blub

Sam is a recovering alcoholic and a janitor who works in a hospital, it’s not the job he wanted but he’s gotten used to it. He’s living comfortably until life throws him a curve ball in the form of his biological mother trying to reach out to him. He’s not sure how to handle that information but with the support of a friend and referral to a help group, goes a long. The therapy group is a place where adults can share their own experience with coping with abandonment. Jay is the group coordinator. He’s quite friendly and ends up being a friend and another supportive individual for Sam to rely on.

Sam was an interesting character and I enjoyed getting to know him and Jay. Neither grew up in an ideal family situation. It was interesting learning how they dealt with the lives they were dealt and what routes they took. I don’t imagine being abandoned as a baby or child feels great but it was inspiring how far they both came. It was heartening to see that even though Sam didn’t have a lot of people in his life he still had people to go to for support and guidance. The sexual content seemed more incendiary than I remember in some of this author’s other works. It really added spice to the read. I liked sexuality wasn’t made a big deal of with the exception of Janine. She actually made me feel a bit sad for Sam but I liked that Sam just took it and
didn’t let it drag him down.

The second read in the book was a m/m read and not a straight to gay story/gay for you/bisexual like the first. Scott is closing up shop when stranger comes knocking on his door. Turns out the guy is a celebrity Scott has had a crush on for quite some time. The two get to talking and spend
time together and form a sort of friendship. But Scott being an average Joe and Owen being a popular celebrity and deeply closeted puts a strain on their friendship, moving their relationship to the next level may just destroy them.

Scott seemed like such a great guy and he actually had me feeling quite sad for him. His last relationship was a mess and moving on he finds Owen who is in the closet (and a virgin). The two get close only for Owen to be a total jerk. Scott didn’t deserve to be treated as he was. I just felt Owen shouldn’t have lead him on if he wasn’t planning to lose or give up something. That being said I could understand his stand point but I still felt out of sorts for Scott. There was a small part of me that wanted Scott to just say of do something that said “tada, you missed out and I moved on. I deserve so much better”.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.