suze_1624's review
3.0
So, if I take this as a frenemies to lovers tale, it is quite cute and enjoyable.
If I take it as written with Seth having to go on a cruise 2 weeks after his partners death, with Bryce taking up Mark’s place, then it is a bit harder to like.
The writing is pacy and engaging - there are some funny bits (not sure intended) - I did chuckle about the moan about long UK passport queues - works both ways, going into US is a nightmare! And the comment about passengers soaking up the sun on a cruise round the British Isles made me laugh - very rarely warm enough!!!
Seth is a fairly pampered princess, having been largely looked after by Mark, even in death Mark. Bryce is a self sufficient go-getter. After Mark’s death they are thrown together like oil and water.
Seth seems fairly unfazed by life only two weeks after Mark’s death, and even as a close friend Bryce seems very blasé. So these elements take a lot of accepting.
Although Mark also seemed quite secretive about his illness, these guys had been together for 20 years yet read more as business partners.
Jeannie gives Seth an insight into Mark’s process but he also teaches her about what happens after.
Bryce teaches Seth about living and both he and Mark’s death force Seth to look how he has been living his life.
So overall, enjoyed the story apart from a bit of eye rolling about timings.
If I take it as written with Seth having to go on a cruise 2 weeks after his partners death, with Bryce taking up Mark’s place, then it is a bit harder to like.
The writing is pacy and engaging - there are some funny bits (not sure intended) - I did chuckle about the moan about long UK passport queues - works both ways, going into US is a nightmare! And the comment about passengers soaking up the sun on a cruise round the British Isles made me laugh - very rarely warm enough!!!
Seth is a fairly pampered princess, having been largely looked after by Mark, even in death Mark. Bryce is a self sufficient go-getter. After Mark’s death they are thrown together like oil and water.
Seth seems fairly unfazed by life only two weeks after Mark’s death, and even as a close friend Bryce seems very blasé. So these elements take a lot of accepting.
Although Mark also seemed quite secretive about his illness, these guys had been together for 20 years yet read more as business partners.
Jeannie gives Seth an insight into Mark’s process but he also teaches her about what happens after.
Bryce teaches Seth about living and both he and Mark’s death force Seth to look how he has been living his life.
So overall, enjoyed the story apart from a bit of eye rolling about timings.
the_novel_approach's review
2.0
This is the toughest kind of review for me. I had a really hard time with this book, but I made myself finish it—and I do mean made. And, I was left with the feeling that it was ok. There were just too many things, hard lines I have that got compromised.
Seth is self-absorbed to the extreme, to the point he doesn’t see when his boyfriend of twenty years cannot even walk across the kitchen floor without falling. REALLY? He doesn’t take responsibility for anything in his and Mark’s life, not even getting food for himself. REALLY? And I am supposed to like this guy and hope he finds someone else? Seth doesn’t even like Bryce, hasn’t for years, and frankly, Bryce hasn’t liked him either, for years. I can get over the going on a cruise thing; if I was grieving I might want to get away also, and give myself time to come to terms with my loss. I cannot, however, get over all of a sudden feeling a connection with a man you hate as you sit on a toilet with IBS—which is described in a little too much detail—after your partner of twenty years died two weeks ago.
Bryce is a narcissist, consumed with the way he looks. He is also a bit of a sex addict and can’t keep it in his pants for fifteen minutes straight. He is a responsible businessman, I will give him that, so we get the idea that when Bryce wants to be responsible, he can. It’s just not often. Bryce is actually the saving grace of this pair. While he didn’t like Seth much before going on this cruise, admittedly he only knew what his friend Mark let him know, which wasn’t much. The Seth he sees is so much more than Mark ever let him be, and it is Bryce’s refusal to coddle Seth that convinces Seth to finally blossom. However, Bryce doesn’t ever grieve for his best friend. The book is about Seth’s grief, and Bryce doesn’t ever act like he just lost his best(?) friend. REALLY?
I didn’t even like the dead guy. Mark was a huge part of this book, and his own choices were not stellar ones. We get the idea that Mark and Seth’s relationship wasn’t healthy in a lot of ways. It couldn’t have been since it was that brokenness that sets the tone for a more positive and cohesive communion between Seth and Bryce. Bryce refuses to be another Mark, and that is understandable, but I have a problem with the premise that Seth’s previous relationship had to have such gaping flaws in it for this new relationship with Bryce to work.
So, how did it end up that the book was ok? Both men are good for each other. I would say that Bryce is just what Seth needs at this point in time. Is this a HEA? I am really not sure. I am not sure you can make that leap of faith with these two. It is a HFN and that makes it more palatable. I have a hard time believing that in “real life”, which a cruise ship is definitely not, that these men will be able to overcome their fundamental differences—not to mention lifetimes of bad habits. By the end of the book, I understood these men, the choices they made to get them where they are. I may (and I do mean may) even read the next book in the series; there are supposed to be three. But this also makes the story more acceptable when it is supposed to be just the opening volley for these two. I am glad I finished it, but I will have to talk myself into the next one.
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach Reviews
Seth is self-absorbed to the extreme, to the point he doesn’t see when his boyfriend of twenty years cannot even walk across the kitchen floor without falling. REALLY? He doesn’t take responsibility for anything in his and Mark’s life, not even getting food for himself. REALLY? And I am supposed to like this guy and hope he finds someone else? Seth doesn’t even like Bryce, hasn’t for years, and frankly, Bryce hasn’t liked him either, for years. I can get over the going on a cruise thing; if I was grieving I might want to get away also, and give myself time to come to terms with my loss. I cannot, however, get over all of a sudden feeling a connection with a man you hate as you sit on a toilet with IBS—which is described in a little too much detail—after your partner of twenty years died two weeks ago.
Bryce is a narcissist, consumed with the way he looks. He is also a bit of a sex addict and can’t keep it in his pants for fifteen minutes straight. He is a responsible businessman, I will give him that, so we get the idea that when Bryce wants to be responsible, he can. It’s just not often. Bryce is actually the saving grace of this pair. While he didn’t like Seth much before going on this cruise, admittedly he only knew what his friend Mark let him know, which wasn’t much. The Seth he sees is so much more than Mark ever let him be, and it is Bryce’s refusal to coddle Seth that convinces Seth to finally blossom. However, Bryce doesn’t ever grieve for his best friend. The book is about Seth’s grief, and Bryce doesn’t ever act like he just lost his best(?) friend. REALLY?
I didn’t even like the dead guy. Mark was a huge part of this book, and his own choices were not stellar ones. We get the idea that Mark and Seth’s relationship wasn’t healthy in a lot of ways. It couldn’t have been since it was that brokenness that sets the tone for a more positive and cohesive communion between Seth and Bryce. Bryce refuses to be another Mark, and that is understandable, but I have a problem with the premise that Seth’s previous relationship had to have such gaping flaws in it for this new relationship with Bryce to work.
So, how did it end up that the book was ok? Both men are good for each other. I would say that Bryce is just what Seth needs at this point in time. Is this a HEA? I am really not sure. I am not sure you can make that leap of faith with these two. It is a HFN and that makes it more palatable. I have a hard time believing that in “real life”, which a cruise ship is definitely not, that these men will be able to overcome their fundamental differences—not to mention lifetimes of bad habits. By the end of the book, I understood these men, the choices they made to get them where they are. I may (and I do mean may) even read the next book in the series; there are supposed to be three. But this also makes the story more acceptable when it is supposed to be just the opening volley for these two. I am glad I finished it, but I will have to talk myself into the next one.
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach Reviews
anitalouise's review
5.0
My word, this was superb!! I have had an uneven experience with M. Ashling's books so was quite worried but as they say, not all books are the same. This was thoughtful, nuanced and deeply emotional. And the very best was that our two MCs are older. Seth and Bryce are both close to 50. The author deftly weaves a story about how one deals with the death of a partner by suicide. That is bad enough but the circumstances under which it happened were particularly tragic. We also get a wonderful layering of Seth. Initially you want to slap him and think he is a whiny idiot but as we read more, you get a complex individual struggling with what happened, how to go on after 20 years and having his world kicked out from under him. With Bryce, you get a manwhore whose reasons for his whoriness (is that even a word) are linked to something that occurred in his past. How things that happen to us inform our thinking, our relationships with people and how we perceive the world. The slowly coming together for Seth and Bryce and how they deal with their respective issues while discovering who each other really is. A badly worded sentence but the skill the author displayed in peeling back the onion for each guy was brilliant. Coupling the character driven and excellently written MCs with the boiling hot smexy just added to the enjoyment. What a treat. Yet another book that has been on my Kindle since 2017. Now to unearth book 2 in this series!
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