You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide attempt
Implied suicide attempt but this not confirmed nor described
Bumblebees
I am so in love with this entire series. It’s feel-good, swoony, warm-fuzzies romance that makes me giddy every time I read. “I wish for a love like the hazelnut tree. One that never stops growing, no matter the emotional landscape. Ups and downs, highs and lows. So long as we’re growing old together.” Gah, Elliot and Wentworth are now in my top three from this series. I loved everything about their all-encompassing love, from their first meeting to their moving and tender journey to forgive and begin again, as two men who understand and value each other fully and completely. You could say they’ve persuaded me to believe in love at first sight, or perhaps I should say song. I am all in with these characters and wish I could visit the set of Ask Austen Studios to meet them all and just bask in all the love they bring.
I am so in love with this entire series. It’s feel-good, swoony, warm-fuzzies romance that makes me giddy every time I read. “I wish for a love like the hazelnut tree. One that never stops growing, no matter the emotional landscape. Ups and downs, highs and lows. So long as we’re growing old together.” Gah, Elliot and Wentworth are now in my top three from this series. I loved everything about their all-encompassing love, from their first meeting to their moving and tender journey to forgive and begin again, as two men who understand and value each other fully and completely. You could say they’ve persuaded me to believe in love at first sight, or perhaps I should say song. I am all in with these characters and wish I could visit the set of Ask Austen Studios to meet them all and just bask in all the love they bring.
My Recommendation: This might be my favorite of Sunday's adaptations for the Love, Austen series. A large part of that comes from it being a still common trope (second chance) in MM Romance today, but also, I think because of how the characters related to each other. Most of the others in the series were decent, but Sunday really played up the age difference or class difference, whereas in this one they seemed to be more on par with each other and it just worked better for me.
My Response: OMG ya'll, Anyta Sunday is going to finish her Love, Austen series!!! Can you tell I'm still bitter about the Austen Project? I mean who does four books and then just STOPS!?! Like WT-actual-F!? When this review opportunity came in, it was an automatic yes.* I just had to wait for them to get me the actual ARC so I could start it and boy was I impatient!
I didn't realize it at the time, but we actually met both characters in this novel in the last book, Finley Embraces Heart and Home, at their end of term/secondary school party. I may (or may not) have squealed a little when I connected those dots this book.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
*I received a copy of Elliot, Song of the Soulmate via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.
My Response: OMG ya'll, Anyta Sunday is going to finish her Love, Austen series!!! Can you tell I'm still bitter about the Austen Project? I mean who does four books and then just STOPS!?! Like WT-actual-F!? When this review opportunity came in, it was an automatic yes.* I just had to wait for them to get me the actual ARC so I could start it and boy was I impatient!
I didn't realize it at the time, but we actually met both characters in this novel in the last book, Finley Embraces Heart and Home, at their end of term/secondary school party. I may (or may not) have squealed a little when I connected those dots this book.
Continue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley.com.
*I received a copy of Elliot, Song of the Soulmate via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.
I hadn't planned on reading any more of this series after a poor showing in the first book and generally just not super connecting with Sunday's recent releases. But this one was on sale, and I'm a sucker for a free book...
It was perfectly fine, I even enjoyed it, but I definitely didn't absolutely love it. The banter got a bit exhausting and all the talking about something random in detail as a metaphor for their relationship was a little annoying with how frequently it happened. I found the pacing a bit odd here--and this was also an issue I remember having in the first book, how it would seem like the characters are CLEARLY flirting/on the same page, but then in the next chapter Elliot's convinced Wentworth's in love with somebody else, which just... didn't quite make sense. Sunday loves her oblivious characters, but it gets to a point way past credulity. I also found Wentworth's ~teenage~ self in particular to be a bit odd. The whole high school love story was super insta-love, which was sort of a theme throughout the book, which just isn't my jam.
I *did* like the characters and the story itself was enjoyable overall, but it did remind me why Sunday's no longer an auto-buy for me.
It was perfectly fine, I even enjoyed it, but I definitely didn't absolutely love it. The banter got a bit exhausting and all the talking about something random in detail as a metaphor for their relationship was a little annoying with how frequently it happened. I found the pacing a bit odd here--and this was also an issue I remember having in the first book, how it would seem like the characters are CLEARLY flirting/on the same page, but then in the next chapter Elliot's convinced Wentworth's in love with somebody else, which just... didn't quite make sense. Sunday loves her oblivious characters, but it gets to a point way past credulity. I also found Wentworth's ~teenage~ self in particular to be a bit odd. The whole high school love story was super insta-love, which was sort of a theme throughout the book, which just isn't my jam.
I *did* like the characters and the story itself was enjoyable overall, but it did remind me why Sunday's no longer an auto-buy for me.
Wowowowowowowoowowow. I will admit, I'm not the biggest fan of Persuasion and so this book suffers a bit because of the source material. (That being said, I wish the end of the first relationship was more like the source material because the choice this author made was... sensational without substance)
Any kind of second chance romance is going to be a pass for me usually. The first breakup never makes sense to me, and a long period of pining doesn't always seem romantic when handled without care. No one should spend that long pining and letting other areas of their life suffer because of a breakup, no matter the reason.
I do enjoy this author - the writing is pretty, some editing and proof-reading is needed though - except for the tendency to have close door conflicts. Too many chapters and scenes end with 'this conflict is about to happen' and then cut to directly after. It's fine, especially since I am reading this on KU and have not yet decided to buy the series in full for my bookshelf or just the first three stories which I love, but the missing conflicts can be hard to register emotionally when we don't have access to them
Any kind of second chance romance is going to be a pass for me usually. The first breakup never makes sense to me, and a long period of pining doesn't always seem romantic when handled without care. No one should spend that long pining and letting other areas of their life suffer because of a breakup, no matter the reason.
I do enjoy this author - the writing is pretty, some editing and proof-reading is needed though - except for the tendency to have close door conflicts. Too many chapters and scenes end with 'this conflict is about to happen' and then cut to directly after. It's fine, especially since I am reading this on KU and have not yet decided to buy the series in full for my bookshelf or just the first three stories which I love, but the missing conflicts can be hard to register emotionally when we don't have access to them
A happy on again off again love story that has a very happy ending
I absolutely loved Elliot and Wentworth's second chance romance, and their journey captured my attention from start to finish. Admittedly, I haven't read Persuasion (the Jane Austen classic this book is based on), so I can't comment on how fitting this adaptation is, but as a standalone story I was hooked. Wentworth and Elliot's innocent young love was such a joy to read about, and even though I knew some catalyst would break them apart I still got swept away by the sweet joy of their initial time together. After seeing just how good things between them could be, it did break my heart to see the weight of responsibility rip their relationship apart. I understand why Elliot felt he had to shield Wentworth from his issues, but that didn't make me any less distraught to know that the two of them spent fifteen long years apart. Their reunion wasn't all sunshine and happiness--and honestly for a long time I wasn't sure there was a second-chance in the cards for the two of them--but I did enjoy seeing the men these two had grown into during their time apart. As they cautiously reconnected and got past their emotional barriers, it was really sweet to see glimpses of their younger selves re-emerge. As always Anyta struck a nice balance between slow-burn pining, goofy moments, and heartfelt scenes. I was 100% sold on Elliot and Wentworth's compatibility, and not even time or distance could dim their obvious interest in one another. Experiencing the roundabout way they went about rekindling their relationship was just part of the fun, and I couldn't be happier with the way their story concluded.
**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.
**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.