Handle with Care by Cari Z.

 This was such a sweet novel! I LOVED it! I read it almost in one sitting. Aaron and Tyler where simply adorable together. There's this one sentence I read and then re-read - "I could have had this sooner, couldn't I?" and I thought to myself this is IT. This was everything falling into place for both of them. They have known each other for 10 years, most of that time as best friends and now they are ready to take the next step for them to become a couple. 

Aaron McCoy had a difficult life growing up. Yet while he ended up in the system his little brother Zach, the one he tried his best to care for while his mother had other things (and addictions) in mind, found a great home. Aaron was too resentful to appreciate what he could have had with the same family so he somehow drifted away from Zach not knowing how to gap the distance between them.. Yet a few years later, almost at 18, he found himself the best home in the Howards family. The two older siblings in the family were already out of the house so all he had was the 16 years old Tyler. It took them time to form a friendship - not for lack of want from Tyler's side, but once it stuck both knew they won't ever let go. So while They grew up, found themselves in life, college, work, in the end, whenever both needed someone it was obvious who they'll turn to. 

Aaron loves his job as a social worker, he is the one now taking care of kids who have an unfotunate family situation. But he is also addicted to his work not knowing when to take a break, clinging to his kids long after he should. So it's no wonder his boss has had enough and demands he takes two weeks off work and actually enjoy a vocation. Yet that's a foreign concept for Aaron so naturally he turns to Tyler...

Tyler had an idea, a brilliant one though he knows Aaron might not be really into it.. Zach is getting married and he is invited (+1) to the wedding. He didn't plan on going, in fact, forgot all about it.. yet Tyler didn't and he offers they take a road trip together to the wedding. Though Aaron isn't sure about the whole thing, going with Tyler is the only way it can actually work truth been told.. 

Seeing Zach again, as well as his adopting mother, seeing HIS mother after YEARS apart, seeing Zach - the young man he become - and his wonderful girl, reconnecting and accepting his feelings and decisions through the years is quite an emotional ride with every step of the way Tyler on his side, so it's no wonder at a certain point all Aaron can do and think about is FIANLLY acting upon his long lost feelings for him with a simple kiss. 

Aaron could have TOTALLY had this - love, friendship, acceptance - with Tyler a LONG time ago, but I think both needed their time, to mature and realize who they are and what they want, who they won't settle for by their side. It was all THERE, they just needed to make the first step and once they did I was giddy with happiness. 

Thank you Cari for this wonderful and endearing romance. Perfect for any occassion really. 

Rating: ★★★★★

E-Book Edition

194 pages

Read on: 16-17 October 2018

Wildflowers by Suki Fleet

We learn to appreciate what we truly want only when it's practically gone - and then what? What do we do when we realized we made a HIGH mistake and now time is running short? How do we love without the fear of losing? Losing the one we love and ourselves. Xavi doesn't know and neither do I. This was a sweet yet sad story about waiting a bit too long to appreciate love.

It's quite a short novella but I think what we can take from it is LIVE. Live in the now and say what we want to say. Sitting in silence the way Xavi and Sam did for most of their time together only cost both of them pain. They've met 4 years ago when they lived in the same commune. Sam was already living there though hated by most of the others and when Xavi came with his boyfriend. It was an open relationship but it was still hard for Xavi to act upon his growing emotions towards the sweet Sam. It's more than attraction between them, what they share together means more to Xavi than he can deal with when he already has a boyfriend he is suppose to be in love with. Which is part of the reason they leave (not surprisingly their relationship doesn't last long after).

Te quiero (Falling for You #1) [Ally & Levi] by Suki Fleet

This short novella was THE SWEETEST THING! I've read Suki referred to this one as the fluffiest novella she have ever written - and it is! But that's a good thing! :) Ally and Levi's story was warm and fuzzy even if Ally wasn't at his best. It was a chance for a HEA when things were looking down which actually made this short novella so much more than just two guys learning they share and want more than each of them realized.

Ally is devastated. His ex posted a bunch of NAKED photos of him on multiple porn sites. What would he do now? It's more than feeling naked it's being abused as well. Since his laptop crashed last week he sits in the physics lab hoping he can somehow make the photos go away but though he wrote the sites, they haven't gotten back to him and to top it all Levi just came into the lab asking what he's doing there (since he left the department a while back). Not knowing what to do he antagonizes Levi before he simply disappears leaving behind a short unfinished love letter in Spanish (Ally's mother tongue).

Three Fates by Mary Calmes, Amy Lane & Andrew Grey

The legends talk about three sisters, The Fates, they are immortal being spinning the wheels of fate. Sometimes, they take interest in some of the Fates they "create". Like they decided to help Cheyenne a bit so he can find his true love, though sometimes like with Cassidy and Raza they needed more than a little pursuading. With Lief and Hacon I'm not even sure what they THOUGHT would happen but they were willing to give it a chance and through it a love story was formed.

I liked the idea behind the Anthology, but the novellas didn't really work for me. They were all nice but somehow lacking, each for it's own reason. The first two were shorter (I'd guess round 80 pages each, together getting to the middle of the book) with the last one giving us a much more developed story (taking the whole other half of the book).

Wild Summer (Love Story Universe, #1.5) [Crash & Summer] by Suki Fleet

I enjoyed this book though it felt very different from the previous one. For once I wished this story would have been a little bit MORE, mostly more of Christopher (Crash) and Summer as they first met. I wished they had more time together, it would have been easier for me to understand the hold they had on each other for the 4 years they were apart.

We've met Crash in the previous installment and when we start this one it's already about a year (I would guess) after Romeo and Julian found their place in Cornwall. Though Romeo chose to have a different life than Crash did when arriving at the same foster home, they become fast friends and now Crash is spending the time with both of them trying to deal with what seeing Summer again, 4 years after their downfall, have done to him.

This Is Not a Love Story (Love Story Universe, #1) [Romeo & Julian] by Suki Fleet

The tears haven't even dried yet but I feel somehow I have to write my feelings now before my mundane life snatches the storm of emotions I have right now. This book was so heart breakingly beautiful. It was a HORRIBLE ride of cold, wet and heartless London with kids who should have had a home and yet they don't. On their own, trying to live with barely hope they can survive the next night. This is not a love story, yet it is. Romeo and Julian means the WORLD to one another, but the world needs to give them a break so they can actually build a life together. One that promises more than hungry, sick, penniless roaming the streets.

The whole story is told from Romeo Danilov's POV. He is 15 years old, living on the street after being left by his mother. He has nothing and no one until Julian Lavelle jumps to his rescue from tugs who enjoyed tormenting a mute who can't even scream for help. From that moment Romeo and Julian become almost inseparable. Yet there is very little they can actually DO to survive which is why Julian keeps selling his body to buy them food and a little shelter from the cold. They have a friend in the owner of a cafe - Cassey. She helps as best as she can, but she too has her limits. They also have Gem - Julian's friend but she too has her own problems to deal with. They can barely make it, truly, but together they find little glimpses of light mostly in each other.

Light Up the Dark by Suki Fleet

Though the title offers to light up the dark, it offers us SO MUCH darkness to endure before hand. Nicky's story is more than heart breaking. Maybe because he isn't the only one and the horror of everything keeps unfolding and becoming even more terrifying with every detail unraveling. I could feel the darkness swallowing Nicky but as Cai (and also Soph and Loz) started to become a permanent part of Nicky's life things started to shift little by little until they banished the darkness and offered him ever lasting light. His past will always be a part of him, and I'll expect him to be in therapy for YEARS but with them by his side he more than have a chance for true happiness.

The story starts with the night that changed Nicky's life from a careless guy who loved dancing to a little mouse living in a house with a strange man who promised to keep him safe. Yet he somehow also kept Nicky inside, afraid to even open the door. Staying in the shadows of this neglected house in the middle of nowhere. After two weeks of being all along after he founds his keeper dead, his only resolve is to make a little bit of the darkness disappear. He won't venture outside but he can pay for someone to take down the over grown vegetation and offer a bit of light into his eternal darkness. He didn't expect Cai - hard working yet knowing nothing about gardening.. 

Ante Up (Four Kings Security #2.5) [Seth & Kit] by Charlie Cochet

This was short and sweet :) It's light and sexy. Seth and Kit have been working at "Sapphire Sands" an exclusive gay club (owned by Frank whom we met in the 1st installment in the series). As per Frank's rules, workers aren't allowed to have relationships with each other so Seth working the bar watching Kit move his body seductively on the small stage in front of his eyes everyday isn't easy..