Book Reviews

Book Blurb

House-sitting for a friend is supposed to be a lucky break for Aiden Daly. Discovering his new housemate is the image of his first crush turns it into a nightmare. Marco de Luca is obviously interested in being more than housemates, but his resemblance to Aiden’s ideal man seems only skin-deep. Besides, Aiden doesn’t date. 

Since his adoptive father’s suicide, Aiden’s first priority has been supporting his remaining family—and shielding them from the truth of their financial situation. Deeply concerned for his mother's mental health, Aiden remains closeted and lonely, convinced that bad luck is the only luck he'll ever have. 

As if the pressure of keeping his father’s financial secrets weren’t enough to handle, Aiden’s birth father makes contact, sending Aiden’s anxieties spiraling out of control. But it’s a crisis at work that finally brings Aiden to his breaking point. Accepting support from Marco is a gamble, but it could be just what Aiden needs to turn his luck around.

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, December 2012.

Book Review

Following the heartbreaking story in ‘After Ben’ and the tumultuous events in ‘Saving Sean’ (where Aiden first appears), it was clear to me that this third book was most likely going to be equally emotional and heart-wrenching. I thought I was ready for Aiden’s story, but boy, was I wrong. Some of the unsolved interpersonal issues from the first two books resurface and new ones are added. While both main characters have personal and family problems, Aiden is the one who really suffers and ends up growing the most. Between old family pain and current financial pressures, his mother’s mental issues and enough pride for three men, Aiden has painted himself into quite the corner. Marco, who is Ben’s younger brother and shares a house-sit with Aiden, seems to be all flirty and unconcerned, getting on Aiden’s last nerve. These two men start out as almost-adversaries (at least from Aiden’s point of view), and it takes a long time as well as a slow-burn attraction for them to figure out how to relate to each other and what to do to fix their lives. What a ride!

Aiden has had a tough past, but his present is far worse. He seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders and is under so much pressure that he is apparently heading for a breakdown. He feels responsible for his mother’s mental health after his father’s suicide, his family’s finances are somehow also his to deal with, and running a brick and mortar store rather than the online business he started turns out to be way more challenging than he anticipated. He desperately wants a loving relationship just like the one his younger brother Evan has found, but he is afraid to come out because his mother might not take it well. She doesn’t even know about Evan’s boyfriend. All of this is bad enough, but add the fact that Aiden is too proud to ask for help, and Aiden is bound to fail. He has his brother and a few good friends who wouldn’t hesitate to come through for him, even Marco begs him to open up, but Aiden thinks he can’t – until it is almost too late for him to escape with his sanity intact.

Marco has his own issues, but they are mainly personal. His brother Ben’s death has hit him hard, and he mostly moved from Italy to America to find out more about the life Ben had there. He also couldn’t find happiness in Italy, so with his mother’s blessing to “find what makes him happy”, he is house-sitting for a friend and trying to figure out what’s going on with Aiden. He has a few talents that Aiden is lacking and would be an ideal partner, since their abilities complement each other, but Aiden won’t let him close. It is their physical attraction and developing relationship that finally provides an opening, but it’s still not an easy undertaking.
 
If you like stories about troubled men who are too proud to accept help, if you want to see what happens when two guys who are equally determined to be “independent” meet and have to learn to rely on each other, and if you’re looking for a read that is emotionally draining, yet heartwarming, and deals with real issues, then you will probably like this novel as much as I did. Bring tissues, but also know that a powerful message of hope waits for you at the end.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 326 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	23-February-2018
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B26H9T3