Scan barcode
A review by javalenciaph
Collide by Riley Hart
5.0
Read the full review on Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous.
Throughout the story, we get to see just how close Noah and Cooper were when they were best friends, and there's a certain ease as they rekindle that friendship now that they're older. But even as they reconnect, Noah's divulged sexuality has Cooper looking at him differently, and Noah can't deny how attracted he is to Cooper. The thing I liked most about it was the honesty this was all presented in. There's awkwardness and uneasiness, but the curiosity never really abates. Cooper coming to grips with his feelings for Noah and Noah coming to the realization that he was falling for someone who couldn't seem to handle being with another man were heartbreaking, but these two were so meant to be together, even though they were unwitting victims of the mistakes made by the adults who were supposed to care for them but selfishly never took into consideration how their thoughtless actions would affect the two boys.
I cannot begin to explain how insanely beautiful this story was. There were moments of levity, especially since Cooper is that irresistible mix of cuteness and cockiness but never takes himself too seriously, but its those times when he and Noah reminisce about their earlier years together and their reflections on how they were always each other's person--that one individual who meant more than others and simply made everything better--that were most touching. This was a love story from start to finish, but not just the romantic kind; Cooper and Noah found love for one another, the kind of love that's full of innocence and trust and that children reserve for that one extraordinary friend, when they were ten, and it transitioned into a love that still had elements of that first type of love but combined with the intensity of being in love. How fortunate can someone be to find that kind of love, the one that you share with your best friend and has respect, acceptance, and trust as part of it? Collide is a love story with no boundaries. Five-plus stars. ♥
Throughout the story, we get to see just how close Noah and Cooper were when they were best friends, and there's a certain ease as they rekindle that friendship now that they're older. But even as they reconnect, Noah's divulged sexuality has Cooper looking at him differently, and Noah can't deny how attracted he is to Cooper. The thing I liked most about it was the honesty this was all presented in. There's awkwardness and uneasiness, but the curiosity never really abates. Cooper coming to grips with his feelings for Noah and Noah coming to the realization that he was falling for someone who couldn't seem to handle being with another man were heartbreaking, but these two were so meant to be together, even though they were unwitting victims of the mistakes made by the adults who were supposed to care for them but selfishly never took into consideration how their thoughtless actions would affect the two boys.
I cannot begin to explain how insanely beautiful this story was. There were moments of levity, especially since Cooper is that irresistible mix of cuteness and cockiness but never takes himself too seriously, but its those times when he and Noah reminisce about their earlier years together and their reflections on how they were always each other's person--that one individual who meant more than others and simply made everything better--that were most touching. This was a love story from start to finish, but not just the romantic kind; Cooper and Noah found love for one another, the kind of love that's full of innocence and trust and that children reserve for that one extraordinary friend, when they were ten, and it transitioned into a love that still had elements of that first type of love but combined with the intensity of being in love. How fortunate can someone be to find that kind of love, the one that you share with your best friend and has respect, acceptance, and trust as part of it? Collide is a love story with no boundaries. Five-plus stars. ♥