A review by bfdbookblog
Danced Close by Annabeth Albert

3.0

I’m giving this book a 3.5 star rating, not because I didn’t love it but because after book 5 being a stellar 5 star read for me, 3.5 seems more accurate in comparison.

I absolutely adore this series and love that each book is so different. Ms. Albert tackles a couple of tough issues in this book, not all of which I’ll mention so I don’t reveal too much. The book is extremely light-hearted for the weight of the issues. This is a quick, feel-good, sweet romance.

What I loved most about Todd is his almost childlike, seemingly innocent personality. He’s very simple and honest. He’s extremely sweet but unsure of himself. He has a couple of talents that have gone unused and unrecognized and through the exposure of those talents we see a bit more of the real Todd. He’s had a rough go of it and sometimes I really just wanted to hug him.

Kendall is more extroverted and flamboyant. He’s embraced his gender fluidity and has, at times wearily, accepted how he is treated by most folks he comes in contact with. Because of his past experience, he projects a bit of the normal preconceived notions unfairly onto Todd but Todd quickly dispels those prejudices by just accepting Kendall at face value. Kendall, understandably, has trust issues and takes a while to really trust that Todd is as he seems.

These two just work together. Todd simply accepts Kendall and Kendall treats Todd with the respect and patience that he needs. While these two do have a sexual and emotional chemistry it doesn’t melt the pages, it’s sweeter than over the top passionate (although they do have trouble keeping their hands to themselves) which exactly fits who these guys are.

As always, I look forward to more stories in the Portland Heat series!