Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Lewis shares an office with Christopher, the most handsome man he’s ever seen. The problem is Christopher barely speaks to him. He’s aloof, eating his lunch alone, not speaking to anyone at work, and shutting down at exactly 5:00 pm, never even looking at Lewis. Meanwhile, Lewis has decided to try to get to know Christopher, even if it kills him.
Eventually, a tentative friendship begins between the men. They go out to movies or to dinner and drinks. Sometimes, Lewis even winds up spending the night at Christopher’s place. In fact, they occasionally sleep in the same bed (innocently) with Christopher cuddling with Lewis.
However, Lewis has a difficult time dealing with the fact that Christopher is HIV+. At first, Lewis doesn’t really want Christopher to touch him, and Lewis freaks himself out because he tried to kiss Christopher. Realizing he still really likes Christopher, Lewis goes to a clinic to get information about being intimate with someone who’s positive and going on PrEP. It takes a little bit of time, but Lewis and Christopher confess their love for each other. What comes next is the story of their Happily Ever After.
I have some mixed feelings about Sweet Temperaments. I loved Lewis and Christopher. Christopher took a while, but I fell for him just as hard as I fell for Lewis. This story is a very slow burn, and that caused one of my issues here. This isn’t a very long book, but the majority of it seemed to be a “will they or won’t they” or “do they or don’t they” story. It began to drag a bit. I plugged along, and was thrilled the men were finally together. Sweet Temperaments became as sweet as the title…until it wasn’t. Misunderstandings, plans for the future, and family issues take their toll on their budding love. After that, though, it was smooth sailing.
That smooth sailing becomes another reason my feelings are a little mixed. It’s a romance, so you know there will be a happy ending. However, what came next was a little disappointing. Once everything is resolved and Lewis and Christopher are finally together, everything went into fast forward mode. The final 15 pages are almost a list of what happens. They move in together. They get a cat. They get married. They do a lot of stuff, and this continues for years until that HEA. While I love the fact they get a long and happy life together, I felt…cheated? Not because of all the events, but because it almost felt like an afterthought.
Still, I liked this book very much. I think the author’s writing style is great. Everything was perfectly smooth with the right amount of detail. Tonwand made Lewis and Christopher feel very real. Their chemistry is amazing, even when they have their problems. They’re sweet and sexy. The transition between uncomfortable situations to their fall into love was nicely done.
In the end, I was glad to have gotten to read Sweet Temperaments. Despite the issues I mentioned above, it was still a great book. I’m going to highly recommend it, especially to fans of slow burn stories, office romances, and somewhat angsty stories. This is one you should pick up.
