Scan barcode
bibliophile24's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best I've read! I loved these two guys!
brokenrecord's review against another edition
2.0
I mostly liked the romance but found the rest of this to be a mess. First off, it felt kind of casually sexist. John's ex-wife is just SUCH a horrible person, and evil exes are never fun, but especially not when they were married for YEARS and have CHILDREN together. It's just so hard to see how John could've ever ended up with someone like her. I suppose her new husband sucks as well, so it's not completely gendered (although her choice in a new partner does also reflect on her character, so there's that). But in addition to that, there's the fact that she and her new husband are so awful that he runs away (ACROSS STATE LINES) to go live with John, and his daughter wants to live with him as well, but John ends up being like, "Hm, we think it's best to placate your mom by letting her keep ONE of you, so you get to be the sacrificial lamb because I love my son more. Also, you're a girl! You need your mom! I wouldn't want to have to deal with gross things like periods!" Okay, it's THAT bad, but that certainly felt like the subtext of the scene. And he DOES say that a girl should be with her mom or whatever, which… no!!! I hate this gender essentialist bullshit. Having a loving and supportive parent of any gender is ALWAYS going to be preferable to a shitty parent of the same gender, jfc.
I also didn't love that the son's initial reaction to finding out his father was dating a man was to use a bunch of gay slurs repeatedly. And they kind of wave it off, like, "Oh, he's not actually homophobic/doesn't mean it, he's just upset!" and he does end up coming around, but… idk, it just made the book feel dated in a weird way? It's only 8 years old, which isn't THAT long ago, and it's not like I think gay slurs aren't used today of course, but… idk. I just feel like there are other ways of showing the son struggling to accept his father dating a man for the first time that don't involve using gay slurs. In general, I just didn't care much for the family stuff, beyond what I've already mentioned. It felt like it was intruding on the romance too much. I mean, literally, as soon as they decide to explore their feelings and attraction, the son shows up, and they have to put a pause on everything for a bit. I would've liked more of just them navigating their new relationship and feelings rather than all the external drama.
My final major complaint was that the suspense/mystery element felt completely out of place in this story. I was aware it was an element going in, but there are just a few hints about something going on with a couple students acting weird and then dying, and then nothing really until the climax, and even knowing something had to be coming, it felt like it came out of nowhere. And there was never really enough weight given to that element of the plot for me to feel like there was any point in it being included. If this had just been a nice, quiet romance about two men finding one another and slowing falling in love and realizing their feelings and figuring out a new life together, then I think I would've really enjoyed this, but instead there was so much external drama with John's family and the suspense plot and none of it worked for me. This was just a weird book. However, I liked elements of it enough to finish in one day, and the actual romance between John and Ryan was pretty enjoyable.
I also didn't love that the son's initial reaction to finding out his father was dating a man was to use a bunch of gay slurs repeatedly. And they kind of wave it off, like, "Oh, he's not actually homophobic/doesn't mean it, he's just upset!" and he does end up coming around, but… idk, it just made the book feel dated in a weird way? It's only 8 years old, which isn't THAT long ago, and it's not like I think gay slurs aren't used today of course, but… idk. I just feel like there are other ways of showing the son struggling to accept his father dating a man for the first time that don't involve using gay slurs. In general, I just didn't care much for the family stuff, beyond what I've already mentioned. It felt like it was intruding on the romance too much. I mean, literally, as soon as they decide to explore their feelings and attraction, the son shows up, and they have to put a pause on everything for a bit. I would've liked more of just them navigating their new relationship and feelings rather than all the external drama.
My final major complaint was that the suspense/mystery element felt completely out of place in this story. I was aware it was an element going in, but there are just a few hints about something going on with a couple students acting weird and then dying, and then nothing really until the climax, and even knowing something had to be coming, it felt like it came out of nowhere. And there was never really enough weight given to that element of the plot for me to feel like there was any point in it being included. If this had just been a nice, quiet romance about two men finding one another and slowing falling in love and realizing their feelings and figuring out a new life together, then I think I would've really enjoyed this, but instead there was so much external drama with John's family and the suspense plot and none of it worked for me. This was just a weird book. However, I liked elements of it enough to finish in one day, and the actual romance between John and Ryan was pretty enjoyable.
devalabra's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
nasaje's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This wasn't a whirlwind romance but I like stories like that, because they seem a little more believable. The story had a healthy dose of drama, but not juvenile misunderstandings-drama. Loved the added storyline of bringing in John's kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
crtsjffrsn's review against another edition
3.0
When Ryan Ward's career as a firefighter ended due to an injury, everything in his life changed. But in trying to make the best of it, he enrolled in medical school and moved across the country. And things seem to be getting back on track. John Barrett's life also went through a major change recently--after his wife divorced him and moved to a new town, he left his own career to follow them and take up a job as the groundskeeper of the local college. And then Cynthia moved the kids across the country, leaving John behind. So when Ryan and John meet, both of them are in a place of possibility. Both both men, who have a history of relationships with women, are surprised when that possibility leads them to consider what it might be for the two of them to be together. And if they decide to act on it, there's not only all of the work they need to do themselves but then they have to try to explain it to the world. But maybe it doesn't matter what the world thinks at all...
I went back and forth in terms of how I feel about this one. There are some great moments. But then there are some moments that really drag. And there are some minor issues that take up large portions of the story and complex issues that just sort of get left behind or resolve without much explanation. But it's still an interesting read, complete even with some unexpected action-like scenes near the end of the book.
I went back and forth in terms of how I feel about this one. There are some great moments. But then there are some moments that really drag. And there are some minor issues that take up large portions of the story and complex issues that just sort of get left behind or resolve without much explanation. But it's still an interesting read, complete even with some unexpected action-like scenes near the end of the book.
kitausu's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed it, but the murder element really was a bit of a wild card haha
bookaddict1975's review against another edition
4.0
🎧 Audio Review 🎧
Ryan and John are a complete swoon worthy couple. This is a little bit friends to lovers, a little bit Gay for you and a lot of a sweet love story with some action and excitement to boot. Both men are straight when they meet but getting to know each other changes that fairly quickly. I loved how the author made this romance into a little bit of a thriller and added an awesome family dynamic too. I loved both Ryan and John equally. Ryan is an ex-firefighter turned med student and John is a father of two who works at the college. I really liked that the couple didn't spend a bunch of time convincing themselves that the relationship was "wrong", they felt it and jumped in with both feet. The ending is a bit of a cliffy but not really, more of a lead into the next book. I already bought books 2 & 3 cause I need to see where their story goes.
This was my first Gomaz Pugh and will not be my last! He really did a great job with these characters and will the kids.
Ryan and John are a complete swoon worthy couple. This is a little bit friends to lovers, a little bit Gay for you and a lot of a sweet love story with some action and excitement to boot. Both men are straight when they meet but getting to know each other changes that fairly quickly. I loved how the author made this romance into a little bit of a thriller and added an awesome family dynamic too. I loved both Ryan and John equally. Ryan is an ex-firefighter turned med student and John is a father of two who works at the college. I really liked that the couple didn't spend a bunch of time convincing themselves that the relationship was "wrong", they felt it and jumped in with both feet. The ending is a bit of a cliffy but not really, more of a lead into the next book. I already bought books 2 & 3 cause I need to see where their story goes.
This was my first Gomaz Pugh and will not be my last! He really did a great job with these characters and will the kids.
readingwithamy's review against another edition
DNF at 60%
This book wasn’t bad it was just too long and drawn out for me. I found that I stop caring for the characters sadly. It was interesting at time but just not as much to make me want to finish off this book.
This book wasn’t bad it was just too long and drawn out for me. I found that I stop caring for the characters sadly. It was interesting at time but just not as much to make me want to finish off this book.