Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When high school student James has trouble with his truck, Dylan, who is studying to be a mechanic, comes to the rescue. James thinks he hides his immediate attraction well, but is happy to be wrong when Dylan asks for his number. Since James is new to romance, they take things slowly, and because Dylan is in college, James keeps the budding relationship secret from his overprotective dad.

Across town, Mark, a teacher and single father to James and his sister, Frankie, meets Steve at a bar for what both believe will be a quick hookup. Mark doesn’t see any reason to tell his kids about Steve or press Steve for details about Steve’s adopted son…. It’s just sex between them. Isn’t it?

Two very different love stories grow side by side, each hidden from the other. But all of that changes at a family barbecue, when Mark decides it’s time for his kids to meet Steve and for him to meet James’s boyfriend, who none of them realize is Steve’s son, Dylan. The inevitable explosion means the two couples have some explaining to do to soothe the hurt feelings of their families—and lovers.

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, February 2019.

Book Review

Families can be complicated. Families linked by people falling in love without knowing who is related to whom can be a nightmare, especially if there is drama because some have more trouble dealing with the unexpected than others. I think that most of the “explosion” that happens when all is revealed in this story is people not dealing well with the unplanned – which is utterly realistic and very entertaining, at least in this specific case. With two couples, neither of whom expected the others to know about each other, never mind be involved, there is plenty of potential for misunderstandings and unanticipated consequences due to a lack of communication. Honestly, the clues are all there, right in people’s faces, but they just don’t connect the dots. In the end no harm was done, and watching everyone adjust was kind of fun since I was able to do it from a distance.

James is an eighteen-year-old senior in high school, has a twin sister he used to get along with much better when they were younger, and has never really been interested in another boy. That is until he meets Dylan – who is two years older, in community college learning to be an auto mechanic, and adopted. James, not having any experience in the romance department, doesn’t want to rush into anything but is definitely interested in exploring his “not straight” sexual orientation. His shyness is one of the reasons he doesn’t tell his father about Dylan – hence the shock when it all comes out at a family get-together.

James’s father, Mark, is a bisexual chemistry teacher at James’s high school and is ready for some romance now that his kids are almost off to college. His wife was never really in the picture since she never wanted kids, but Mark has no regrets. He just wants some companionship now. When he meets Steve and they hit it off beyond the incendiary sex they have right after meeting, Mark is ready to see where it all leads. Steve just got over a disastrous breakup with a long-term boyfriend so he isn’t too sure about starting a new relationship. But Mark seems nice so Steve tells himself not to think about it too much, and jumps right into dating. Neither of them considers that telling their kids makes sense unless they decide what they have is a little more permanent – and once they do, they find out way more than they expected.

Mark and Steve have hypocrisy and insecurities about their quality as parents to deal with. James and Dylan have to figure out if their dads dating each other (and having shared stuff about them they are not ready to talk about) is an issue. Everyone’s feelings are suddenly hurt, they all say things in anger they should have never uttered, and then they have to weigh what they said against what they should have said once they all cool down. But by then apologies are the only thing that might fix things – and it takes some doing for everyone to figure out their priorities and next steps. It gets quite messy!

If you like romances with complications of the personal kind, if men with almost-grown children are your thing, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read about family drama, two couples with very different dynamics, and a mix of very hot and very tender loving, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 204 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-May-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Helix-Anna-Martin-ebook/dp/B086Z4GF7D