Ian O. Lewis

Brig is thrown out of his home and family when it is suspected that he is gay. Being homeless he runs in Gabriel who is willing to teach him how to survive as homeless. Because Brig is uncomfortable sleeping in the park, he and Gabriel get a cheap hotel room. After having his first experience with Gabriel, he falls asleep only to wake up the next morning with Gabriel and his money gone. In its place is a train ticket to Richmond, Virginia. Brig uses it and creates a life in Richmond. Spending 12 years at a book store it closes but Brig is hired as a personal assistant to Fernando, owner of 20 restaurants. Attracted to each other, neither will admit the attraction because of the employer/employee relationship. But when Fernando comes home after burying his father, will he heed his father's last words to him or not?

I enjoyed this story. I liked Brig and Fernando. Brig does not have confidence in himself and his attractiveness. His past comes back to him. Fernando has to put his past to rest also. Learning to trust each other they are able to put their pasts to rest. I was glad they found each other. I also liked Ashlee. She is Brig's inner dialogue come to life. I found her to give comic relief when Brig was getting heavy with his emotions and thoughts.

I would like to know if Brig's family ever reconciles with him. I would also like to see how Brig and Fernando manage their lives and their love.… (meer)

The editing (rather, the need for) hurt this one quite a bit. While I love an appropriately used semi-colon, it feels stupid if the previous sentence has a comma splice, incorrect capitalization, and "your" when it needed "you're" followed by "next" when it meant "not." I seriously considered DNF'ing at 15%, but decided I cared just enough about the characters to try to overlook it.

I'm not sure if this is also an editing issue, but the author also confused me on the main character. He introduces the character's aunt as 71 years old, and tells us her older brother is our MC's dad. Ok, so if his dad was 30ish when he had him, that'd make our character a mature adult, probably 40, right? NO! Our MC is a 20ish virgin and horribly immature, still having issues just getting to work on time. This gap was never addressed. Was he adopted? Doesn't sound like it. Was his mom younger than his dad? Who knows. The first two times his parents are referenced, we're told "oh, you already know what happened to them." The characters might, but I don't! Made me wonder if I needed to flip back pages... had I missed it? Turns out, this aunt actually raised him for several years. Didn't learn that for quite a while; really changes the perspective on the closeness of the relationship.


I also don't get how he just abandons his career as an EMT to go travel. In the blurb, it really sounds like this career is very important to him, so how did he just walk away from it? I would have bought into the events better if he had just graduated school but hadn't gotten a job yet, met the athlete through his aunt, traveled for the year, and then was ready to go get his first job.

Finally, the ending was too rushed for the pacing of the rest of the book. The athlete spent a very long time agonizing over coming out and explaining how horrible it would be to have to do so. But then he does... and it's completely underwhelming. While, yes, sometimes our fears outweigh the actual consequences, for the reader, you need to have some resolution for this. Describe the exhale, if you will. Explain how surprised, and relieved, everybody is. … (meer)

Tyler is a professional tennis player who is struggling with figuring out if he wants to continue playing or retire. One day, he is driving and veers to miss a dog in the road and crashes his car. Chip is an EMT who comes to help. Tyler has a big concussion and needs to stay in the hospital. Chip can't stop thinking about him and decides to check in on Tyler. Imagine his surprise when he sees his Aunt at the hospital, because she has been Tyler's housekeeper for years. Over time, a real love story develops.

The romance seemed to go from 0-60 in less than a minute and almost felt like instalove, but that seemed to me just a way to get them together quick so we could get the real story, which was them trying to be together while Tyler was in the closet. It was written quick, but it was solid and it felt real. Their relationship was totally believable and strong. Despite all of Tyler's doubts and concerns about coming out, his love for Chip never waivered.

I enjoyed the sports action, and I thought the ridiculousness with the ex-coach was well written. I really felt for Tyler. He tried so hard to ignore his authentic self as he built his career, and was able to succeed because he never met anyone he wanted to settle down with.

As with every other book in this Hidden Creek universe that I've read so far, the secondary characters are amazing. Aunt Dixie was a spitfire, and Emm and Tina were lovely. This book, like all of the other Hidden Creek books, has truly exceeded my expectations.

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC received from LesCourt Author Services… (meer)