My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don’t have the proper words to express how much I loved this story.
Some of my favorite things:
Widowed single dad of a teenager
Newly single, middle aged love interest
Delightfully eccentric and accepting friends and family (mostly)
Unexpected return of a former lover
Quirky gifts
MCs that aren’t in their 20s!
Charlie and Simon are wonderfully developed characters. Charlie is endearing and lovable and sweet, and so very genuine. Even when he breaks and his actions become hurtful, he still held a special place in my heart.
While I immediately loved Charlie, Simon needed a few chapters for me to love him just as much.
That’s not a bad thing, though. It totally fits with Simon’s personality. Simon is a quiet, pensive, almost stoic, presence to Charlie’s constant stream of peculiarly candid word vomit. They fit perfectly.
Man, the slow burn in this story is amazing, and when they finally do come together (hehe), the heat is off the charts. I adored Charlie’s complete unabashed enthusiasm for the new intimate experiences with Simon. And I loved seeing Simon’s progression from stiff to cute and cuddly.
This story hit all of my buttons: sweet romance, hot sexy times, funny moments, real world issues, and the best loving family I ever read (aside from TJ Klune‘s Bear, Otter, and the Kid series).
I’m super excited to read the next two books in this series.
Special thanks to A Novel Take PR for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.