Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel

Warren and Silas met each other when they were five and they didn’t like each other very much. By the time they reached junior high, they boys reached a truce. When Tal, the new guy in class, acts like a catalyst, Warren and Silas find themselves as best friends. As the three navigate high school together, they survive school plays, Tal’s girlfriends, Silas’ boyfriends, and Warren’s endless studying.

As the three head off to college, they manage to continue spending as much time together as they do apart. Tal still has his girlfriends, Silas still has his boyfriends, and Warren is still studying…until Tal and Silas stage an intervention and pull Warren out of the closet.

For Warren, nothing changes…but for Silas, everything changes as he realizes that he’s in love with his best friend. When he tells Warren, Warren tells him “prove it.” Warren knows everything about Silas – good and bad – and despite his own love for Silas, he isn’t willing to risk everything for another one of Silas’ whims. He wants Silas, but he wants it to be forever. As Silas sets out to prove his love for Warren, he realizes he doesn’t know how to win the heart of someone who knows him better than himself.

This is one of those friends to lovers stories that will melt your heart! I will tell readers, though, that this is not your traditional m/m romance for several reasons. First, this story starts out with Warren and Silas at age five meeting each other and it is anything but “friends” for the two of them. Initially, I thought maybe this was an enemies to lovers storyline, as it took until these two were in junior high to form a truce with one another. For me, this background story really helped me, as a reader, to believe that these two were destined for one another.

Secondly, unlike other gay romance stories, this story really is that of three friends: Tal, who loves women; Silas, who loves men; and Warren, who seems to be somewhat asexual and interested in only studying. Yet readers figure it out early on the Warren isn’t as asexual as he appears and has very strong feelings towards Silas. What I liked best about this story was the connection all three characters had with one another and how they complimented one another – yet, at the same time, there was always something different about Silas and Warren’s relationship with one another.

Thirdly, unlike many gay romance stories, this story features two women – Warren’s mom and Tal’s girlfriend – who are shown in positive lights as non-judgmental and supportive.

Finally, the romance in this story doesn’t even begin to start blossoming until somewhere around the ¾’s mark. While ordinarily I would be disappointed, in this case, I found that the entire first three quarters of the book was building up to this all along. As a young adult story, readers follow these three boys/men as they navigate their way through puberty and into young adulthood. From Silas coming out in high school, to Tal settling down in college after finding Olivia – these guys are there for one another. As the three enter into their last year at college, Tal and Silas decide it’s time to stage an intervention to get Warren away from his books long enough to at least have sex while at college…except Warren has a secret he hasn’t shared with his friends. Not only is Warren not a virgin any longer, he’s gay! For me, seeing how Silas processes this information was heartwarming – and I loved how Warren, who knows Silas better than Silas knows himself, made Silas work for it!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a full-fledged romance story, it was a wonderful coming of age story with a hint of happily ever after for readers. I highly recommend!