I have a complicated history with Santino Hassell's Five Boroughs series, there are some books I have loved, some that I've liked and some I really didn't care for, but the crazy thing is in each book there are characters that I can't forget. In Concourse we get to know two very different and extremely flawed men whose relationship has spanned over a decade and changed to the point where neither one is sure where they stand with one another. This book was complicated, with characters that at times frustrated me and at other times I wanted to hug and tell them it would all be okay, but most of all I appreciated that finally admitting there was something "more" between them led them down a path to figuring out who they are and what they want out of life. Despite the happy ending, I have a feeling we'll see these two again, because in reality Concourse is only the beginning of their story. 
 Normally I despise characters like Ashton Townsend because they appear self centered, self destructive, and determined to blow up their own lives and anyone associated with them. As this story unfolds, it's evident that Ashton has real issues and I have to wonder why someone who has the means hasn't tried to work through his feelings with a professional because it honestly seems like he has a death wish. Unhappy in all aspects of his life, Ashton is a social media celebrity whose blue blood family finds him disgraceful expect when they want to use him to lure in clients for their company. Ashton is a party boy, an ex-model, and he's been in love with his best friend Valdrin Leka for years, but despite the intimate moments they've share he isn't quite sure of Val's sexual orientation or his feelings for him other than friendship which for the last year has been tenuous to say the least. 
 For year Valdrin Leka has trained as a boxer not because he loves it but because he has natural talent, because it is the one link he has to his father who took off, because his late mother was proud of him, and because he feels he owes it to his trainer and his sister to fight and win so his trainer will gain notoriety and he'll be able to put his sister through college. Valdrin has lived his life doing things for other people and never really figuring out what makes him happy. For years he's watched over Ashton first because he felt sorry for the boy who has become his best friend and then for other reasons he doesn't care to admit. He hates the life Ashton leads, he hates his public persona, but secretly Val knows that Ashton means more to him than he ever thought possible. 
 A decade plus of friendship plus some pretty big blurred lines have left Ashton feeling confused and Valdrin feeling guilty. There is no denying these two are messed up and watching them figure out how to deal with the feelings they have for one another, get past everything in their past, forgive one another for mistakes and move forward was pretty exhausting. However, I enjoyed seeing the changes in both these young men and watching them realize that they couldn't let their past, their unrealistic expectations, and other people rule their lives that they needed to take control and do what made them happy. That is what made this book for me; well that and the cameo appearances by Nunzio, one of the heroes from book one in this series. 
 I can always count on Santino Hassell to offer up gritty realism in his novels and Concourse has plenty of that along with a whole lot of soul searching and a whole lot of crazy, mixed up love! Big thanks to Riptide press editors for not cleaning up the New York slang out of the character's speech, it made these characters real. 
 ARC provided by the publisher for a voluntary review.