Aria GraceCritiques
Auteur de More Than Friends
Critiques
3.5 Stars
This book is the first one I’ve read in the ‘More Than Friends’ series. I was able to follow along with the story even though characters from the other books appeared in this one. I don’t think you need to read the others in order to enjoy this one.
Brad is a construction worker that is injured and needs to stay home until his arm is healed. He’s twenty-one, but seemed older than that. Maybe because he’d been on his own for a while. Brad lives in the apartment below Luka and his father, but he didn’t realize what went on upstairs until his first day at home recovering. Brad is protective and is immediately attracted to Luka the first time he sees him. Brad gives Luka a house key and allows him to stay at his place if he ever needs to.
Luka is looking forward to his eighteenth birthday so he can move out from his father’s home. Luka walks on eggshells, never knowing when his father will decide to beat him again for no reason. He is befriended one day after Brad discovers Luka sitting on the stairs after one such beating. Luka was attracted to Brad when Luka returned home from work and saw him in his living room.
I found it difficult to believe that Luka would fall so quickly for Brad, but then again I can see how it could happen. Sort of like a beaten dog that finds a human who is kind, they will then latch on to that person as their savior. I think Luka does the same thing with Brad, which works for Brad because as I mentioned, he is very protective.
The two grow close and sleep together but Brad doesn’t make any advances because of Luka’s age. Unfortunately, Luka has an ‘accident’ which sets it up so his father gets Brad arrested because of Luka’s age. What I did have a problem believing, is even after Brad is sprung from jail, he sleeps with Luka again as Brad awaits the outcome of the DNA testing. I’m really not sure why the author wrote this in because it shows how very stupid Brad and Luka are, not how much they desire each other.
The author did a good job of keeping the plot moving along and holding my attention. However, at the same time, the story didn’t feel smooth, but choppy. I suppose that could be the author’s style of writing. Since this is the first book I’ve read by her I can’t say for sure. I wish we learned more about what kind of people Brad and Luka were. Mostly the story revolved around how attracted they were to each other, the menacing father and how they were going to get Brad out of trouble.
There were some issues of odd povs. For instance while in Luka’s pov he thinks about Brad:
Even though I had issues with the style of writing, mind-reading and almost instant love Brad and Luka had for each other, I found the book entertaining. I give it 3.5 Stars but since I can’t give half stars I raise it to 4 Stars because My Name is Luka definitely kept my interest.
3.5
Let me first say before I start my review, that the cover with the white banding and teal writing, is lovely. Very nice.
This book can be read as a stand-alone, but I think that a reader will get more out of it if the first two books are read. The reason I say that is because the story starts at an intense moment as Michael, or Mike as he likes to be called, is getting up the nerve to speak to Jamie from Book 2, and apologize for what he did. The intensity of the moment feels like we walk into the middle of the scene if this book is read as a stand-alone. So read the other two books first is my suggestion, even though you can understand this story without reading the other two first.
When we meet Michael he is homeless having traveled around making apologies to the men he wronged. The last person he has to apologize to is Jamie, because Jamie would be the hardest. Luckily Jamie is more forgiving than Mike ever expected. Jamie and his boyfriend Reed, help Mike get a job training dogs with their friend Shane. Mike ends up making friends with Jamie and Reed’s friends, and with Seb, Jamie’s roommate.
Seb is a bartender and I have to reveal one thing about him because his profession doesn’t work for me.
Both Mike and Seb sounded different during the dialogue scenes, although Mike sounded a lot older than a twenty-year-old. Also towards the end of the book, he started to sound more like a female. I didn’t notice that as much in the beginning. I think the monologue scenes need work because the internal thoughts of both MCs sounded an awful lot alike. Also Mike was often described as acting ‘shy’ which was counter to what Mike said about himself as being rebellious and manipulative. I didn’t buy the ‘shy’ description and found it made Mike’s character more unbelievable. I think if he was portrayed as restrained and cautious because he was afraid of making mistakes or harming anyone again I would have found the character consistency for Mike more realistic.
About the last quarter of the book appeared to have more ‘spag’ errors than the first three-quarters. I don’t know if it was because the book was rushed for a publishing time limit, but it needs to be looked over.
It sounds like I didn’t find much I liked about this story, which isn’t true. I’ve only read one other book by this author, but I remember that I like her plots. They don’t seem to follow the same formula as most of the MM books out there which I like. I also like that the big scene that is supposed to happen at the end of every story, per the supposed ‘writing rules,’ wasn’t that large a scene in this book. I don’t need a big scene to make a story enjoyable, because really, life isn’t like that all the time.
There were a couple of subplots that I felt were left dangling and either need to be fixed in a future edition or addressed in a follow up book. Those subplots had to do with the young man, Jeff Nielson, who had what appeared to be a crush on Seb at the bar. We never found out what happened to him after Seb and Mike get together. The other issue was the incident with Kyle in the restaurant. That ended on a disturbing cliffhanger. It bothered me that the author didn't tell what happened to Kyle. I felt cheated and not quite angry, but close because the author didn't resolve that 'story'. I want to know what happens. I would’ve even liked it if for just one little scene, Seb stopped Kyle at some point and said to him. “I know we don’t speak any more, but if you ever need help, a place to stay, anything, I’ll help. No questions. I’m at the same number.” It would’ve been nice to have seen some token of care from Seb for Kyle in the story, but we didn’t get it.
Anyway despite things I thought could’ve been written better or more consistently, I enjoyed the story and will likely read the next book in this series if there is a next book, especially if we find out what happens to Kyle and Jeff. I plan on going back and reading books one and two to get a better sense of the series as a whole. When I’m Lost is a fast, easy read and I give it 3 Stars
When You Were Mine is the fourth book in the ‘Mile High Romance’ series. It’s the story of Kyle and Jonathan, two characters mentioned in previous books. Kyle is the ex-boyfriend of Seb from Book Three and Jonathan is the lawyer, briefly mentioned in the previous books. This story is told in first person from both Kyle’s and Jonathan’s povs.
This story takes off soon after Book Three. Something happens with Kyle’s abusive boyfriend and Kyle is ordered by the police to not go back to Kyle’s home and they’ve frozen his bank accounts. Kyle is wandering the streets when Seb, also one of Kyle’s ex’s, sees him. Seb redeems himself in this story because I thought he wasn’t nice to Kyle in the last book. Seb takes Kyle to lunch and listens to his story of what happened with Kyle’s boyfriend. Seb also apologizes for his terrible behavior and breakup with Kyle. Then he offers Kyle a place to stay at his apartment. In the meantime, Jonathan, a friend of Seb’s asks him to check on Jonathan’s mother. She has a spare bedroom and Kyle stays at her home until things are straightened out with the police business.
Kyle is a nice guy, but he was still pining for Seb. He called Seb the one that got away and blamed himself for not being manly enough to hold him. That’s how he ended up with his abusive boyfriend, to prove he could handle anything he dished out. But after the police incident Kyle decides to start over. Kyle helps Jonathan’s mother around the house. That’s what Kyle likes to do, be helpful. He’s kind and thoughtful. In Book Three I got the impression that Kyle was a bit weak, but that’s not how he came across in this book, so I found his character inconsistent.
Jonathan has severe OCD that is conveyed well in the story. His home is attached to his business office. Jonathan doesn’t like to be involved with people because it upsets his routine. Seb calls him a hermit. With the arrival of Kyle, Jonathan’s routine is destroyed. Slowly he stretches his limits and Kyle is patient and understanding. Since Kyle likes to take care of people, he is good at making allowances for Jonathan’s behavior and finding ways to alleviate pressure.
I did have a bit of trouble with the characters. I thought that they sounded too much alike. The characters in the earlier books had more distinctive speech, but in this book, even in the monologue they sounded the same. It helped that the author marked each pov change with the character’s name.
As usual with this author’s books in this series, I liked the plot in this story. There was the romance between Jonathan and Kyle, but also the situation between Kyle and his ex. I have to warn that there is a rape, along with violence in this book in case anyone has trouble reading that sort of scene.
I found this story a fast, entertaining read. I think Jonathan was the stronger character in that his OCD mannerisms were well done. I give When You Were Mine, 4 Stars.
I’ve read many of the books in this series and enjoyed them. However, I want to clarify that this is the first audio book review I’ve ever made. Listening to a book is very different from reading one. For the first chapter or so, I had difficulty with differentiating between the characters’ voices and that’s on me. The narrator did a very good job of reading slowly and clearly so that wasn’t an issue. I liked that at the beginning of each chapter, the name of the character was given, because I would have had difficulty following a long.
In terms of personality, all three men were distinctive. Chad was more Alpha and stoic. AJ struck me as fun loving and quicker to laugh. Sawyer was insecure, and sexually unsure. We find out he’s a virgin mainly because he’s never had an interest in other men until Chad and AJ enter his life. I don’t know if he would be called asexual, but I wouldn’t call him that. Each of them seemed to find the others very attractive partly because of the care the others gave for the children. Parenting and nurturing was very important for each of them. I think that was the main element Sawyer missed in another man. I did find Sawyer’s insecurity a bit much however. I don’t know if he was written that way to portray the nurturing and caring aspects of Chad and AJ or not, but for me personally, it was overdone.
The narrator did a good job of keeping the speech patterns and voices different of each of the characters, although he seemed to have a bit more difficulty with Chad. Chad had the deep voice, especially when talking about sex or flirting. Sometimes the narrator slid too close to Chad sounding like AJ. The only way I knew it was Chad and not AJ was the speech tempo. Chad spoke slower. I noticed the issue more towards the last two chapters of the book. Sawyer’s voice was consistent throughout.
I enjoyed this story and the audio book. I will likely also read the book when I catch up with the other ones before it. I give When the Bough Breaks 3.5 Stars and raise it to 4 Stars because Goodreads doesn’t give half stars.
3.5 Stars
Additional note 2/4/18: This book should not be considered a HEA, rather a HFN.
I should mention that I read the third book of this series before I read this story. Since this book is free through the M/M Romance group, All Romance and Amazon, I suggest reading this book first.
Shane and Alex first meet at the vet’s office. The attraction between the two men is instant. Alex’s dog Stormy has injured her leg and will be put in a cast. Unfortunately Alex needs someone to look after his dog while he’s away on a business trip and Shane volunteers. Thus begins their relationship.
I liked Alex. He was flirty, had a good sense of humor and when the serious part of the story came up, the author did a good job of conveying Alex’s anxiety and fear. Shane always had this edge of caution about him and a sadness. A wariness about opening himself up and when he did, he could swiftly close the door to any attachment. The one issue I had with the characters is that Alex was more forward in the beginning and Shane more shy. Then after Shane's first experience with Alex he quickly acts like the more experienced partner and Alex becomes more demure is the only way I can put it. I have a difficult time with characters when authors feel in order to make one character grow and become more outgoing, the other character has to diminish in personality. That was my main issue with this story.
There was a secret in Shane’s past that he hadn’t told Alex about, that came back to bite him later. The author did a good job of hinting about that ‘something’ as the story went on. But, when it was revealed I was still surprised. I felt sorry for Alex about what happened, but at the same time, he agreed. I guess a reader could consider that issue, which happened off page and over a year ago, to be dub-con. This secret created good conflict in the story and I can see how Alex felt shame and guilt about what had happened and how he had to accept responsibility. He makes a decision without telling Alex and creates a lot of pain for Alex. There is a HFN however, which you’ll just have to read to find out how that happens.
As with the other books I’ve read by this author, I like the plots and characters in her stories. I find them to be slightly different from the other M/M romances I’ve read. When It’s Right is a fast, light angst read. I liked the MCs and the secondary characters. I give this book 4 Stars
What I like about this author’s books are the plots and characters. Even though this is a series, the characters are distinct from the ones in the other books, as are the plots. I don’t get a cookie cutter feeling as I have in some other series I’ve read by other authors.
Jeff is a fun-loving guy, but he’s ready to leave that part of him behind and settle down with someone. Sadly, he seems to attract the one-night stand kind of men and he despairs of ever finding anyone. When he meets a masked stranger at a party, he thinks ‘the Phantom’ might be the one. Unfortunately, even though there was chemistry between them, the Phantom was only looking for a brief encounter. It only affirms Jeff’s belief in himself that he’s not good enough to be a keeper and to be loved.
Drake is a smart, but secretive man. He doesn’t want any ties because he’s deep in the closet. One-night stands are enough for him, at least he thinks so until he meets Jeff, but he still won’t come out of the closet. I found it difficult to believe that Drake anguished over being gay even though he tells the readers he is. I didn’t feel his fear or anxiety about it, so I never found his argument about staying in the closet convincing. His thoughts came across as mere statements. This was the biggest issue I had with the story. Drake’s feelings weren’t conveyed well enough for me to feel them.
I liked the interactions between Jeff and Drake. Jeff, despite his insecurity, was willing to ‘hide in the closet’ with Drake as long as they could be together. He knew what it would cost him in terms of togetherness, but he was mature and willing to face the consequences. Drake was the one who was flakey.
I found the mystery surrounding the company’s problems interesting. When I Fall is an entertaining read. My only issue was the lack of emotion over Drake’s fear of being outed. I give this story, 4 Stars.
The book starts off with a prologue explaining how Jamie ends up in Colorado and why he behaves the way he does. Celebrating his eighteenth birthday he goes to the casino and gambles. There a young man named Michael, approaches him. Michael isn’t all that he seems and next thing Jamie knows, he’s arrested and on Megan’s List. His parents disown him, his college hopes are dashed and the only one who will speak to him is his uncle who runs ‘The Unicorn’ and offers him a job. From that point on Jamie wears a mask. The mask of a flirty, slutty server, so he doesn’t have to come close to anyone, until he meets Reed. I don’t know if the author had intended it, but I felt that Jamie tried to accept his fate but his bitterness at what happened still came through.
One point I have to make is that the casino scene isn’t realistic and the author didn’t do her research. The info is easily available on the web. In Vegas the gambling age is twenty-one. I doubt Jamie would’ve been able to gamble unless he had a fake ID. And I don’t know about nowadays, but kids, even with their parents, couldn’t get into casinos. So I don’t know how Michael was able to get in one unless he was with his parents because his parents found him there. And what are the odds of finding someone in all the casinos unless they’d brought him in with them? The whole casino scene is unrealistic and one needs to suspend belief.
Anyway on to the second MC, Reed. He’s a nice guy, the kind of guy Jamie’s friend Seb says he should date instead of the losers he hooks up with. Reed really likes Jamie but is confused by his hot and cold behavior. He just about gives up on Jamie until he finds out some shocking news. He and his friends confront Jamie and things happen. You’ll have to read the book to find out the rest.
I again enjoyed the author’s characters and the plot, except for the casino scene which isn’t possible. When I’m Weak is a fast, easy read with a surprising epilogue. One could call it a cliffhanger, but it’s more of a lead-in to the third book. I give this story 4 Stars despite the prologue’s issues.
2.5 Stars
First, I’ll start off with the cover. I like the Christmassy feel of it, it’s pretty. But I don’t think the two men remind me of Everett or Graham.
The plot starts with Graham being stood up for dinner and Everett happens to arrive at the restaurant and they decide to eat dinner together. They have a great time and both are attracted to each other. They kiss under the mistletoe then go their separate ways for a year. The reason is Everett is pregnant and he doesn’t want to get involved yet. But they sort of tentatively agree to meet at the restaurant again the next year. In the meanwhile, there is a big jump in time of a year while both men think of the other a lot. I didn’t like the time jump as Everett goes about his life and has the baby. If it was a prologue, I don’t think the jump would’ve bothered me as much, but it wasn’t. Everett made a big deal about getting pregnant, but the whole event was glossed over. Next thing readers know, he has a kid.
The characters are nice, although I don’t remember it being mentioned what they did other than, their jobs were stressful. They seemed to fit together. The daughter, Seri, was cute and wasn’t an annoying child.
As to the story, I honestly have to say, nothing really happens. I’m writing this review and I can’t remember anything significant or anything that pops out about the story. Not even about their relationship except how they meet and the end. What I do remember is the endless monologue. There’s hardly any dialogue or action. Just loads of the characters telling and telling and talking about what they think, what they feel, and what’s going on around them. It’s like listening to a person in your living room or at the water cooler droning on about something, and you not caring what they are saying because their talk doesn’t make you feel anything. And that was a big problem with the story. All the monologue didn’t pull me in, or make me feel. For example, one of the lines said by Everett is: ‘No, I wanted to experience this joy as fully as possible.’ He’s telling me about the joy, he’s not making me feel his joy. The whole story is like this, just telling they felt happy, or sad, but not really conveying it through any of the senses or descriptions. Most authors have a problem with that when they write in first person, and very few can write first person well. When I finished the book, I was bothered by the way it was written and I kept asking myself why? I realized it was because the authors relied on the characters to just ‘tell’ readers about their emotions and the environment without the authors making the effort to really dig into the emotions of the characters and convey it to the readers. It was like surface writing, rather than diving deep. That to me is lazy writing. So, I’m going to be in the minority about liking the book. If the loads of monologue were jettisoned, this would be about one-fourth the length it is now. A short story might’ve been a lot more interesting instead of being full of filler.
Overall, the characters were fine, the daughter cute, the idea behind the plot was good, but was poorly executed. And I don’t like saying that because I love Christmas stories. It’s almost impossible for me to dislike one. I’m guessing many will like this story because of the holiday cuteness, which this does have, but I want more than that in a story I read. I don’t want to be bored by endless monologue that doesn’t pull me in or make me feel. I want to give The Mistletoe Promise, 2.5 Stars, but I can’t for the GR rating system, so I give it 2 Stars.
EDITED April 5, 2022: I mention below that this book could be read as a stand-alone. This is NOT true. I had so many questions about Doc and how he ended up with Xander as his son in this story. All those questions are answered in Book One which I am currently reading. I didn't know this because I read this book first. So I'm now clarifying that this book can NOT be read as a stand-alone and the series MUST be read in order.
I’ll start with the cover. It’s kind of cute. The other books in the series have the same layout, a shifter held in the hand of a human, so there isn’t anything unique about the covers, except for the cute otter on this one. I also think the title is cute.
I haven’t read Books One or Two in this series, but I didn’t have any trouble figuring out what was going on in this one. This could be read as a stand-alone.
The blurb does a good job of describing the plot so I won’t go into it much, except for this part, ‘an evil sheriff who won’t stay gone.’ What the heck does that mean? There is absolutely no mention of an evil sheriff in the book at all. Did the authors plan on having an evil sheriff but then take him out? Or does that line belong to one of their other books? Whatever the reason, I think they should fix the blurb because it's misleading.
Anyway, Doc finds out that Levi is Xander’s father and heads off to confront him on why he left Xander’s mother alone to give birth. He ends up finding help from the local Alpha, lion shifter, Mama, who runs a B&B. For the first part of the book, it built up to the confrontation with Levi, and Mama’s plan for the rabbits and the story was interesting. As soon as Levi left the rabbit colony to move to River’s Edge and be with Doc, the story lost steam. It became the typical, ‘my mate, knot me and let’s make babies, and then having a baby.’ Boring. However, I will say that when the Hart writing team includes Aria Grace to write with them, there are less holes in the plot and fewer random ideas plopped into the plot for no reason. There’s a smoother continuity to the story. Saying that, I don’t remember the authors ever explaining how Doc ended up being the adoptive parent of Xander. Were he and the mother friends? Was he her doctor so she asked him to adopt Xander? If there was mention of it, it must’ve been extremely brief because it whizzed right past me. I think it is an important enough event to warrant a mention.
Personality wise, Doc was a nice guy, very caring of Xander. I imagined him to be an Alpha however, not an omega. Even though Levi was proclaimed the ‘Alpha’ of the rabbits, it was merely symbolic, so that doesn’t mean he was an Alpha. I expected him to be the omega. Levi gave up the love of his life to protect her and stay with the warren to be the symbolic Alpha. He never knew he had a son until Doc showed up. From there Doc and Mama hatch a plan, which I won’t describe. Xander was I think about thirteen to fourteen years old. He was like an old soul, or one of those kids where authors like to make the kids all knowing and perfect, which made him annoying. I don’t like reading perfect kids. No kid is perfect even if they’re good kids. They have annoying habits or talk back or something. Xander never did any of that, so he was an abnormal kid.
Overall, this book was okay. There was nothing extraordinary to make it stand out. It’s a fast, easy read for anyone looking for a fluffy story after a complex or angst-ridden book. I give Otterly in Love, 3 Stars
First the cover. I like it. The covers are all the same with just the animal on the front being different.
The blurb describes the plot pretty well so I won’t go into it that much. A lot of the book is Jase healing from his wounds in bunny form and August talking to him about stuff. I thought that was the best part of the story. This book MUST be read first or else the third one with Doc and Xander in it will NOT make sense. I thought Book Three could be read as a stand-alone when I read it before this one, but it can’t. This series MUST be read in order to make sense of the characters and what happens to them.
I’ve noticed when the author Aria Grace writes with the Lorelei Hart team, that the writing is usually smoother and doesn’t have strange subplots dropped in then never finished. However, this time there are some things I picked up they hadn’t fixed before publishing and this is not an ARC. 1) Time sequences weren’t correct, like baking the cake. It couldn’t have happened the way it was written but it did because 2) August said he wouldn’t watch them shift at the end of the story to give Xander privacy, he’d bake a cake instead. But suddenly the cake is baked before they go out to shift, and he’s sitting in a rocker outside watching them play around as shifters. 3) The very last chapter is August talking in PAST TENSE about all the children him and Jase have, as if August is talking from ten years in the future. Which totally doesn’t make sense because the whole story is not told in a memory that is a decade past. In fact, Book Three happens around the time August is pregnant with their second child. The huge time jump in the last chapter wasn’t necessary and I felt it was a bad way to end the story. It would’ve worked better if August predicted they would probably have lots more kids and how many he would like. I disliked the ending a lot. There were a couple of other instances that didn’t work but these are the three most annoying.
As to characters, Jase was okay, but rather a coward for leaving, and August was nice, as was Doc and Xander. Everyone was nice except for the Xander’s father and the sheriff, and I don’t know why the sheriff was in the story except to appear as the bad guy which was a weak ploy. Doc and the deputy knew what kind of person the sheriff was and Doc mentioned how he was on a power trip. Okay, so why didn’t the people of the town vote him out of a job? Or why didn’t the town council strip him of his job? Why and how did he get the job in the first place if he was a jerk? The fact he was still sheriff was a weak excuse and turned the conflict into a farce. I don’t think the authors should have gone down that path.
Overall, the plot was cute, the antagonists were a farce, and there were some obvious issues with time sequences. Because of all that, I give Some Bunny to Love, 3 Stars.
Even though this is the second book in the series, it’s the third one I’ve read. I started by reading the third book which wasn’t a good idea. This series definitely needs to be read in order for book three to make sense, and even for this book to make sense. This doesn’t have a complicated plot. Leo moves to town and purchases the old home Xander lived in. I don’t remember it mentioned in the first book but his ‘father’ died and that’s how Leo ended up buying the place. Turns out that the ‘father’ kept a stash of guns and ammo. Here’s where the power-hungry sheriff comes in and tries to frame Leo.
Some things I didn’t like in this book were the odd jumps forward and backward in time. The way the authors wrote the events happening in the present, and then use monologue to explain past happenings, then jump to another time frame was confusing. Also, problems like with the sheriff and the mystery of what he was doing was too simplistic, and the resolution was too easily solved.
Most of the plot is about the romance between Ron and Leo. It’s instant lust/mate for Leo, while Ron is instant lust. This is also a forced proximity with Leo living with Ron for a while. My favorite character was Ron. He was a nice guy and I liked the way he was written. The authors did a good job demonstrating his personality through his actions rather than through monologue alone. Leo was okay, although his pregnancy with those many babies at the end, it’s a wonder he wasn’t confined to a bed and was working on building and repairing the house. That wasn’t realistic at all, even in human terms. I don’t understand why Ron referred to Leo as an omega since Ron was human and at the time didn’t know anything about shifters. I also don’t understand this world the authors created where a human male can knot. No explanation is given on why a human can do that. So, there are definitely quite a few moments of having to suspend logic.
Overall Feline the Love is a quick, fluffy read with no angst. There are issues with time sequences and jumps, and problems that are too easily solved. All of that makes this a 3 Star read for me. It’s still a pleasant, pass the time story if you’re looking for something non-complicated.
Vinnie is a bartender who has not wanted to find anyone to settle down with since his true love took off with a girlfriend after high school. Chance was afraid to be himself and of his feelings for Vinnie, so he got a girlfriend, left for college, and got married. 8 years later, with Chance's wife gone and him left with his son, he sees Vinnie again and they get a second opportunity to experience the love they had years earlier. Having a son complicates things, but the two guys find their friendship and chemistry is just as strong as it used to be.
I really enjoyed this book. There was the perfect amount of sweetness to miscommunication angst. It was short, but not too short for me to really enjoy the characters and get connected to them. I would've loved more of them, and I hope to get more glimpses of them in other books in the series.
I enjoyed this next book in the More than Friends series. Even though the story is a standalone, it helps to have read some of the others if you like to know the other background characters. We see Steve, Joey, Vinnie, and Chance from previous books. It is nice to see them again.
Luka is just a few weeks away from his 18th birthday and he can not wait to get away from his physically abusive father. He tries to stay out of his father's way, but isn't always so lucky. One day, the hot neighbor, Brad, hears stuff going on and finds Luka after his father just beat him. He helps Luka, and they develop a friendship (with definite attraction that Brad won't act on until he turns 18). For a relatively short story, there was a lot of story in the pages. My heart felt for Luka, and I loved how Brad was there for him throughout all of the situations, despite the danger and drama that it caused for Brad.
I'm looking forward to reading the next ones in the series to continue getting to know these characters.
This is book 3 in the Mile High Romance series, and I did not read the others before it. (I do have the first one, but I didn't have time to read the others before having to get this read.) While I hear that these characters (and some of the others in this book) are all from the first 2, I didn't feel lost without the information. I do think that reading book 2 specifically (Jamie's story) would have shed a bit more information on Michael and why he needed to come crawling back with apologies, I got the basic story worked out without reading it.
In this book, Michael travels to Denver to apologize to Jamie for troubles he caused 4-5 years prior. Michael had a huge change of heart (or should I say was able to get away from his parents), and felt horrible about all that happened in the past. He is homeless and just trying to make amends. Jamie is very forgiving and sees that Michael needs help. He quickly offers him a place to stay and gets him in touch with a job. I think that in some ways it was shocking that Jamie was so quick to forgive, but I'm guessing his solid relationship with Reed helped with that. I might understand this part better with book 2, but again, I got the feeling without reading it.
Sebastian is Jamie's roommate. He is 10 years older than Michael and tries hard not to be attracted to him because of his past and his age, but they end up becoming friends and eventually give into their attraction. Once they finally got together, their relationship seemed very easy and progressed rather seemlessly. It was nice that they didn't jump right into it all. One thing I would have liked is to know a little more about Seb and Mike's history. What happened with his parents causing him to leave? He talked about feeling bad and wanting to apologize, but it felt like there was something bigger behind it. With Seb, he talked about abuse and anger issues, but it was glossed over a little. I would've like to know how the guys worked through that (if they had to).
I'm looking forward to reading Kyle's story. I felt so bad for him in this book.
I really don't like starting books in the middle of a series, but if it is considered a standalone then I am OK with it. It was stated that this book could be read as a standalone. While I could agree and say that the overall story didn't need the previous stories in order to be fully understood, I definitely felt like I was missing something by not at least reading book 3 ([b:Choosing Happy|20895061|Choosing Happy (More Than Friends, #3)|Aria Grace|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393224265s/20895061.jpg|40238196]-Steve and Joey's story)...which sounds like it needs Books 1 and 2 ([b:More Than Friends|16240204|More Than Friends (More Than Friends, #1)|Aria Grace|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354734513s/16240204.jpg|22245404] and [b:Drunk in Love|20647672|Drunk in Love (More Than Friends, #2)|Aria Grace|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390937733s/20647672.jpg|39941157]-Zach and Ryan's stories). It wasn't a big something, but I wished I better understood the relationships and backgrounds between the friends.
That said, the story was enjoyable. I liked Dylan and Spencer. Spencer was the shy, nerdy, rich guy and Dylan was the tough, buff, sexy body guard. It did surprise me a little bit that Dylan was as "clueless" as he was made out to be in the beginning, while seeming very smart and put together throughout the rest of the book. When the two finally got together, they were HOT! There was some nice action/mystery added to the story to give it a little more substance, too. That was enjoyable.
One thing I did like was having the POV with a little bit of overlap. I know for some it could get repetitive, but I thought it gave me a little more insight into the other persons POV during parts and I enjoyed that.
This was probably more of a 3.5 star read for me, but I am rounding up. I liked this book.
Coop and Ash meet and have a one night stand. They don't exchange numbers, but neither can forget the other. Ash ends up pregnant, but can't find Coop again. Coop returns to the town to look for Ash, but he has already moved. Fate brings them together a little less than a year later when they find each other again.
There is pretty much insta-love between these guys, but they had already had such a connection from that first night. When they found each other they didn't want to let go again. Once Coop found out he had a daughter, he was all in and stepped right up to be dad. It was very heartwarming.
These two were super cute together, and I loved reading about them and their family.
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The story ends abruptly with a HEA, but the journey there is rushed....as if this story is a writing assignment for a course. (Hope you got an A)