Shae Connor

3.5 to 4 Stars???

I'll be the first to admit that going into this, I was feeling "meh" about it. I simply expected a nice, average, simple story about a widower who meets someone who helps him with his grief, and everyone lives happily ever after.

What I got instead was a pretty poignant tale that centered on two people with terrible, heart breaking pasts and their efforts to find some well deserved happiness. This could've been trite, it could've moved too fast, it could've glossed over the show more ugly parts. But it didn't.

This was by no means perfect. Be aware the romantic progression was slow, there's a lot of kid time present, it chronicled the ordinary events of daily life. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the realistic execution, and I was impressed with the UST, smexy times, and emotional resonance. Perhaps my expectations were low and thus the higher rating, but I appreciated that not everything was neatly tied up into the perfect package we all typically demand and want. These guys have a tough road ahead, but at the end I truly believed that John and Bryan would be okay and that together, they would continue to work toward their happy ending. show less

I enjoyed this novel quite a lot, and will continue to read the series, but part of what I'm hoping for in the series is the rest of the story. Lemme explain.

This is all from Trevor/Evan's point of view, and for most of the book that works very well as far as I could tell. Where it crumbled a bit for me is at the end, when we get yet more of Evan's whys and almost none of Riley's. The end felt too fast, too easy without his side of why they had problems. There wasn't enough sharing, for me. show more It made the resolution feel rushed.

So. I hope we see Riley in the next book, and learn more about his side. If not, hey, it's still a good read, with great cast and setting and backstories and nookie. :) I did love the differences between the porn sex and the private. Well done. show less

*I won my copy of this book.*

This was a sweet and rather cute story about a fireman and a vet. I was a big fan of Fuego (the cat) and her babies. They were definitely the stars of the book for me. There wasn't much angst or conflict. It's just a nice story about two people meeting and falling in love.

This story’s title is very fitting. The two guys, Greg and Keith, each have their own personal rationale for not wanting to fall in love, ever, and especially not with their roommate. Their reasons are very different but both men have a valid position. I thought the battle they fight against themselves, their preconceived ideas, and their pasts were valiant, if totally misplaced. Thank God love is stronger than all that, or nobody would ever find a partner.

Greg has done it all, lost the show more plot in terms of sex, alcohol, and drugs. Determined to turn a new leaf, he will NOT be swayed by his sexy roommate. The guy is out every weekend anyway, and probably not interested in a boring guy like Greg. Except, Keith is too sexy for words, and when he starts being nice as well – how is Greg supposed to fight that? He does his best, but…

Keith is the quintessential party boy, and believes sex is best when it’s casual. Relationships are for when he’s older. He fell in love once and couldn’t deal with the pain when the other boy’s family moved away, so he decided not to make that mistake again. Except – there is something about Greg that speaks to him. He decides to start a ‘campaign’ to lure him into his bed, but as he gets to know him better and realizes that Greg is a really nice guy, he isn’t so sure that is fair… to Greg or to himself.

Not all the issues get solved by the end of the story. There are some real issues remaining, mainly for Greg, who is scared of falling back into old habits. But I liked the way they decide to face whatever comes their way together –that s the whole point about a working relationship. If you’re looking for a story about real guys with real issues, if you like them to have a past that influence current behaviors, and if a slowly growing sexual and emotional tension that grips you and doesn’t let you go are your thing, you will probably like this story.


NOTE: This book was provided by Amber Allure for the purpose of a review. show less