Admiring Ash (Love Letters, #1) [Ash & River] by Anyta Sunday

This was adorable. It's short and yet Ash and River's romance felt genuine to me. I got their hangups but it was truly inevitable for them to find love with one another. I liked that though Ash "got lucky" with a generous inheritance it wasn't "over the top" and mostly it gave him a chance for a different life, one he can build on a family-base he didn't even know he had.

So let's back to the beginning, Ash Heartford is 25 years old, he is raising his sister Danielle for the past 4 years ever since their mother died and though it almost kills him he is adamant to give her everything he can, even working 18 hours a day cleaning houses and offices. He would love a "break" but he doesn't have time for one so no hobbies and no love for sure. His mother's affairs with men were enough for him.



Roy "River" Riverton lives on the other side of town, the rich part. He had an easy upbringing, he has a twin brother (the MC in the next one) and good friends. He works as a vet, though he doesn't spend all of his time on building clientele as the past year had been very challenging - he had lost his closest friend Lester Mallory who died of cancer. Though originally Lester gave River his book store "Silver Pines", what he truly wanted was for the shop to go to someone else, someone very close to him though he never actually met him. River's "job" was to find the guy and give him Lester's final letter which explains the whole deal.

Turns out Ash's grandfather is said Lester. He isn't sure about running a shop, he can barely manage his life at the moment, and turns out investors are willing to pay him a nice sum to sell the whole building (including the little apartment at the back), but as Ash and River spend more time together, it gets difficult to make this decision. he realizes the shop is a link to a past he didn't know he had and now has a way to learn about through River. Though the shop won't make huge amounts of money, he and his sister can live in the apartment in the back and have a nice convenient life which won't be as difficult as the life Ash is living now, barely keeping his head above the water.

River and Lester's relationship was very unique. I enjoyed learning about it. I wished we had SOME way of getting the real deal and not just though River's stories of the many letters they exchanged as well as the brave friendship between a kid and someone who fast became a sort of adoptive grandfather. Ash was jealous, he wasn't afraid to admit that. He didn't even know his father, so getting the store through his grandfather who lived not so far from where he lives is quite shocking.

On the other hand, River and Ash's relationship was very difficult and confusing for both of them. Lester specifically asked River to befriend Ash but NOT to pursue a sexual relationship.. Befriending Ash was never a problem they clicked from the start! Yet keeping it friendly only was HARD! Ash wasn't sure what he wanted, and also if River's friendship with him was even genuine considering Lester's specific request River befriend him (though he never told Ash about the other part...). Yet little by little they realize they have a REAL thing between them and they both need to be brave enough to admit it to the other before it's too late.

I really enjoyed this one, it was short and engaging. Ash is such a sweet and caring guy and River as well, he tried so hard to help Ash with everything he did. I can't wait for the next installment of Landon (River's twin), we also got to meet his love interest (Ben) who is also his best friend.

Rating: ★★★★★

E-Book Edition

224 pages

Read on: 15 April 2019

ABOUT THIS SERIES 

 

Love Letters is a Contemporary MM Romance series by Antya Sunday. These were quite sweet. I enjoyed the first three, the fourth one I didn't like the turf and one of the MCs. The series focus mostly on these close friends - the twins River and Landon and two of their best friends Ben and Duke. Unlikely or not, they find their HEA! Length wise all of these are somewhere between a novella to a rather short novel and yet we generally do feel like we got the whole story.

Books:
1. Admiring Ash [Ash Heartford & Roy "River" Riverton] (Published 29 July 2018) ★★★★★
2. Begging Ben [Ben Spengler & Landon Riverton] (Published 29 July 2018) ★★★★★
3. Challenging Chance [Chance Roosevelt-Sutton & Brook Kalson] (Published 29 July 2018) ★★★★
4. Daring Duke [Duke Lawrence-Decker & Rohan Lawrence-Decker] (Published 18 February 2019) ★★★
5. Entrapping Erik [Erik & ???] (To Be Published ???)