Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Hunter longs to be the opposite of his controlling, political father. Going to college in California put some distance between them, but his father still has tight control over Hunter.
When Devon wants to join the same fraternity as Hunter, the rest of the guys aren’t too cool with having a gay fraternity brother, but Hunter stands up for Devon and the two become the best of friends. Devon has always been attracted to Hunter, but he knows Hunter is straight and he would never do anything to put their close friendship in jeopardy. Then one night goes too far, turning into another night that goes even further, and then an accident that tears their friendship apart.
Four years later, Hunter is a professional baseball player and is planning his wedding to a former beauty queen. One night Hunter unexpectedly shows up at the restaurant Devon is managing and years of memories and longing come flooding back. Devon can’t help but be drawn back to Hunter and maybe spending some time with him will help ease old wounds, or maybe one night will once again change their lives.
This book sort of came out of nowhere for me. I was not familiar with the author, had no expectations, and was presented with a well written friends-to-lovers and second chance story. Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. The other books in the series are m/f and there are no visible crossover characters.
The book is told primarily as a flashback. We start with Hunter planning his wedding and feeling his entire life closing in on him. He had always wanted to be free from his father’s control and, while he is comfortable financially, his life is still not his own. He then goes to see Devon after not having any contact with him for four years.
We then are taken back to see how their relationship developed. The guys were the very best of friends and that was a great aspect to see how they just enjoyed hanging out together. Their relationship was the highlight of the book and Loren did a great job of showing how their friendship evolved and the scenes where the guys were exploring their attraction to each other were particularly well done.
There were a few areas that I would have liked more of as I really enjoyed reading about these guys and this is not a full length novel. We get much more of Hunter’s point of view and we don’t learn much about Devon. His parents disowned him when they learned he was gay, but that’s all we know. The time after the accident also has large gaps that aren’t filled in for both men. And, the ending was too abrupt for me. There was just so much more I wanted to see with these guys and there was potentially so much more story that could have been told.
Even with the few issues I had I would recommend this well written book for a strong friends-to-lovers theme and finding the one person that makes life complete.
