Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Jack had been with Sophie since high school, but their relationship is finished and the divorce is final. Their ending was amicable, but now Jack isn’t sure what to do with himself. He’s been locked away in his house for the last month, and he won’t even answer phone calls from his cousin and best friend, Hux. But Hux is persistent and Jack finally takes the drive to their uncle’s old cabin that Hux is restoring.
Hux has been trying to keep his feelings for Jack in check for years. He’s been in love with Jack since forever and he has no idea what to do with his feelings now that Jack is no longer married. He can’t possibly tell his best friend—his cousin—that he is in love with him. Hux knows that he needs to be there for Jack now, but when it becomes impossible to hide his feelings, Jack may just surprise him back.
This book started off great for me. I was immediately caught up in Jack’s story and watching him try to figure out his life after his divorce, and then Hux and his feelings for Jack. It was easy to see Hux’s feelings and yearning for Jack and his almost desperation to want to be with Jack, but also his fear of forever ruining their friendship.
Hux and Jack are first cousins and their mothers were sisters. They met when they were eight as their mothers didn’t get along, but then moved near one another. The women rarely spoke to each other and it was never disclosed why the sisters did not get along. Both women have since died and the men have no other close family. It was then easy to forget they were cousins and not just best friends and the word “cousin” seemed to be wedged in at times as a reminder.
The first part of the book moved along well as we learn about both men and their relationship to each other. The book is told in dual POV, always my favorite, but here (and only on what seemed to be random occasions) we were given the same exact scene from both points of view, complete with the same quotes, and the first time it happened it was more confusing then helpful. All along, it was easy to see Hux’s response and need for Jack, but the emotion from Jack came through less and it wasn’t nearly as easy to feel that he wanted Hux the same amount in return.
The book then moved to a folk tale about The Pathfinders and finding your path in life. There was then another storyline about their Uncle when they found something of his in the cabin, and neither of these storylines added much for me. It is also never disclosed where the story takes place and, at one point, the men stop at a phone booth complete with a phone book and I would have liked to know where exactly they lived to have that as a local item.
The early part of this story had potential for me, but then it took a sharp turn and never came back on track for me and overall it was just an average read. As far as the relationship, it was predictable and most of the emotion needed for this pairing was upfront and I would have liked to see a little more to solidify these guys as a solid couple.
