4.5 stars. ( )

4.5 stars. ( )

A nice, and sweet, summer fling that developed in something more. When Liam lands in UK from the US to fulfill the deathbed desire of his best friend Alex, he doesn’t expect to fall in love. Alex asked him to go the Isle of Wight and scatter his ashes on the pier. Simple enough, problem is that Liam has not had yet his closure with Alex and he is not ready to part with his earth remaining. This is when Sam comes in; a younger man with a friendly attitude, he sees the bad situation Liam is in and volunteer to help. If he has an hidden agenda, it’s nothing dark, it’s simply that both of them are gays and he finds Liam very attractive. And if Sam has the disposition of falling in love at first sight, well, that can be a complication, but again, nothing dramatic.

There is a lot of emotion in this novel, and I have to pay my compliments to the author for how she dealt the relationship of Liam with his dying friend Alex; having first hand experience of loving and loving a dear one to cancer, I can tell you that what she wrote rung true. I also appreciated that she didn’t indulge too much, it was not necessary, not to the reader (me), not to the story. Aside for this bittersweet beginning, the story is mostly a sweet and sexy romance, Liam and Sam enjoy their time together, quickly heading from fling to love in the span of few days. Sure, someone can say that is too fast, but this is a romance and it’s love at first sight after all.

The author plays a lot with the cultural differences between Liam, American, and Sam, English; the timeless fight between coffee and tea, continental breakfast and full breakfast, dinner for lunch and supper for dinner… they were old arguments but managed in a light and funny way. I also liked when the author puts her characters in front of some discrimination for being gay they were able to face without much fuss; what maybe I didn’t like so much is when she insisted on that, one time was good, but more than that it felt more preaching than reading. Then maybe the author wanted only to be supportive of Liam and Sam, and it’s also true that I’m preaching from a pulpit, not being gay and not having experienced first hand such discrimination, and so maybe, what to me feel too much, it’s, unfortunately, everyday life to someone else.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613727070/?tag=elimyrevandra-20