while Ezra too is a seemingly all-America guy, even more so than Josh as the star quarterback of his former school’s football team, and quickly becoming equally popular with Josh’s friends and classmates, he holds himself aloft from Josh remaining stubbornly distant from everyone despite appearances. As time passes Josh soon understands that Ezra is a far darker soul, one who uses arrogance and bravado to deflect others. A young man who chooses sexual games and emotional cruelty as a way to keep Josh away from the horrific secrets he is holding deep within his soul. Yet despite his attempts to remain distant neither can deny the growing attraction between them.
However, just as the relationship between them begins to solidify into something far more profound, a devasting event explodes everything around them and alters both Josh and Ezra forever in ways they may never physically and emotionally recover from.
It is an intensely disturbing and thought-provoking piece that will mark you in ways you never before thought possible. And not just because it is a coming-of-age story where two gay young men navigate divulging their true selves in the deep south where bigotry runs as quick as water, but because of the bigger truths unveiled, truths acting as stark reminders that often times members of your own family are far more dangerous and damaging than any dark hearted outsider could ever be.
Yes, this book is a love story and a truly magnificent one at that, but it is also a harrowing story of survival. One in which Ezra survives an unimaginable betrayal by his own mother, acts done out of “love” so devastating he is irrevocably damaged. It is a series of stunning acts that will leave you breathless and make you think deeply at the abject cruelty still alive and well within our society. I was stunned by the sheer power this book possessed, here James offers a level of emotional honesty I have rarely seen in books of this nature, especially with how Ezra's trauma manifests, and with Josh's unbreakable loyalty and selfless care toward Ezra is concerned. It is a must-read story in my opinion and has been the most affecting book I have read thus far this year.
This one is the fourth book in James’ “Sinful Secrets” series, and with it she pens a story so emotionally overwhelming, I found myself frequently rubbing my chest to try and relieve the ache. Simply put, if this book does not irrevocably affect you, you simply have no heart, as this profoundly loving and harrowing tale of Ezra and Josh, two high school seniors thrust together unexpectedly after their parents marry. Josh being a shy but popular small-town guy living in Arkansas with his mom and stepdad. A seemingly all-American kid who studies hard, plays sports and drums in the school’s marching band, and interacts well with his peers all while guarding his true self. He silently vows to wait for college to come out and be who he really is, away from the prying and feared judgmental eyes of his small southern town. A rather straight forward plan until stepbrother Ezra comes to live with them from up north. And while Ezra too is a seemingly all-America guy, even more so than Josh as the star quarterback of his former school’s football team, and quickly becoming equally popular with Josh’s friends and classmates, he holds himself aloft from Josh remaining stubbornly distant from everyone despite appearances. As time passes Josh soon understands that Ezra is a far darker soul, one who uses arrogance and bravado to deflect others. A young man who chooses sexual games and emotional cruelty as a way to keep Josh away from the horrific secrets he is holding deep within his soul. Yet despite his attempts to remain distant neither can deny the growing attraction between them.
However, just as the relationship between them begins to solidify into something far more profound, a devasting event explodes everything around them and alters both Josh and Ezra forever in ways they may never physically and emotionally recover from.
It is an intensely disturbing and thought-provoking piece that will mark you in ways you never before thought possible. And not just because it is a coming-of-age story where two gay young men navigate divulging their true selves in the deep south where bigotry runs as quick as water, but because of the bigger truths unveiled, truths acting as stark reminders that often times members of your own family are far more dangerous and damaging than any dark hearted outsider could ever be.
Yes, this book is a love story and a truly magnificent one at that, but it is also a harrowing story of survival. One in which Ezra survives an unimaginable betrayal by his own mother, acts done out of “love” so devastating he is irrevocably damaged. It is a series of stunning acts that will leave you breathless and make you think deeply at the abject cruelty still alive and well within our society. I was stunned by the sheer power this book possessed, here James offers a level of emotional honesty I have rarely seen in books of this nature, especially with how Ezra's trauma manifests, and with Josh's unbreakable loyalty and selfless care toward Ezra is concerned. It is a must-read story in my opinion and has been the most affecting book I have read thus far this year.