How to Raise an Honest Rabbit (Granby Knitting #2) [Jeremy & Aiden] by Amy Lane

~sigh~ was a beautiful heart breaking story! From reading the first one, I expected this one to be funny and easy going but it was actually the kind of love story that breaks your heart at every turn. I loved that the younger guy - Aiden was the one to navigate the relationship, leaving Jeremy no other choice but to follow in his footsteps or else! 

Jeremy's dad was a con man so that's what he grew up to  be, but after his father is shot to death in front of him he realizes that's NOT how he wants to live his life, yet being an honest man isn't something he knows how to be! So while two years in jail did help a little (having no one to con..) the first step comes along when Rance Crawford offers him first a warm meal, then a job opportunity including free meals and a place to stay which are the three things he asks for in life. 


That's how he meets Aiden, Rance business is growing so he needs an extra hand besides Aiden who doesn't work full time since he is still at school (though in his final year). Their first encounter doesn't make a lot of impression on Aiden. Jeremy does what he was taught to do - talk and talk and talk - though he has nothing to con Aiden with or a desire to con anyone for that matter, it's the only way he knows and so he sticks to it, up until Aiden buys earplugs which somehow makes talking less of a necessity.  

We get the whole story from Jeremy's POV, but as it was with Ben who was pretty straight forward, we didn't need Aiden's POV to understand what he wants from Jeremy and also to realize he does what he can to get to know him and be his friend even if his first attempts doesn't work out because each moves scares Jeremy more than the other. The title of this book is all about that, Aiden learning how to raise our new honest rabbit - Jeremy. For Jeremy everything he does and doesn't do, everything around him has the tendency to make him want to bundle his few belonging and hit the road and yet with the new friends he makes with Rance and Ariadne (the other worker) and especially with Aiden he starts second guessing even that. 

Jeremy's life story and mostly how he handles life and how much Aiden does for him to try and change his running instinct was so heart breakingly beautiful I couldn't put this book down. I kept waiting for Jeremy to not only realize he loves Aiden (he knew that longer than he actually knew Aiden was gay..) but for him to accept Aiden loves him just as much if not more and he accept ALL of Jeremy, past, faults and all. It was the sweetest story even though I was crushed so many times at how broken Jeremy is from the inside.  

There's a lot of changes for Jeremy to make but they weren't rushed, not at all, this story spans for more than two years in which mostly what happens is Jeremy learning to trust himself more in being honest and Aiden learning how to cradle Jeremy so he won't run away. The ten years gap between the two never felt too much, because though Aiden is younger, Jeremy doesn't have more experience in anything that Aiden has to teach him, mostly about trust and love, and accepting the people around you who clearly care for you. Well, Rance and Ariadne also had a big part in that, but Aiden's HUGE part can't be ignored.

We got little bits from the first installment (since they are overlapping, at least in the beginning) with Rance and Ben and also a little glimpse into the next one - we already met Stanley in the first installment (he was Rance's hookup guy) and near the end of this one we also meet his HEA to be - Johnny. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, but I think it'll be MUCH better reading this one AFTER the first installment. Also I gotta say I'm excited we'll be getting more of Jeremy and Aiden in the 4th and last installment in the series. YES!   

Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 135 pages, 18 March 2016 / On GoodReads

 

 

ABOUT THIS SERIES 

 

"Granby Knitting" is a MM Contemporary Romance series by Amy Lane.
The first three books in the series are quite short novellas. The last one is a re-visit of the couple from the second installment in a full length novel.

Books:
1. The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters [Rance Crawford & Ben McCutcheon] (Published 1 December 2011) ★★★★½
2. How to Raise an Honest Rabbit  [Jeremy Stillson & Aiden Rhodes] (Published 23 October 2012) ★★★★★
3. Knitter in his Natural Habitat [Stanley Shulze & Johnny Russo / Gianni Caprisi] (Published 13 November 2012) ★★★★
4. Blackbird Knitting in a Bunny's Lair [Jeremy Stillson & Aiden Rhodes] (Published 1 May 2014) ★★★½

*** POV is colored in purple