Rating: 4 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella
Bryan Mullaly is a Surgical Tech student who dropped out of college the day that his sister’s husband died and left her a widow with a baby to raise. Bryan’s been helping her as she struggles as a single mom. Bryan’s best friend, Aaron, has been a permanent fixture of his life since as long as he can remember. He’s as much an uncle to Bryan’s nephew, Wyatt, as Bryan himself. In a weak moment, after Bryan is both physically and mentally exhausted, he does something that will change things forever.
Bryan has been in love with Aaron since they met as lab partners in middle school. Aaron has no idea that Bryan’s gay or that he’s in love with him. As Aaron and Bryan are driving back from one of Wyatt’s sporting events, Bryan has a beautiful dream that ends in kissing Aaron. When he wakes, he’s still not lucid, and he dreamily plants a kiss on Aaron. Both Aaron and Bryan have a lot to talk about. They’ve been friends forever, but can their friendship make it past this crucial moment?
This novella uses a trope favorite of mine, friends to lovers, and Aaron is the ultimate friend. He’s in the military, and his built physique and shaved head are only one of the many things that makes him attractive. He’s funny and sweet and extremely supportive of Bryan and his family. Bryan and Aaron have a relationship that is easy and based on love and respect for each other. It’s exciting and rewarding to see them take their relationship to another level. Not only do they have their friendship as a solid base, they have explosive sexual chemistry that comes from knowing a person as well as you know yourself.
There were a few issues in this book that really lowered my rating for it. While the story is solid and the writing is, overall, very good, it did suffer from some basic errors that should’ve been caught in editing. The biggest annoyance, however, was Bryan’s frequent use of the name Little Bryan in reference to his own penis. Little Bryan had many, many thoughts and reactions throughout the story (“Little Bryan was thrilled. Changing positions was right up his alley.”), and it was, quite frankly, a little disturbing.
I also had a hard time believing that these two friends had never once discussed their sexuality or their interest in each other. They were as close as two people could be. While I understand the reluctance one would feel to be open to someone you were afraid to lose, it seemed unrealistic to me that it would all come to the surface in one weak moment.
While there were a few things that I took issue with, I really did enjoy this novella. Bryan and Aaron were adorable together, and their chemistry, both sexual and otherwise, was off the charts. It’s a fun read that I can recommend to anyone who’s looking for a hot story about friends becoming something more.
