Seven Minutes : An MM Hurt Comfort Romance

I knew Raquel Riley was going to hurt me, but I was not prepared for this book to absolutely wreck me in chapter one and then somehow, slowly piece my heart back together again. This story is heartbreak wrapped in love, grief wrapped in hope, and one of the most beautiful MM hurt/comfort romances I’ve ever read. Eli and his husband felt so real that I forgot I was reading fiction half the time. Every memory, every moment, every regret, every ounce of love hit with full force. I cried, smiled, held my breath, and ugly-sobbed more than once. The concept alone is devastating—living through the final seven minutes of your life while reliving the love story that defined you—but the execution was flawless. The emotional weight of this book is enormous, yet it never feels manipulative. It feels honest. Raw. Human. And the love? Absolutely unforgettable. The kind of love that lingers in the quiet moments, in missed kisses goodbye, in exhausted late-night conversations, in the instinct to reach for each other even when everything is falling apart. This book reminded me that great romance isn’t just about falling in love. It’s about choosing each other over and over again, even when life is messy and painful and unfair. Five stars isn’t enough for this one. It shattered me and healed me at the same time, and I know these characters are going to stay with me for a very long time. Well done!

As Eli’s body gets stronger, so does the love and relationship between Eli and Adrian. This hurt to read. All the angst, the longing, the loneliness, the lost love, the sadness, the emptiness was a lot to take in. And then all those feelings were replaced by the steadiness of life, and love was rebuilt for two people who continue to show up for each other and believe again. The language used throughout the book is beautiful to read. I found myself highlighting many passages. If you enjoy books that get under your skin and make you feel the feelings of the characters and then leave you feeling soft and comfortable with a smile, this book is for you.

At times this was a difficult read for me (stress for ME). But that didn't make it a bad book. Quite the contrary. Any book that stirs feelings in you is a book that hits home. We aren't yet privy to the relationship between Adrian and Eli when a horrific car accident brings Eli to Adrian's emergency room. (maybe a nitpick here but how did none of the staff know it was his husband??) The title refers to the 7 minutes after you die when your brain is still functioning. Which is really kind of scary to me. But it is through those 7 minutes of recollection by Eli that we get most of the back story. Being that this is a romance, I don't think it is much of a spoiler that Eli survives. But what comes next is picking up the pieces of their lives, and more importantly, their marriage. There are fights and apologies and explanations.... Eli is still ready to give up despite his love for Adrian. Adrian is not giving up because of his love of Eli. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. Or almost lose it.

My latest read was Seven Minutes, by Raquel Riley. This is the story of Eli Hawke, whose heart stops beating from injuries due to an auto accident. His husband, Adrian Hawke, an E/R doctor, is on duty when Eli is brought to the hospital. We live through Eli’s experience of viewing a reel of his memories in the seven minutes after death, when the brain is still active. The memories – oh, the memories – detailed so well that I felt as though they were my own, some from childhood, but most of Adrian, from meeting him in college, up to the present when they’ve grown apart. And in those seven minutes he sees the life he built with Adrian, igniting the desire to get it back, with Adrian calling him back. This story is so wonderfully written, keeping you engaged from the get-go. And though the tragic beginning was a shock to the system, it laid the groundwork of what was to come with the rest of the story. The reader witnesses their relationship, from the very beginning, with so many wonderfully romantic, happy moments, and many of the less happy ones, where life got in the way. The author has done so well that you can’t help but feel Adrian’s pain from the beginning, as well as Eli’s, as the minutes go by, and then throughout the rest of the story. The grief, the fear, the love, the desire, the pleading, the longing, the tenderness, all portrayed so well that I felt it deep within my heart. I loved all the tender moments, my favorite being how the simple act of Adrian stroking…

The beginning of this book is a devastating blow. Adrian is a doctor on call in the emergency room when a trauma patient comes in on the brink of death. He snaps into action only to realize it's his husband, Eli...who they're quickly losing. Unfortunately, this loss is only the physical part. Adrian started losing his husband months ago. And now, faced with this cold reality, Adrian vows that he will do anything to have just one more chance. More time to show Eli how much he loves him. But when the body gives out, the brain continues to churn, showing us memories, flashes, reels of all of our formative moments and events that have shaped us. For seven minutes, Eli watches himself meet and fall in love with his husband. The big and small moments. The laughter and love. But that's not all he sees. He sees what came after -- the distance, the fighting, the loss of his perfect marriage. And as terrifying as dying is, coming back and facing his reality with Adrian may even be scarier. Wow. I don't even know what to say. This book. I dunno how but between releases I somehow forget what an incredible writer Raquel is. This book is poetry. It's profound and beautiful and terrifying and real. It carves out a spot in your chest and makes you realize that everything you have could be gone tomorrow unless you nurture it. Keep it. Appreciate it. I absolutely loved Eli and Adrian. They were both perfectly flawed. Excellent people who did what we all do: forgot to appreciate every…