Rating: 4.25 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | iBooks | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Macsen is successful and wealthy, but something is missing in his life and he knows exactly who that is. Macsen’s instincts have always served him well and it is that instinct that has him buying a run-down manor in a small seaside town. Leaving everything behind, Macsen drives hours to town and finally sees Ellis and then Macsen knows.

Ellis works hard as a chef and the owner of the local restaurant that he has elevated from a local pub to a dining destination. Ellis has never found anyone he wanted more than one night with and always thought there was something wrong with him. But when Ellis sees Macsen for the first time, he can’t think about anything else and can barely breathe when they are apart. Macsen is the one that knows though. Macsen always knows, he just has to help Ellis remember.

The blurb for this book does not give anything away and I am trying to do the same, while still being able to steer readers in the right direction to decide if this is the book for them. Favourite Hello. Hardest Goodbye. is not a traditional romance, but it is an enduring love story. When a romance by definition needs a HEA/HFN, this is not precisely that, and while the ending can be seen as sad, it can also be seen as hopeful, at least from my reading viewpoint.

Macsen and Ellis are inevitable. That’s simply the way it is. When they meet, they have incredible chemistry, but it’s more. Everything is more. Macsen knew exactly what he was missing, that is his burden to carry, but Ellis just always felt an emptiness that he couldn’t explain. When Ellis sees Macsen, he knows deep down, but he has to make his head and heart fully remember.

About halfway through, this book I knew where it was going as there are clues in the narrative and on the cover and you’ll want to think it isn’t so and that it’s not going to happen. I tried, I really tried to set down that part of my brain that wants to ask all the questions and just give into the love story of Macsen and Ellis and I was able to do that, but only up until a point. I had so many questions about the backstory and the history of both men that I couldn’t set all of it aside. Their backstory is alluded to and it’s spoken of on the extreme fringes, but I needed more to fully be able to fall into it. There were also several notable side characters that I felt were being set up for their own story, but since this book is not listed as a series, I then questioned that as well, especially when a character was presented as being mysterious.

The story of Macsen and Ellis is definitely one that would appeal to readers that can set their questions aside and can also set aside expectations for a traditional HEA. Macsen and Ellis have a true love story and it’s in that place where their story shines and will linger after the last page is read.