Sandra @ My Fiction Nook

Wow. This was superb, with realistic characters that were fully fleshed out, and a profound message that permeated the book from pretty much start to finish.

 

“Because life is not a fairy tale” is the Brothers Grime slogan. Yes, this novel delivers a romance and a story that is as close to a fairy tale as possible, while still firmly planted in realistic settings.  

 

Eddie Vasquez, uncle, brother, son, has been hiding this dyslexia for nearly all his life. He knows his limitations, works around them with what technology offers, but hates the fact that he struggles to read. Oh, and he's also head over heels in lust, possibly love, with his niece Lucy's teacher, B. Andrew Daley.

 

I knew I was in for a treat when the book started out with Eddie preening in front of the mirror to make sure he looks his very best when dropping off Lucy at school, because Mr. Daley (he who hands out Teacher's Pet pencils to his favorite pupils) might be there.

 

I was giggling and smiling when both Eddie and Andrew dance around each other, neither man quite confident enough to ask the other out.

 

Ms. Maxfield created two extraordinarily ordinary characters, both so perfectly imperfect, and made this book about so much more than just the simple romance between two men who on the outside may appear very different, but who fit together so beautifully. They are both flawed, and where Eddie yields, Andrew tends to push, which leads to a bit of drama between them. Slammed doors and angry words might follow, but both learn to communicate and really open up to each other, despite fears and despite thinking they're not good enough.

 

There are a couple of profound messages inside this book, primarily the one about appearances being deceiving (hunky Eddie might seem like he would be a top), and how opening oneself up to someone else can have great rewards. Then there's the message of self-acceptance, which is the most profound of them all and something both Eddie and Andrew have to learn.

 

“You want to fix him instead of loving him for who he is. Instead of trusting him to fix himself,” Eddie said, breathing hard.

 

Add to this the issue of Andrew's father being a hoarder, and Andrew's fears of that being a genetic affliction, plus the old teacher who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's when she shows up at school for classes after her husband dies, and this book could have veered into too much drama. That it didn't is a credit to Ms. Maxfield, who deftly weaves together a coherent plot from all these issues in way that flows rapidly, yet never misses a moment to make a poignant observation or a strong point.

 

And through the whole book, the point of family is being driven home again and again, with a culmination of showing a family working together to help each other when Eddie's family shows up to help Andrew's father with cleaning up his house.

 

The sexy times – holy hot boysecks, Batman. I felt like an intruder, to be honest, and had tears in my eyes when big, hulking Eddie figures out that he needs Andrew's dominance in the bedroom and lets the smaller man lead. There is a shit-ton of emotion in every scene, and this is what pushed this novel above four stars. What's also worth mentioning is that the sex scenes aren't distracting from the novel, nor are they to be seen as break points – in fact, they serve as glue, if you will; each intimate moment fuses the two MCs closer together and gives them what they both need to deal with the issues in their lives.

 

What stopped this book from getting 5 stars was the time frame in which this novel was set (with the exception of the epi).  Less than a month goes by from the time of their first date to the end, and while I realized the two had been pining for each other for a while longer, this smacked a wee bit of insta-love to me. 

 

I liked the subplot with Gabe and Dave, and hope that the next book will be about them. It was also nice to get a revisit with Jack and Ryan from the first book. 

 

 

I received a free ARC directly from the author. A positive review was not promised in return.