As a general rule, I'm not a fan of romantic novellas, because generally the shorter format forces some version of a "hothouse" love affair and mostly those bother me. Even if you just into a relationship with both feet, getting to really know another person just takes time. And, in the case of a good writer, I just feel gypped that I didn't get more time with characters that I like.

Taking all that into account, I like Lexi's stories and this one is no exception. ( )

This was probably the sweetest story I've read so far in this series.

Ashley is Jill Paxon's little sister and Keith is Ryan's best friend, from the Sanctum novella. I was very happy to see both Ashley and Keith get their HEA, for different reasons.

Ashley is the younger sister of Jill Paxon, she's a single mother just trying to get a degree and provide a better life for her sister. I liked Ashley from the first moment she was introduced, in Sanctum, and I liked her even more in this story. She's brave, strong, determined, and a good mother. Reading her story, I admired her a lot. She's one of those women I just love reading about, and if there's one character that needed to get a happy ending, she is the one.

Keith is the man that Jill was supposed to end up with when Ryan decided to release Jill from his care. I had a soft spot for Keith ever since learning what he did for Jill. He's a pretty stand up kind of guy, an honest, generous man that, as I learned in Unconditional, has a pretty sad past. Keith has a secret that he doesn't want anyone to know about, because he thinks it makes him seem like he's not the best guy out there. It's not anything dark or criminal, but it's something that he sees as damaging and like it almost taints him. I was really sad for him, and I am so happy Ashley helped him come to terms with what happened.

As always, Blake manages to show important layers in a relationship so complex as the one between a Dominant and his/her submissive. In this case we see Keith, the dominant, be vulnerable in a way we usually see reserved for subs. I liked that a lot, just like I loved seeing Ashley being the strong one during those scenes. Not that Keith was weak, but Ashley helped him see things from a very different perspective even while she, too, was hurting from some things that were going on in her life. I loved how Blake did that.

All in all, I loved this story a lot and I am so excited to see what happens next in the series, while also waiting for the next book in the series and possibly learning more about the so-called "lost boys". ( )

loved the humor, touching story ( )