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Seattle Stories #2
Saving Sean
Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.
Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running away. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.
Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?
Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running away. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.
Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2012
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September 28, 2012
Full review now posted
3.5 stars.
Saving Sean is the sequel to After Ben. After loving and actually devouring After Ben I've had very high expectations and it saddens me to say that I'm not overly happy with Saving Sean. To be honest, the book could never live up to my high expectations. The final 30 % of Saving Sean contained too much sex and fell totally flat for me. And then there was Sean…and Maggie. Frankly, Sean is not my kind of hero and Maggie who was a wonderful character in After Ben turned into a woman I couldn't recognize anymore.
Peter is such an adorable character and I always hoped that he would find a great guy to share his life with. Having said that, I seriously doubt that Sean is the man for my Peter. Yeah, the joys of love…maybe it’s just me 'cause I couldn’t warm up to him. Sean annoyed me; he was frustrating and I didn’t understand what Pete saw in him. Why did he have to run away on a regular basis when things got "complicated?" For a grown-up I expected him to be more mature and less dependent. He was a rather volatile and weak character, just not enough stable and I was always thinking “Something is not quite right with Sean.” He had to question everything Peter did for him. Sean was pale and he was tired all the time. In all honesty, he was the opposite of an appealing and mesmerizing character. He seemed to be dazed or mentally absent a great many times. On the other hand, I believe that Sean hit the jackpot when he met Peter. Peter is a good and kind-hearted soul, always ready to help and Sean should feel lucky to have found such a generous man. Furthermore, the story revolved too much around the hoarding topic. Don’t get me wrong, I know it's a very serious problem and I don’t intend to minimize it, however, all the clutter was kinda overwhelming and somewhat depressing. Finally, let me say something about Maggie (Sean's sister). While she really shined in After Ben, she totally lost me in Saving Sean. Maggie became bitchy and the interaction between Sean and her came waaaay too late and I felt that their problems were resolved too quickly. In fact, it really hurt to see such a wonderful woman lose all her magic.
What I do love is the author’s voice and as I mentioned before Peter is a lovable character. The lovely scenes between Peter and his father, good writing, dialogue and characterization and a cast of interesting secondary characters (Aidan especially) saved the book from being a total letdown.
Nevertheless, I do look forward to reading Aidan's story.
3.5 stars.
Saving Sean is the sequel to After Ben. After loving and actually devouring After Ben I've had very high expectations and it saddens me to say that I'm not overly happy with Saving Sean. To be honest, the book could never live up to my high expectations. The final 30 % of Saving Sean contained too much sex and fell totally flat for me. And then there was Sean…and Maggie. Frankly, Sean is not my kind of hero and Maggie who was a wonderful character in After Ben turned into a woman I couldn't recognize anymore.
Peter is such an adorable character and I always hoped that he would find a great guy to share his life with. Having said that, I seriously doubt that Sean is the man for my Peter. Yeah, the joys of love…maybe it’s just me 'cause I couldn’t warm up to him. Sean annoyed me; he was frustrating and I didn’t understand what Pete saw in him. Why did he have to run away on a regular basis when things got "complicated?" For a grown-up I expected him to be more mature and less dependent. He was a rather volatile and weak character, just not enough stable and I was always thinking “Something is not quite right with Sean.” He had to question everything Peter did for him. Sean was pale and he was tired all the time. In all honesty, he was the opposite of an appealing and mesmerizing character. He seemed to be dazed or mentally absent a great many times. On the other hand, I believe that Sean hit the jackpot when he met Peter. Peter is a good and kind-hearted soul, always ready to help and Sean should feel lucky to have found such a generous man. Furthermore, the story revolved too much around the hoarding topic. Don’t get me wrong, I know it's a very serious problem and I don’t intend to minimize it, however, all the clutter was kinda overwhelming and somewhat depressing. Finally, let me say something about Maggie (Sean's sister). While she really shined in After Ben, she totally lost me in Saving Sean. Maggie became bitchy and the interaction between Sean and her came waaaay too late and I felt that their problems were resolved too quickly. In fact, it really hurt to see such a wonderful woman lose all her magic.
What I do love is the author’s voice and as I mentioned before Peter is a lovable character. The lovely scenes between Peter and his father, good writing, dialogue and characterization and a cast of interesting secondary characters (Aidan especially) saved the book from being a total letdown.
Nevertheless, I do look forward to reading Aidan's story.
April 12, 2017
Cross-posted at Shelf Inflicted and at Outlaw Reviews
I was debating on whether I wanted to continue with this series or not, as my feelings about After Ben were rather lukewarm.
Though the first story was mainly about Theo recovering from the death of his partner, Ben, and finding love again, there were interesting secondary characters, such as Peter Morse, a paramedic who fell for Theo at the wrong time, and Maggie, Theo’s personal assistant and friend, who was instrumental in supporting him through the worst of his grief. It was my interest in Peter and knowing that he too will find love, that gave me the push I needed to continue reading.
While Saving Sean features characters from the first book, the focus of the story is on Peter and Sean, a young conservationist reeling from the death of his estranged father and coping with the results of his hoarding disorder. He is also a brother to Maggie.
This story shared a lot of similarities with the first one, making it feel somewhat formulaic. In spite of the fact that Theo’s partner was 10 years older, Theo was still very much hung up on age differences, even when he became involved with a considerably younger man. Likewise, Peter is hung up on a physical type. Even though Sean, with his lean build, long red hair, and pale complexion wasn't exactly Peter’s type, Peter fell for him hard and fast, leaving me feeling unconvinced that their relationship is destined to last.
Peter is a smart guy with mostly sound judgment. He worked for 15 years as a paramedic and now travels around the country training firefighters and medical professionals in emergency response. Though he deserves a nice guy in his life, I’m not convinced that Sean is a suitable companion. His unstable personality and erratic behavior annoyed me to no end and made me wonder just what exactly did Peter see in him. Sean didn't need a boyfriend; he needed a therapist. His obsession with his father’s hoard and inability to focus on the task of separating trash from items of value even though he risks losing his home led me to think it was possible he inherited the hoarding gene. Instead of being firm with Sean, Peter allowed himself to become a hostage to his unpredictable emotions. He avoided becoming angry with Sean when he frequently ran away from problems. A healthy relationship this is not. Yeah, I know Sean’s father died before they had a chance to mend fences, but that doesn't give him the right to be a selfish, whiny jerk and be ungrateful to Peter, their friends, and his boss, Vik, who are helping him manage the hoard before his home is condemned.
This made it easy for me to side with Vik’s point of view:
Where this story shined for me was the growing closeness between Peter and his dad. While I didn't understand why Peter kept his distance from him for so long, I’m glad they developed a warm relationship. Their interactions were deeply moving.
His dad was withdrawn since his wife's death, spending hours in his workshop, and while he didn’t openly accept Peter’s sexuality, he certainly didn't condemn him for it. It seems to me that Peter should have been adult enough to establish communication and work past this way before now.
I found the sex scenes between Peter and Sean repetitive, lacking in sensuality, and too frequent, especially towards the end of the book. Maybe it’s because I mostly saw Sean as a child in a man’s body. I didn’t care for the way the hoarding issue was addressed, and I wanted more communication between Sean and his sister. The ending felt forced and unrealistic.
Once again, I’m left with a lukewarm feeling. Despite this, I will read the next story featuring Aiden and Marco, even though I’m expecting more of the same. I must be a glutton for punishment.
Thanks to Katie from Bookie Nookie's Erotic Lending Group for lending this to me.
I was debating on whether I wanted to continue with this series or not, as my feelings about After Ben were rather lukewarm.
Though the first story was mainly about Theo recovering from the death of his partner, Ben, and finding love again, there were interesting secondary characters, such as Peter Morse, a paramedic who fell for Theo at the wrong time, and Maggie, Theo’s personal assistant and friend, who was instrumental in supporting him through the worst of his grief. It was my interest in Peter and knowing that he too will find love, that gave me the push I needed to continue reading.
While Saving Sean features characters from the first book, the focus of the story is on Peter and Sean, a young conservationist reeling from the death of his estranged father and coping with the results of his hoarding disorder. He is also a brother to Maggie.
This story shared a lot of similarities with the first one, making it feel somewhat formulaic. In spite of the fact that Theo’s partner was 10 years older, Theo was still very much hung up on age differences, even when he became involved with a considerably younger man. Likewise, Peter is hung up on a physical type. Even though Sean, with his lean build, long red hair, and pale complexion wasn't exactly Peter’s type, Peter fell for him hard and fast, leaving me feeling unconvinced that their relationship is destined to last.
Peter is a smart guy with mostly sound judgment. He worked for 15 years as a paramedic and now travels around the country training firefighters and medical professionals in emergency response. Though he deserves a nice guy in his life, I’m not convinced that Sean is a suitable companion. His unstable personality and erratic behavior annoyed me to no end and made me wonder just what exactly did Peter see in him. Sean didn't need a boyfriend; he needed a therapist. His obsession with his father’s hoard and inability to focus on the task of separating trash from items of value even though he risks losing his home led me to think it was possible he inherited the hoarding gene. Instead of being firm with Sean, Peter allowed himself to become a hostage to his unpredictable emotions. He avoided becoming angry with Sean when he frequently ran away from problems. A healthy relationship this is not. Yeah, I know Sean’s father died before they had a chance to mend fences, but that doesn't give him the right to be a selfish, whiny jerk and be ungrateful to Peter, their friends, and his boss, Vik, who are helping him manage the hoard before his home is condemned.
““It's not all garbage. It's not. There's really important stuff in dad’s office, and they're acting like it's junk.” His face twisted. “He’s acting like it's dirty.””
This made it easy for me to side with Vik’s point of view:
“He’s always looking for reasons. It makes him an excellent researcher – I was sorry to lose him to his own project – but sooner or later he’ll see the bigger picture. He won't be able to save every forest, and he can’t hope to figure out how his dad’s mind worked. Some things are inexplicable.”
Where this story shined for me was the growing closeness between Peter and his dad. While I didn't understand why Peter kept his distance from him for so long, I’m glad they developed a warm relationship. Their interactions were deeply moving.
“I felt like we were on a road trip together. Maybe we should have done that for real while you were younger. It just always seemed like there wasn’t enough time. But I guess that this way, every time you sent another postcard, it was like picking up from the same conversation. Are you home for a while, son? I’ll miss hearing from you if you are.”
His dad was withdrawn since his wife's death, spending hours in his workshop, and while he didn’t openly accept Peter’s sexuality, he certainly didn't condemn him for it. It seems to me that Peter should have been adult enough to establish communication and work past this way before now.
I found the sex scenes between Peter and Sean repetitive, lacking in sensuality, and too frequent, especially towards the end of the book. Maybe it’s because I mostly saw Sean as a child in a man’s body. I didn’t care for the way the hoarding issue was addressed, and I wanted more communication between Sean and his sister. The ending felt forced and unrealistic.
Once again, I’m left with a lukewarm feeling. Despite this, I will read the next story featuring Aiden and Marco, even though I’m expecting more of the same. I must be a glutton for punishment.
Thanks to Katie from Bookie Nookie's Erotic Lending Group for lending this to me.
March 3, 2014
sophomore slump—or superior sequel?
the answer is: yes.
this book is ambitious as hell. while not entirely successful in its every gambit, it is still a damned fine piece of work, all the same.
it demands you sit back and be told the story—to stop pushing, and be guided instead.
over and over, you'll find yourself reading something and wondering, 'why is this here? why am i seeing this now? what about that other thing?'
the narrative loops over and around itself again and again, layered with surprising allusions, parallels, and metaphors—and you'll find that in its playful structure and clever symmetry, you've been set up just right for incredibly satisfying emotional payoffs.
so much skill here. so much talent.
sometimes the payoffs are funny. sometimes they hit you in the gut, and stay there, aching dully for the next few pages, until the next virtuosic flourish of narrative makes you forget about it.
damned fine writing.
imperfect, however. i found it needed a bit of restraint above all; never dull, never pedantic, the impressively sure manipulation of timeline could still become wearying once in a while. i found some subplots slightly unnecessary, and others slightly underdone. nothing major, and nothing big enough to ever make me put the book down, except to rave about it in status updates.
so: not perfect.
but the payoffs, man.
the payoffs, at the end of each discrete chunk of gorgeously engineered sleight-of-hand—
—worth it.
worth it every single time.
give it space to do its thing. you may wonder, and you may want—but in the end all you can do is receive, and smile about it when it's over.
recommended.
the answer is: yes.
this book is ambitious as hell. while not entirely successful in its every gambit, it is still a damned fine piece of work, all the same.
it demands you sit back and be told the story—to stop pushing, and be guided instead.
over and over, you'll find yourself reading something and wondering, 'why is this here? why am i seeing this now? what about that other thing?'
the narrative loops over and around itself again and again, layered with surprising allusions, parallels, and metaphors—and you'll find that in its playful structure and clever symmetry, you've been set up just right for incredibly satisfying emotional payoffs.
so much skill here. so much talent.
sometimes the payoffs are funny. sometimes they hit you in the gut, and stay there, aching dully for the next few pages, until the next virtuosic flourish of narrative makes you forget about it.
damned fine writing.
imperfect, however. i found it needed a bit of restraint above all; never dull, never pedantic, the impressively sure manipulation of timeline could still become wearying once in a while. i found some subplots slightly unnecessary, and others slightly underdone. nothing major, and nothing big enough to ever make me put the book down, except to rave about it in status updates.
so: not perfect.
but the payoffs, man.
the payoffs, at the end of each discrete chunk of gorgeously engineered sleight-of-hand—
—worth it.
worth it every single time.
give it space to do its thing. you may wonder, and you may want—but in the end all you can do is receive, and smile about it when it's over.
recommended.
September 25, 2012
3.5 stars
I had some likes and some dislikes -- issues with characters' personalities (that seemed different from the beginning OR that I knew from book #1), quick conflict resolution, and weird sentences. It has been two months since I read book #1 and I am probably in a less good mood now, especially since I still have the m/m romance slump. The result is, things that I was able to dismiss in After Ben were now glaring at me like neon lights. However, I also had parts that I adored or some humorous scenes that amused me.
Let's see ...
Peter
I cannot remember if Peter in book #1 has the blurt thing. I don't think so though. So I am a bit surprised that he has developed this but I tend to like it, because it adds humor to the story, when he says the thing he is thinking without filtering it. Unfortunately, the Peter I know in book #1 and in the beginning of the book, ends up frustrating me in the middle to end. The Peter that I remember is interesting and fun and confident and forward. That is why I felt bad for Peter when Theo ended up with Morgan (book #1). Here, though, after awhile, I get annoyed the way he seems to going back and forth between defending Sean and misunderstanding Sean's needs to keep his father's papers intact.
Sean
At first, Sean comes as strong and mysterious. I also find his inner conflict, his guilt about being unable to come in time to be with his father as something intriguing to read. But later in the book, he becomes a little childish and again, I get annoyed with the way he keeps running right in the middle of confrontation.
The sort-of insta-love
The thing I loved the most in book #1 was how Con Riley gave time for Theo to slightly be able to open up and to let go of his grief, before he finally made a move with Morgan. Here, Peter and Sean have sex early on (after Peter returns to the trailer home the first time) and there's several more scenes in the story. Please remember, that I'm in a slump mood. So I'm already a little too critical about sex scenes. For me, when I start skimming sex scenes, it means I think of it being a little too much. Guess what, I skim them here.
Maggie and the conflict with Sean
Maggie was the one character I admire in book #1. I thought of her as one of the strong pillars in Theo's life. Here? I feel like Maggie has just got a character surgery or something. She became intolerably annoying for me for her strong judgment on Sean and her refusal to come there and talk, to find out Sean's part of the story.
Oh, and when they DO get that chance to talk? It's all happening in the background and well, several paragraphs later, everything is resolved. Quick resolution is never the key especially since the two siblings have been estranged for years, and Maggie seems to harbor resentment towards Sean somehow. In the chapter after that, there's a scene where Sean and Maggie have disagreement again -- which shows me a bit that whatever issue they have, it hasn't fully resolved.
The writing style
Here is part of the thing that is now glaring at me. I already feel this in book #1. Ms. Riley has a tendency to 'revisit' things that happened in past. I mean, we have Peter in the present, where he suddenly thinks about something that happened hours. It throws me off a couple of times. Again, this already happened in book #1. However, the story and characters in book #1 makes it able for me to dismiss it. Now? Not so much. Oh, and I stand on my early complain that there's few weird sentences happening.
Oh, and I figure this will be one of the series where "everyone ends up gay". Just sayin'
But what I do love?
One: Peter and his Dad. Since we already have Sean's family issue, I sort of happy that Peter's issue with his Dad is resolved early on. It reduces the angst and it gives chance for me to wholeheartedly enjoy their family dynamic. Peter's dad is actually my favorite character. His newfound interest with Internet and searching for information in the library is so adorable!! Then there's Evan and Joel ... which are still going strong. I love them.
Two: The take on mental illness like hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder. It's a great premise and something that adds nuance to the story.
I definitely love book #1 more. In the end, both Peter and Sean are pale by comparison to Theo and Morgan. Not sure if I want to read the next books though...
I had some likes and some dislikes -- issues with characters' personalities (that seemed different from the beginning OR that I knew from book #1), quick conflict resolution, and weird sentences. It has been two months since I read book #1 and I am probably in a less good mood now, especially since I still have the m/m romance slump. The result is, things that I was able to dismiss in After Ben were now glaring at me like neon lights. However, I also had parts that I adored or some humorous scenes that amused me.
Let's see ...
Peter
I cannot remember if Peter in book #1 has the blurt thing. I don't think so though. So I am a bit surprised that he has developed this but I tend to like it, because it adds humor to the story, when he says the thing he is thinking without filtering it. Unfortunately, the Peter I know in book #1 and in the beginning of the book, ends up frustrating me in the middle to end. The Peter that I remember is interesting and fun and confident and forward. That is why I felt bad for Peter when Theo ended up with Morgan (book #1). Here, though, after awhile, I get annoyed the way he seems to going back and forth between defending Sean and misunderstanding Sean's needs to keep his father's papers intact.
Sean
At first, Sean comes as strong and mysterious. I also find his inner conflict, his guilt about being unable to come in time to be with his father as something intriguing to read. But later in the book, he becomes a little childish and again, I get annoyed with the way he keeps running right in the middle of confrontation.
The sort-of insta-love
The thing I loved the most in book #1 was how Con Riley gave time for Theo to slightly be able to open up and to let go of his grief, before he finally made a move with Morgan. Here, Peter and Sean have sex early on (after Peter returns to the trailer home the first time) and there's several more scenes in the story. Please remember, that I'm in a slump mood. So I'm already a little too critical about sex scenes. For me, when I start skimming sex scenes, it means I think of it being a little too much. Guess what, I skim them here.
Maggie and the conflict with Sean
Maggie was the one character I admire in book #1. I thought of her as one of the strong pillars in Theo's life. Here? I feel like Maggie has just got a character surgery or something. She became intolerably annoying for me for her strong judgment on Sean and her refusal to come there and talk, to find out Sean's part of the story.
Oh, and when they DO get that chance to talk? It's all happening in the background and well, several paragraphs later, everything is resolved. Quick resolution is never the key especially since the two siblings have been estranged for years, and Maggie seems to harbor resentment towards Sean somehow. In the chapter after that, there's a scene where Sean and Maggie have disagreement again -- which shows me a bit that whatever issue they have, it hasn't fully resolved.
The writing style
Here is part of the thing that is now glaring at me. I already feel this in book #1. Ms. Riley has a tendency to 'revisit' things that happened in past. I mean, we have Peter in the present, where he suddenly thinks about something that happened hours. It throws me off a couple of times. Again, this already happened in book #1. However, the story and characters in book #1 makes it able for me to dismiss it. Now? Not so much. Oh, and I stand on my early complain that there's few weird sentences happening.
Oh, and I figure this will be one of the series where "everyone ends up gay". Just sayin'
But what I do love?
One: Peter and his Dad. Since we already have Sean's family issue, I sort of happy that Peter's issue with his Dad is resolved early on. It reduces the angst and it gives chance for me to wholeheartedly enjoy their family dynamic. Peter's dad is actually my favorite character. His newfound interest with Internet and searching for information in the library is so adorable!! Then there's Evan and Joel ... which are still going strong. I love them.
Two: The take on mental illness like hoarding and obsessive compulsive disorder. It's a great premise and something that adds nuance to the story.
I definitely love book #1 more. In the end, both Peter and Sean are pale by comparison to Theo and Morgan. Not sure if I want to read the next books though...
September 25, 2012
4.5 stars. Another seriously good m/m romance from relatively new author Con Riley who is now on my auto-buy list. In Saving Sean, unlucky-in-love paramedic Peter is sent on a mercy mission to save the younger brother of Maggie (a friend of Peter's 'ex' Theo, with whom he is still infatuated). Peter can't refuse and spends his vacation helping idealistic young conservationist Sean go through his deceased father's cabin. A lot of pressure is on Sean to finalise the estate and sell the cabin and land to a big consortium but he is not coping with the memories that it brings back of his cruel father and lost mother. Sean's vulnerability and wild beauty becomes increasingly important to Peter as he learns the difference between infatuation and true love.
I just want to share some of the things I really like about this author's style. Firstly the realism. Our MC's are not isolated. They are part of a group of fully fleshed out secondary characters that have significant roles to play in helping our heroes reach their HEA. The issues surrounding the loss of a parent, sibling relationships, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are all incorporated into the plot in a way that just increases the reader's enjoyment and knowledge of the characters. The fact that Sean starts to exhibit some of his father's symptoms as the pressure mounts up is an extra touch that cemented my belief in the story.
Other things like the sex scenes which are among the best I've read in this genre. There are only one or two that progress to full anal sex, most are mutual BJ's or frotting, but they are so incredibly sensual and FUNNY! I found myself laughing as the guys joke around during the act. I like that it's not always serious because that's what it's like IRL.
I LOVED the ongoing joke about Peter who blurts out everything that comes into his mind without realising that he has spoken. Some of the most tender moments come from this little idiosyncrasy he has. I appreciated that the dialogue was interspersed and grounded in images and descriptive passages about where they were or what they were thinking.
There is one little writing technique that impressed me. I don't know if the author even meant to do it. But in the beginning of the novel before Peter realises that it's Sean he wants and not Theo, I would be reading a chapter then at the end Peter would reminisce about a kiss or significant conversation he had shared with Sean that was not mentioned as it happened. It's like Peter blocked it out or couldn't believe it happened at first until he had time to relive it later by himself. It piqued my interest and slowed down my ultra-fast reading habit as I went back and forth to find clues about their growing attraction.
The only thing that took me aback was Sean's habit of running off when a conversation got too deep or confronting. He just seemed to take off at top speed aimlessly into the distance mid-sentence. I found it a bit WTF?? type of behaviour and wondered if Peter would really have found that such an attractive trait or whether he would think it was odd.
Anyway obviously this book is right up my alley in regards to style and plot. I noticed someone mentioning about editing. The only problem I saw was in the last chapter when 'if' was used instead of 'of' and Sean's name was spelled 'SSean'. So don't let yourself be put off reading this for editing issues. It's a cracker of a book and the third novel is set up in such a way that you WON'T be able to resist buying it. Can't wait till Aiden and Marco! Bring it on!!
I just want to share some of the things I really like about this author's style. Firstly the realism. Our MC's are not isolated. They are part of a group of fully fleshed out secondary characters that have significant roles to play in helping our heroes reach their HEA. The issues surrounding the loss of a parent, sibling relationships, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are all incorporated into the plot in a way that just increases the reader's enjoyment and knowledge of the characters. The fact that Sean starts to exhibit some of his father's symptoms as the pressure mounts up is an extra touch that cemented my belief in the story.
Other things like the sex scenes which are among the best I've read in this genre. There are only one or two that progress to full anal sex, most are mutual BJ's or frotting, but they are so incredibly sensual and FUNNY! I found myself laughing as the guys joke around during the act. I like that it's not always serious because that's what it's like IRL.
I LOVED the ongoing joke about Peter who blurts out everything that comes into his mind without realising that he has spoken. Some of the most tender moments come from this little idiosyncrasy he has. I appreciated that the dialogue was interspersed and grounded in images and descriptive passages about where they were or what they were thinking.
There is one little writing technique that impressed me. I don't know if the author even meant to do it. But in the beginning of the novel before Peter realises that it's Sean he wants and not Theo, I would be reading a chapter then at the end Peter would reminisce about a kiss or significant conversation he had shared with Sean that was not mentioned as it happened. It's like Peter blocked it out or couldn't believe it happened at first until he had time to relive it later by himself. It piqued my interest and slowed down my ultra-fast reading habit as I went back and forth to find clues about their growing attraction.
The only thing that took me aback was Sean's habit of running off when a conversation got too deep or confronting. He just seemed to take off at top speed aimlessly into the distance mid-sentence. I found it a bit WTF?? type of behaviour and wondered if Peter would really have found that such an attractive trait or whether he would think it was odd.
Anyway obviously this book is right up my alley in regards to style and plot. I noticed someone mentioning about editing. The only problem I saw was in the last chapter when 'if' was used instead of 'of' and Sean's name was spelled 'SSean'. So don't let yourself be put off reading this for editing issues. It's a cracker of a book and the third novel is set up in such a way that you WON'T be able to resist buying it. Can't wait till Aiden and Marco! Bring it on!!
February 7, 2020
What did I think...what did I think....what did I think?
Gahhh! I just don't know.
I've been sitting on this review for 6 weeks. I continue to dither and waver and can't find the perfect explanation.
So enough is enough...I'm going to spit out some words and move on!
There was much of this story that I liked.
However, I also had a fair amount of struggles.
I think part of my 'issue' was expectations.
I had them in full force.
After Ben was such a powerful book and I assumed I would continue the same type of 'feelz' journey.
I didn't.
This was different.
Not bad different but definitely not what I had in mind.
I loved the writing...I always do when it comes to Riley.
I was eager for Peter to have his shine in the limelight.
I strongly felt he deserved his own stroke of luck and burst of happiness. And Sean was that elusive missing piece but he just wouldn't settle into place. He was quick to doubt and quicker to flee. And I DID enjoy their journey together but...but...I just didn't love it.
I think it may have been the hoarding?
It was...overwhelming. And I kept waiting for an explanation or big 'ah-ha' moment and it never came.
And I wasn't a huge fan of Maggie this time around.
The set up for the third is clear and I honestly am looking forward to it. I just hope it has a book pulse that syncs with the first exceptional story in this series.
*3.5 tryin'-to-love stars*
Gahhh! I just don't know.
I've been sitting on this review for 6 weeks. I continue to dither and waver and can't find the perfect explanation.
So enough is enough...I'm going to spit out some words and move on!
There was much of this story that I liked.
However, I also had a fair amount of struggles.
I think part of my 'issue' was expectations.
I had them in full force.
After Ben was such a powerful book and I assumed I would continue the same type of 'feelz' journey.
I didn't.
This was different.
Not bad different but definitely not what I had in mind.
I loved the writing...I always do when it comes to Riley.
I was eager for Peter to have his shine in the limelight.
I strongly felt he deserved his own stroke of luck and burst of happiness. And Sean was that elusive missing piece but he just wouldn't settle into place. He was quick to doubt and quicker to flee. And I DID enjoy their journey together but...but...I just didn't love it.
I think it may have been the hoarding?
It was...overwhelming. And I kept waiting for an explanation or big 'ah-ha' moment and it never came.
And I wasn't a huge fan of Maggie this time around.
The set up for the third is clear and I honestly am looking forward to it. I just hope it has a book pulse that syncs with the first exceptional story in this series.
*3.5 tryin'-to-love stars*
November 23, 2021
this was a beautiful story that i definitely loved a lot but it did get tedious and i got a bit exhausted by all the talk of zoning and permits and papers (oh my!)
i enjoyed the romance a lot but honestly it wasn't actually my favorite part of the story tbh! my favorite aspect was peter and his dad repairing their relationship. and the morgan and theo bits were a close second💙 so overall - this was so easy to read and at this point i feel like con riley could write a book about paint drying and i'd be enamored. i adore her writing and her characters so so so much. in the end i just wish i felt a little more for the romance and got a little less about the papers situation. i def cried less here than in book one but tears were still shed!!! lol
ever since meeting marco in book one i was nervous to even look at who the characters were in book three (in case he wasn't one of the MC's) but luckily i won and i get to read about him next!! 🤗
i enjoyed the romance a lot but honestly it wasn't actually my favorite part of the story tbh! my favorite aspect was peter and his dad repairing their relationship. and the morgan and theo bits were a close second💙 so overall - this was so easy to read and at this point i feel like con riley could write a book about paint drying and i'd be enamored. i adore her writing and her characters so so so much. in the end i just wish i felt a little more for the romance and got a little less about the papers situation. i def cried less here than in book one but tears were still shed!!! lol
ever since meeting marco in book one i was nervous to even look at who the characters were in book three (in case he wasn't one of the MC's) but luckily i won and i get to read about him next!! 🤗
September 30, 2012
In summary: it was tedious and poorly written.
In detail:
I could see the bones in this story. This story read like a sketch, an outline that was hastily and shabbily clothed in response to demand. There is a difference when an author writes with her soul and for herself and in her own timing as opposed to when an author is writing in fulfillment of external exertions being placed upon her, whether they be from the publishing house, editors, her audience et al. Because the bones/the structure were so readily visible it rendered this work and the one prior( by dint of comparison) formulaic.
I will expand with examples= Sean is remarkably similar to Morgan. He is brilliant, younger, uses the same expressions of impatience in bed, is confident except when he shows signs of doubt in himself brought about by situations...situations that his lover, here Peter, must learn not to judge his boyfriend by, but must rise above, continuing to regard his lover in full esteem whilst realising the temporal circumstances are situational not revelatory of who he is at his core. Morgan was more than an abused victim. Sean is more than a hoarding progeny runaway.
The MC must rise above his own preconceptions as well. Theo held staunch views on the ideal age his partner should be. Peter staunchly subscribed to a physical type...that is until he sees the light, discards his former theories and realises, in a burst of insight, that Sean is gorgeous and perfect for him. In book 1, this revelation and evolution read genuinely and works well. Here, it seems to fit itself into the formula without any real heart or story behind it. In book 1, there was solid pacing over which this development took place. In this book, that is totally absent.
What is more fundamentally absent in this book is the showcase of the story. Book 1 was splendidly written. The reader was invited in, completely and totally in: to Theo's home, his heart, his mind, his internet conversations, his grief, his sexual experiences, his joy, his growth, his realisations, his travels, his world. In book 2, all of that showing that read like a wide open door without any authorial presence whatsoever, went off a cliff.
Riley tells every thing in this story. And uses cheap ploys to do so too. My first, most hated tactic to reference is Peter's sieve mouth, everything falls out of it. It's bad enough that we're completely, restrictedly confined to Peter's mind where the reader experiences happenings as if in a cow's second stomach (at a total remove while events are regurgitated and chewed over again) but suddenly a character will respond in dialogue to one of Peter's thoughts.
There are several reasons why this does not work. One, it is a transparent trick of laziness that avoids real engaging dialogue. Two, Peter thinks a lot of thoughts, so the reader is never quite sure exactly what he said aloud in his ruminations. Three, it stopped being funny or even interesting 3/5 into the book.
Now, for another issue that never gelled and that screams formula again. Relationship issues with the parent. In book 1, there was a credible reason for the tension between Theo and his parents. They never accepted his partner. Here? Even Peter seems unclear. The father was absent emotionally and somewhat physically, retreating behind his workshop doors crafting wood in homage to his departed wife. Okay, sounds good in theory, in outline. But this issue was never given emotional resonance or space or depth or anything that grounded it to the story. Peter's monologic ponderings on his father's lack of acceptance of his sexuality and his having turned everything, such as camping, into a chore come out of nowhere. They read like {insert issues with parental figure here}. And they are extremely easily resolved...without, again, any emotional demands or reverberations or involvement with the reader. Why? Because this whole book is tell not show, that's why.
Thus, because the reader is at such a remove and is not allowed any visceral interaction with the story, the land zoning issues, which inherently had the potential to bore one beyond reason, does indeed do that. It bores beyond reason. Nobody cares.
Even the hoarding issue, which was well done in Second Hand becomes really labourious here. Hoarding crawls my blood anytime I read about it or see it on tv (before quickly changing the channel). But the issue has real gravity and has potential to pull on readers' heartstrings, if done right, in illustration of the impact this illness has on others and on the victim him/herself. Reading about the hoarding here was a chore. There was no movement, no growth taking place. Sean was acting like a baby hoarder himself except no one could tell him that or he'd run away. Literally. But the reader is supposed to not think of him as a hereditary hoarder in that moment because he is a genius and is dealing with grief. So to agree with Vik, the bad boss, and to not empathise as Peter, the good boyfriend, sought to do was to be on the wrong side. *Sigh* The reader might have been able to do just this, empathise with Sean seeking meaning in the madness and rubbish, if the author had written it with that focus, that leaning.
As it is, there was precious little focus in this book. I recently read a blog posting by Heidi Cullinan about authors needing to remember the ride they are meant to be taking the reader on. She talked about how easy it is to get lost in the forest of the writing so that the bread crumbs trail that is the thesis, the theme (simile my own) is mislaid. In creative writing workshops we talk about the same. And I feel that this book is a perfect example of an author getting lost.
I know Riley can write really well. Book 1 stands as testament to that. But she has lost her way in this book, and dare I say, by conceiving of this as a series at all. She has cheapened Book 1, a stand alone work that is a stellar take on grief, love, recovery, growth etc, by making it this tawdry collection of characters, all coincidentally gay, making their way in sleepy Seattle. We've read books like that where five remarkable sons, all good-looking, all rich find Cinderella brides and they all lived happily ever after, wash, rinse, repeat. Author collects a cheque for each "new" brother book she puts out.
I didn't anticipate such here...not from this author. But it is patently obvious. The set up for Marco and Aiden (who by the way becomes a complete bastard in this book) is already in place, as is that of Evan and Joel. So expect book 3 and 4.
I, however, am disembarking.
In detail:
I could see the bones in this story. This story read like a sketch, an outline that was hastily and shabbily clothed in response to demand. There is a difference when an author writes with her soul and for herself and in her own timing as opposed to when an author is writing in fulfillment of external exertions being placed upon her, whether they be from the publishing house, editors, her audience et al. Because the bones/the structure were so readily visible it rendered this work and the one prior( by dint of comparison) formulaic.
I will expand with examples= Sean is remarkably similar to Morgan. He is brilliant, younger, uses the same expressions of impatience in bed, is confident except when he shows signs of doubt in himself brought about by situations...situations that his lover, here Peter, must learn not to judge his boyfriend by, but must rise above, continuing to regard his lover in full esteem whilst realising the temporal circumstances are situational not revelatory of who he is at his core. Morgan was more than an abused victim. Sean is more than a hoarding progeny runaway.
The MC must rise above his own preconceptions as well. Theo held staunch views on the ideal age his partner should be. Peter staunchly subscribed to a physical type...that is until he sees the light, discards his former theories and realises, in a burst of insight, that Sean is gorgeous and perfect for him. In book 1, this revelation and evolution read genuinely and works well. Here, it seems to fit itself into the formula without any real heart or story behind it. In book 1, there was solid pacing over which this development took place. In this book, that is totally absent.
What is more fundamentally absent in this book is the showcase of the story. Book 1 was splendidly written. The reader was invited in, completely and totally in: to Theo's home, his heart, his mind, his internet conversations, his grief, his sexual experiences, his joy, his growth, his realisations, his travels, his world. In book 2, all of that showing that read like a wide open door without any authorial presence whatsoever, went off a cliff.
Riley tells every thing in this story. And uses cheap ploys to do so too. My first, most hated tactic to reference is Peter's sieve mouth, everything falls out of it. It's bad enough that we're completely, restrictedly confined to Peter's mind where the reader experiences happenings as if in a cow's second stomach (at a total remove while events are regurgitated and chewed over again) but suddenly a character will respond in dialogue to one of Peter's thoughts.
There are several reasons why this does not work. One, it is a transparent trick of laziness that avoids real engaging dialogue. Two, Peter thinks a lot of thoughts, so the reader is never quite sure exactly what he said aloud in his ruminations. Three, it stopped being funny or even interesting 3/5 into the book.
Now, for another issue that never gelled and that screams formula again. Relationship issues with the parent. In book 1, there was a credible reason for the tension between Theo and his parents. They never accepted his partner. Here? Even Peter seems unclear. The father was absent emotionally and somewhat physically, retreating behind his workshop doors crafting wood in homage to his departed wife. Okay, sounds good in theory, in outline. But this issue was never given emotional resonance or space or depth or anything that grounded it to the story. Peter's monologic ponderings on his father's lack of acceptance of his sexuality and his having turned everything, such as camping, into a chore come out of nowhere. They read like {insert issues with parental figure here}. And they are extremely easily resolved...without, again, any emotional demands or reverberations or involvement with the reader. Why? Because this whole book is tell not show, that's why.
Thus, because the reader is at such a remove and is not allowed any visceral interaction with the story, the land zoning issues, which inherently had the potential to bore one beyond reason, does indeed do that. It bores beyond reason. Nobody cares.
Even the hoarding issue, which was well done in Second Hand becomes really labourious here. Hoarding crawls my blood anytime I read about it or see it on tv (before quickly changing the channel). But the issue has real gravity and has potential to pull on readers' heartstrings, if done right, in illustration of the impact this illness has on others and on the victim him/herself. Reading about the hoarding here was a chore. There was no movement, no growth taking place. Sean was acting like a baby hoarder himself except no one could tell him that or he'd run away. Literally. But the reader is supposed to not think of him as a hereditary hoarder in that moment because he is a genius and is dealing with grief. So to agree with Vik, the bad boss, and to not empathise as Peter, the good boyfriend, sought to do was to be on the wrong side. *Sigh* The reader might have been able to do just this, empathise with Sean seeking meaning in the madness and rubbish, if the author had written it with that focus, that leaning.
As it is, there was precious little focus in this book. I recently read a blog posting by Heidi Cullinan about authors needing to remember the ride they are meant to be taking the reader on. She talked about how easy it is to get lost in the forest of the writing so that the bread crumbs trail that is the thesis, the theme (simile my own) is mislaid. In creative writing workshops we talk about the same. And I feel that this book is a perfect example of an author getting lost.
I know Riley can write really well. Book 1 stands as testament to that. But she has lost her way in this book, and dare I say, by conceiving of this as a series at all. She has cheapened Book 1, a stand alone work that is a stellar take on grief, love, recovery, growth etc, by making it this tawdry collection of characters, all coincidentally gay, making their way in sleepy Seattle. We've read books like that where five remarkable sons, all good-looking, all rich find Cinderella brides and they all lived happily ever after, wash, rinse, repeat. Author collects a cheque for each "new" brother book she puts out.
I didn't anticipate such here...not from this author. But it is patently obvious. The set up for Marco and Aiden (who by the way becomes a complete bastard in this book) is already in place, as is that of Evan and Joel. So expect book 3 and 4.
I, however, am disembarking.
January 2, 2020
Not sure what happened to my original reviews of Con's books, only Must Like Spinach seems to have survived.
Anyways, Saving Sean is being re-released shortly with a new cover and a bit of a re-work but it's not changed enough to take away from this glorious romance which is one of my favourites from Con.
Saving Sean is as much about Peter finding a new direction as it is about the titular character. But it's so much more than just a romance. It's about finding acceptance, it's about learning how to move on, it's about putting the past to bed and looking to the future.
It deals with the mental illness of a character who has died at the time the book starts and it examines how just one small thing can push someone over the edge (don't worry there's no trigger warnings necessary imho
And, while this book takes place over a super short time period, it never feels it. To me, it's like time stretches out across infinite days while Peter and Sean fall in love at the same time as they fix up Sean's cabin and work out both of their complex feelings for their families' past lives.
Peter and Sean connect on hundreds of levels, but I think one of the main ones is that they both understand how the other became disconnected and they're both determined to move beyond and try to make a difference.
I loved how Con's other interconnected couples get involved here as well, I'm a big fan of Joel and Ethan, although Aiden's a bit of a pratt at first in this one. We do see the genus of his own story and his relationship with Marco begin in this book though and it's lovely to know what's coming next if, like me, you've already read Aiden's Luck
If you read Saving Sean before, then I'll just say Con's tidied it up, made it more linear and with less jumping around, and it's had another edit, but the same beautiful love story is still at its heart.
I had the privilege of proofing this new edition for Con. The review is my own honest and unbiased opinion.
Anyways, Saving Sean is being re-released shortly with a new cover and a bit of a re-work but it's not changed enough to take away from this glorious romance which is one of my favourites from Con.
Saving Sean is as much about Peter finding a new direction as it is about the titular character. But it's so much more than just a romance. It's about finding acceptance, it's about learning how to move on, it's about putting the past to bed and looking to the future.
It deals with the mental illness of a character who has died at the time the book starts and it examines how just one small thing can push someone over the edge (don't worry there's no trigger warnings necessary imho
And, while this book takes place over a super short time period, it never feels it. To me, it's like time stretches out across infinite days while Peter and Sean fall in love at the same time as they fix up Sean's cabin and work out both of their complex feelings for their families' past lives.
Peter and Sean connect on hundreds of levels, but I think one of the main ones is that they both understand how the other became disconnected and they're both determined to move beyond and try to make a difference.
I loved how Con's other interconnected couples get involved here as well, I'm a big fan of Joel and Ethan, although Aiden's a bit of a pratt at first in this one. We do see the genus of his own story and his relationship with Marco begin in this book though and it's lovely to know what's coming next if, like me, you've already read Aiden's Luck
If you read Saving Sean before, then I'll just say Con's tidied it up, made it more linear and with less jumping around, and it's had another edit, but the same beautiful love story is still at its heart.
I had the privilege of proofing this new edition for Con. The review is my own honest and unbiased opinion.
September 27, 2012
Well, I finished it - that's about the most positive I have to say about it right now. Up to about 60% it was a nice, compelling read, but then it got tedious. With a title like 'Saving Sean' what do you expect? Saving this Sean from either some emotional turmoil or something like 'The Fugitive' :) What you don't expect is saving Sean from the tons of paper his hoarding deceased dad has left behind.
Yes, I totally loved 'After Ben' and I hoped/expected another fascinating and gripping tale, but sorry, this wasn't it. All the driving back and forth of Peter and the storyline with the sister were thoroughly annoying. If Maggie's hangup with Sean's leaving was still that big, why not tell her the truth behind it?
And the final 10% were totally harebrained. Sorry, but after sticking to the story for some 350 pages, this end was rather ???, at least for this reader. Yes, I'm still a bit aggravated. Sorry.
So, as I'm - at least trying to - always thinking positive, I'll give the next book another try, but if that is another let-down like this one, sorry Ms. Riley, but that then will be the last of it.
Yes, I totally loved 'After Ben' and I hoped/expected another fascinating and gripping tale, but sorry, this wasn't it. All the driving back and forth of Peter and the storyline with the sister were thoroughly annoying. If Maggie's hangup with Sean's leaving was still that big, why not tell her the truth behind it?
And the final 10% were totally harebrained. Sorry, but after sticking to the story for some 350 pages, this end was rather ???, at least for this reader. Yes, I'm still a bit aggravated. Sorry.
So, as I'm - at least trying to - always thinking positive, I'll give the next book another try, but if that is another let-down like this one, sorry Ms. Riley, but that then will be the last of it.
January 2, 2015
So here is a thing/rule about me. I don’t traditionally read a series in order nor do I read an author back to back. Maybe it’s the OCD in me or some anxiety about getting burned out on characters or an author’s style to not like the other books as much as the first. Well, Con Riley broke that rule for me and threw it right out the window. She threw it out and ran it over with an remodeled RV driven by the cutest couple whose story I really need to read. Ugh. Sorry, got off on a tangent there for a minute. These books are messing with my thought process and taking up space where all I can think about it them.
Oh, another thing about me. I dig a good love triangle and the angst it creates. Usually the third wheel or the dude who doesn’t get the boy is never enough of a character to mean, well anything to me. That is SO NOT the case when it came and comes to Peter Morse. I adored Peter in After Ben and wanted him to be happy so much though I knew Theo was not the one for him. He broke my heart with his “I want” speech to Theo and I wanted that paramedic (what is it about Paramedics named Pete?) to find the love of his life and get what he so deserved. So yeah, in After Ben, the third in the triangle meant something, more than anyone in any other book I have ever read and I knew I had to read Peter's story.
Knowing a bit of Peter from the first book, I loved that it opens with a phone call from Theo asking Pete for help. Maggie is worried about her brother and since Pete is still traveling and teaching, he is just a few miles away from where Sean lives. As Peter wrestles with his still very real feelings for Theo, he sees someone in need of help on the side of the road and Peter, being the damn swoony hero that he is, pulls over and runs across the street to help. This was the best meet cute I have read recently! It was just so perfect that the person who “needs” Pete’s help would be Sean and Sean would run away from it. Talk about foreshadowing and I loved it!
Sean, let me just say not only is he a kindred soul because he is a ginger, but the things he does and believes in, they hit close to home for me. I won’t get into the reasons why but I felt Sean on a deeper leveel and I fell head over heels in insta-love with him just as fast as Peter did. Yeah, this is total insta-love but insta-love done beautifully and with the utmost class.
So Peter meets Sean and he helps Sean and then he leaves Sean. That should not have hurt as much for any of us as it did. Yes, I am including myself in this because I know it hurt Peter to leave, I know it hurt Sean to tell him to leave and dammit, it hurt me to see them apart. Even the stupid fucking chickens couldn’t heal me or my heart until they were back together and what a reunion that was. Three simple breathless words, NO not those, but the ones Sean gives to Peter just shredded me. I though Morgan and Theo had ways with words but these two, they speak volumes even when they aren’t saying a damn thing. Or well, when Pete is running at the mouth and doesn’t realize it. Talk about endearing as all hell. Did I mention I adore Peter?
I loved that this was a romance between two lost souls finding one another, but I love that this was also another strong story about family. Not just the family that you are born into and what they give you – good and bad – but the family that you surround yourself with. The strangers who become friends and then become those you can’t live without. Also, this was simply about families. Peter wouldn’t have met Sean if his sister wasn’t worried and needed him and meeting Sean, gave Peter a chance to mend and heal with his father. Good lord! I loved Pete’s dad. He was amazing.
It was great to see more of Evan and Joel (I need their book!) and even Aiden. I liked how prickly Aiden is and yeah, I bought his book already and am starting it soon.
It was great to get bits of Morgan and Theo again as well, to see where they are now and that touch over Marco… Le sigh. It was also beautiful to see Peter’s reaction to that… his growth in this book was a joy to watch. Like I said, I liked Peter before but I loved him in this. I loved who he was and what he brings to the table with Sean. I love how he came to save Sean and got saved right back.
If you can’t tell, I have turned major fangirl for Con Riley and her writing. I can’t get enough of it or of these boys and those who breathe the same air they do. The writing is gorgeous, the romance is perfectly swoony and these stories stay with me. I can quote you scenes from this and After Ben and want to dive right back into the books and get lost again. The best books for me; the make me feel, the make me want to do nothing but read and they make me fall in love. Con Riley has hit all those points and then some for me and I am blessed.
**Note** - Yes, I am rating this again a 5 star. Books like this, don't come along for me everyday. As I said at the start, this book, this series has broken so many of my rules, it deserves the all the stars and then some. I am sure I could see all those stars I would give it on the roof of a Jeep with four chickens pecking their way around me.
Oh, another thing about me. I dig a good love triangle and the angst it creates. Usually the third wheel or the dude who doesn’t get the boy is never enough of a character to mean, well anything to me. That is SO NOT the case when it came and comes to Peter Morse. I adored Peter in After Ben and wanted him to be happy so much though I knew Theo was not the one for him. He broke my heart with his “I want” speech to Theo and I wanted that paramedic (what is it about Paramedics named Pete?) to find the love of his life and get what he so deserved. So yeah, in After Ben, the third in the triangle meant something, more than anyone in any other book I have ever read and I knew I had to read Peter's story.
Knowing a bit of Peter from the first book, I loved that it opens with a phone call from Theo asking Pete for help. Maggie is worried about her brother and since Pete is still traveling and teaching, he is just a few miles away from where Sean lives. As Peter wrestles with his still very real feelings for Theo, he sees someone in need of help on the side of the road and Peter, being the damn swoony hero that he is, pulls over and runs across the street to help. This was the best meet cute I have read recently! It was just so perfect that the person who “needs” Pete’s help would be Sean and Sean would run away from it. Talk about foreshadowing and I loved it!
Sean, let me just say not only is he a kindred soul because he is a ginger, but the things he does and believes in, they hit close to home for me. I won’t get into the reasons why but I felt Sean on a deeper leveel and I fell head over heels in insta-love with him just as fast as Peter did. Yeah, this is total insta-love but insta-love done beautifully and with the utmost class.
So Peter meets Sean and he helps Sean and then he leaves Sean. That should not have hurt as much for any of us as it did. Yes, I am including myself in this because I know it hurt Peter to leave, I know it hurt Sean to tell him to leave and dammit, it hurt me to see them apart. Even the stupid fucking chickens couldn’t heal me or my heart until they were back together and what a reunion that was. Three simple breathless words, NO not those, but the ones Sean gives to Peter just shredded me. I though Morgan and Theo had ways with words but these two, they speak volumes even when they aren’t saying a damn thing. Or well, when Pete is running at the mouth and doesn’t realize it. Talk about endearing as all hell. Did I mention I adore Peter?
I loved that this was a romance between two lost souls finding one another, but I love that this was also another strong story about family. Not just the family that you are born into and what they give you – good and bad – but the family that you surround yourself with. The strangers who become friends and then become those you can’t live without. Also, this was simply about families. Peter wouldn’t have met Sean if his sister wasn’t worried and needed him and meeting Sean, gave Peter a chance to mend and heal with his father. Good lord! I loved Pete’s dad. He was amazing.
It was great to see more of Evan and Joel (I need their book!) and even Aiden. I liked how prickly Aiden is and yeah, I bought his book already and am starting it soon.
It was great to get bits of Morgan and Theo again as well, to see where they are now and that touch over Marco… Le sigh. It was also beautiful to see Peter’s reaction to that… his growth in this book was a joy to watch. Like I said, I liked Peter before but I loved him in this. I loved who he was and what he brings to the table with Sean. I love how he came to save Sean and got saved right back.
If you can’t tell, I have turned major fangirl for Con Riley and her writing. I can’t get enough of it or of these boys and those who breathe the same air they do. The writing is gorgeous, the romance is perfectly swoony and these stories stay with me. I can quote you scenes from this and After Ben and want to dive right back into the books and get lost again. The best books for me; the make me feel, the make me want to do nothing but read and they make me fall in love. Con Riley has hit all those points and then some for me and I am blessed.
**Note** - Yes, I am rating this again a 5 star. Books like this, don't come along for me everyday. As I said at the start, this book, this series has broken so many of my rules, it deserves the all the stars and then some. I am sure I could see all those stars I would give it on the roof of a Jeep with four chickens pecking their way around me.
September 25, 2012
3.25 stars
Sadly, another sequel which crashed and burned. So disappointing, not even close to matching the wonderful and loved first story in the series of After Ben.
Sadly, another sequel which crashed and burned. So disappointing, not even close to matching the wonderful and loved first story in the series of After Ben.
December 22, 2012
I honestly cannot believe it took me one month to read this book. I had 4 tries but finally I finished it. It was really frustrating, but because I loved After Ben I wanted very much to give this a chance. Sadly this it doesn’t compare to it. I don’t know what went wrong but I couldn’t get into it at all. I loved Peter, he was really sweet but the whole plot was tiring. Too much hording, it got annoying, I actually got to one point where I thought that Sean had inherited his father’s hording problem and it would be a twist in the story. Maybe it would have been better. As it was, this whole story was just confusing. The end was not satisfying. This was not a story for me. …..And the author had this thing where she eliminated the dialogue by having Peter retell it. Very confusing also.
And I think I used I 100 times in this review :)
October 28, 2012
A Hearts On Fire Review
THREE & A HALF STARS--Con Riley's "Saving Sean" is the second book from the Seattle Stories series. Both books can be read as stand alone books but I didn't follow that...and I am so happy I did!
Here's why: though technically yes, you don't need to read "After Ben" first...you're better off just starting with book one because you can fully understand the secondary characters complexities and flaws. If I didn't read Morgan (my love) or Theo (my other love) or Maggie (my s-hero from book #1) among some other great secondary characters (I'll shout 'em out later), I wouldn't have liked them as much especially Maggie. Her attitude went down major points in this book.
And why is Maggie integral to a MM Romance you may ask? Why she's Theo's personal assistant and sister to Sean, one of the main characters of "Saving Sean". Sean is Maggie's younger brother, some sort of ecological genius. And Peter Morse our Theo-obsessed paramedic which we meet and I crushed on from "After Ben" finally gets his man as he is Sean's love interest.
How these two meet? Peter, being asked to find Maggie's brother who leaves "off the grid" in the woods, comes across as bloodied man being attacked with a vehicle on a road. After Peter does his paramedic duty, what does Sean do? He runs...away, bleeding knees and all.
It took me awhile to understand Sean's mindset and where he was coming from. It also took me awhile to care. I think I was slowly invested when I saw how Maggie acted towards her brother. The woman who I met in "After Ben" help carry her boss and friend Theo, set up and support Theo's interns budding love interest was not in "Saving Sean". She was disappointing as a character and because she was when Sean is compared to her...I guess he's not as bad.
This book is good but compared to the first book? Not as good. My rating for this book relies heavily on the secondary characters (Aidan - where can I find me one?, Evan and his boyfriend - they're awesome, Marco - yum ;), MORGAN - he enchants even for the few pages he was allotted, Theo - still a great adult character) And there's two new favorite secondary character's for me librarian Jack (I hope he's being considered for a future story) and Peter's dad - a-freaking-dorable!
Sean's lack of reaction to his grief and his self made more sense as the story progressed but I felt the writing could have been cut down by a quarter - to a third as the depth to Sean and Maggie's father's hoarding was a bit too much.
And the chemistry between Sean and Peter? It was a bit surprising at first because Sean just liked Peter after being rude to him out of nowhere. Maybe if more of Sean's POV was shared in the story, it would have made him more relatable. He went from 0 to 180 with no in between. Not like Peter where the reader could see his internal struggle (and I loved that even after 'falling' for Sean, his feelings for Theo didn't automatically disappear -there's no cheating but I liked that the author relayed this).
Apparently there's the argument of Sean not deserving Peter. I think these two will be good for each other in the long run. Does Sean deserve Peter? Sure, he's a fan-tab guy. Sean? Eh, he's flawed and has some hang ups but he's not that bad. After reviewing my notes on this book what I was left with was a damaged young man (Sean) being kicked out at a young age for being gay, living on his own for years and having to return to help his despised deceased father's last wishes. Peter, still looking for love in what he thought was the right places but finding love in the most unexpected one. The sex between the two was not instant which was nice. The passion between both men not as solid as "After Ben" where those two just needed to breathe in the same room and a fire extinguisher needed to be on standby.
So is this a readable book? Yes.
Should you read the series in order? I suggest so.
Is this a good MM romance novel? Yeah.
Fans of more realistic contemporary MM romance fiction, should definitely give this author a try.
THREE & A HALF STARS--Con Riley's "Saving Sean" is the second book from the Seattle Stories series. Both books can be read as stand alone books but I didn't follow that...and I am so happy I did!
Here's why: though technically yes, you don't need to read "After Ben" first...you're better off just starting with book one because you can fully understand the secondary characters complexities and flaws. If I didn't read Morgan (my love) or Theo (my other love) or Maggie (my s-hero from book #1) among some other great secondary characters (I'll shout 'em out later), I wouldn't have liked them as much especially Maggie. Her attitude went down major points in this book.
And why is Maggie integral to a MM Romance you may ask? Why she's Theo's personal assistant and sister to Sean, one of the main characters of "Saving Sean". Sean is Maggie's younger brother, some sort of ecological genius. And Peter Morse our Theo-obsessed paramedic which we meet and I crushed on from "After Ben" finally gets his man as he is Sean's love interest.
How these two meet? Peter, being asked to find Maggie's brother who leaves "off the grid" in the woods, comes across as bloodied man being attacked with a vehicle on a road. After Peter does his paramedic duty, what does Sean do? He runs...away, bleeding knees and all.
It took me awhile to understand Sean's mindset and where he was coming from. It also took me awhile to care. I think I was slowly invested when I saw how Maggie acted towards her brother. The woman who I met in "After Ben" help carry her boss and friend Theo, set up and support Theo's interns budding love interest was not in "Saving Sean". She was disappointing as a character and because she was when Sean is compared to her...I guess he's not as bad.
This book is good but compared to the first book? Not as good. My rating for this book relies heavily on the secondary characters (Aidan - where can I find me one?, Evan and his boyfriend - they're awesome, Marco - yum ;), MORGAN - he enchants even for the few pages he was allotted, Theo - still a great adult character) And there's two new favorite secondary character's for me librarian Jack (I hope he's being considered for a future story) and Peter's dad - a-freaking-dorable!
Sean's lack of reaction to his grief and his self made more sense as the story progressed but I felt the writing could have been cut down by a quarter - to a third as the depth to Sean and Maggie's father's hoarding was a bit too much.
And the chemistry between Sean and Peter? It was a bit surprising at first because Sean just liked Peter after being rude to him out of nowhere. Maybe if more of Sean's POV was shared in the story, it would have made him more relatable. He went from 0 to 180 with no in between. Not like Peter where the reader could see his internal struggle (and I loved that even after 'falling' for Sean, his feelings for Theo didn't automatically disappear -there's no cheating but I liked that the author relayed this).
Apparently there's the argument of Sean not deserving Peter. I think these two will be good for each other in the long run. Does Sean deserve Peter? Sure, he's a fan-tab guy. Sean? Eh, he's flawed and has some hang ups but he's not that bad. After reviewing my notes on this book what I was left with was a damaged young man (Sean) being kicked out at a young age for being gay, living on his own for years and having to return to help his despised deceased father's last wishes. Peter, still looking for love in what he thought was the right places but finding love in the most unexpected one. The sex between the two was not instant which was nice. The passion between both men not as solid as "After Ben" where those two just needed to breathe in the same room and a fire extinguisher needed to be on standby.
So is this a readable book? Yes.
Should you read the series in order? I suggest so.
Is this a good MM romance novel? Yeah.
Fans of more realistic contemporary MM romance fiction, should definitely give this author a try.
August 18, 2013
This book gives you all the feelings.
As you know, I don’t go through the plot in my reviews, I concentrate on my findings in the book itself, and what made this one work for me was the truly believable male voices in the story. Both Sean and Peter ring true, and really connect.
Broken, but trying to save himself, Sean is a young man who is overwhelmed. By fate, life, and death. Enter Peter. This Peter, who gained both Sean’s and my trust as the narration developed. This Peter (that I had only seen glimpses of in the first book, After Ben,) is now a fully fledged character, a real person, to me. And most certainly, to Sean.
I know a lot of people would never do what Peter did, they would walk away and let Sean deal on his own. “Somebody else’s problem” seems to be the motto for a lot of people these days. And that’s why this book is so good, because there are some people among us, who, like Peter, would go back and help a person drowning in the things life has thrown at him or her. It is so good to read a story about someone who cares. And, by all that is holy, Peter cares.
Then you have all the giggles. Now, a winning book concept, for me, is all the feelings combined with giggle-snorts. That shit just does me in.
To some examples of the brilliant writing in Saving Sean:
“Who knows what Mrs Greene will search for this afternoon? I have to go and erect stronger firewalls.” Said by a young librarian who is inundated with older folks every afternoon, coming to use internet at his place of work. Brilliant boy, Jack.
“You came!” Roaring laughter.
“It’s like you haven’t heard a single thing I’ve said. I can’t believe you… I can’t believe that I… “ Oh my, that’s when Sean broke my heart. After Peter had broken his.
And more: “Stupid fucking chickens,” and later, “Stupid fucking duck,” had me laughing and screaming like a banshee.
Peter’s dad, saying “I kinda wish they had the Internet at the library when you were a kid, Pete,” made me cry big, snotty tears. And then he takes on the whole neighborhood, too. What a man.
“You can come home with me and chain yourself to my trees. I’ll watch you from my hot tub.” Oh Peter.
Peter’s way of seeing things is so refreshing. Everything is going to be okay, and then, even if it isn’t, then it’ll simply be different. Quite the way to live your life, truly.
When Sean threw himself at Peter, scaling him like a tree and just trusted Peter to be strong enough to hold his weight? That sealed it for me. That image is where the fifth star came dancing in—third and fourth came already in the vivid descriptions of people and places.
Especially people. The way Con Riley describes Sean, he appears like an autumn dream, copper, chestnut, freckles and amber eyes. It is as if he were right here in front of me. That braid? Oh, my. That braid. The cover is absolutely stunning, the soft touch of a reverent hand. And that braid. Oh, my, that braid.
That is quite a knack you have there, Author. Kudos.
***
I was NOT asked to read this book by anyone. I did, however, receive it as a present, so for once I did not pay with my own money, as I usually do for all the books I read, all the music I listen to and the movies I watch.
However, after reading this, I went to Dreamspinner Press and bought a personal copy of it, so that I can give it away as a present, too. It’s simply too good not to share.
ETA: 18 August 2013—Just read this again, going through the whole series, and the emotions are even greater.
As you know, I don’t go through the plot in my reviews, I concentrate on my findings in the book itself, and what made this one work for me was the truly believable male voices in the story. Both Sean and Peter ring true, and really connect.
Broken, but trying to save himself, Sean is a young man who is overwhelmed. By fate, life, and death. Enter Peter. This Peter, who gained both Sean’s and my trust as the narration developed. This Peter (that I had only seen glimpses of in the first book, After Ben,) is now a fully fledged character, a real person, to me. And most certainly, to Sean.
I know a lot of people would never do what Peter did, they would walk away and let Sean deal on his own. “Somebody else’s problem” seems to be the motto for a lot of people these days. And that’s why this book is so good, because there are some people among us, who, like Peter, would go back and help a person drowning in the things life has thrown at him or her. It is so good to read a story about someone who cares. And, by all that is holy, Peter cares.
Then you have all the giggles. Now, a winning book concept, for me, is all the feelings combined with giggle-snorts. That shit just does me in.
To some examples of the brilliant writing in Saving Sean:
“Who knows what Mrs Greene will search for this afternoon? I have to go and erect stronger firewalls.” Said by a young librarian who is inundated with older folks every afternoon, coming to use internet at his place of work. Brilliant boy, Jack.
“You came!” Roaring laughter.
“It’s like you haven’t heard a single thing I’ve said. I can’t believe you… I can’t believe that I… “ Oh my, that’s when Sean broke my heart. After Peter had broken his.
And more: “Stupid fucking chickens,” and later, “Stupid fucking duck,” had me laughing and screaming like a banshee.
Peter’s dad, saying “I kinda wish they had the Internet at the library when you were a kid, Pete,” made me cry big, snotty tears. And then he takes on the whole neighborhood, too. What a man.
“You can come home with me and chain yourself to my trees. I’ll watch you from my hot tub.” Oh Peter.
Peter’s way of seeing things is so refreshing. Everything is going to be okay, and then, even if it isn’t, then it’ll simply be different. Quite the way to live your life, truly.
When Sean threw himself at Peter, scaling him like a tree and just trusted Peter to be strong enough to hold his weight? That sealed it for me. That image is where the fifth star came dancing in—third and fourth came already in the vivid descriptions of people and places.
Especially people. The way Con Riley describes Sean, he appears like an autumn dream, copper, chestnut, freckles and amber eyes. It is as if he were right here in front of me. That braid? Oh, my. That braid. The cover is absolutely stunning, the soft touch of a reverent hand. And that braid. Oh, my, that braid.
That is quite a knack you have there, Author. Kudos.
***
I was NOT asked to read this book by anyone. I did, however, receive it as a present, so for once I did not pay with my own money, as I usually do for all the books I read, all the music I listen to and the movies I watch.
However, after reading this, I went to Dreamspinner Press and bought a personal copy of it, so that I can give it away as a present, too. It’s simply too good not to share.
ETA: 18 August 2013—Just read this again, going through the whole series, and the emotions are even greater.
November 5, 2012
There are several other reviews that cover the good and bad. So I'm just going to give my immediate thoughts:
September 26, 2012
I had a hard time connecting to the characters in this one and I enjoyed it but the story didn't resonant with me like After Ben.
I was happy to see a story focusing on Peter but he seemed pretty lost for a large chunk of this and not as strong as I remember him from the first book. I did enjoy how Peter was able to solve Morgan's issue with Marco.
This was a good read and good story but suffers in comparison to the first of the series.
I was happy to see a story focusing on Peter but he seemed pretty lost for a large chunk of this and not as strong as I remember him from the first book. I did enjoy how Peter was able to solve Morgan's issue with Marco.
This was a good read and good story but suffers in comparison to the first of the series.
September 30, 2012
Review Summary: A decent book that fell far short of the standard set by the first.
Review: Though I got engrossed in this one faster than After Ben , my enthusiasm waned around the middle and by the end I was frustrated. Insta-love, a main couple planning HEA for reasons that weren't clear to me, gratuitous sex once the heroes got together, and formerly likeable characters who were now obnoxious did not result in a sequel that lived up to the standard set by the first book.
Given my pet peeve about insta-love, having these guys saying "I love you" and planning to live together after knowing each other only a week was just too much too soon for me. Granted, people do it. And I found it plausible that Ben had done it with Theo. It just takes... more... to get me to believe it, and this book didn't quite get there. That was an especially striking (and disappointing) contrast after the wonderfully slow build of the first book. When it ended with everything so neatly wrapped up and the two guys ready to live HEA after just a week, I finished with an urge to throw my ereader across the room.
Which is not to say this wasn't a good book. It was, just not a great one. I adored the relationship between Peter and his father, and how it was explored and healed in the course of the book. I think that was my favorite part of the book, and Peter's dad was one of my favorite characters. I was delighted to see he had an incipient romance of his own by the end. And I still loved Joel and Evan, and Theo and Morgan. The other characters, however, were disappointing in various ways.
Peter didn't seem quite the same man whose story I had so eagerly anticipated. He was more insecure, which could be a result of being in his POV; many people come across as more confident than they really are. But I also didn't remember him having logorrhea in the first book, so I had to adjust my perception of him as he blurted out every thought that crossed his mind. And I can't imagine that someone who's spent as much time alone as Sean wouldn't want to shove a sock in his mouth at some point. Maybe it works for them because Sean shoves something much more fun into Peter's mouth? ;) They did seem to have an awful lot of sex once they started, more than I really wanted to read.
As for Sean, I never quite made up my mind about him. He appeared a weak victim when Peter first met him, then quickly demonstrated himself to be self-reliant and pretty darn good at it. But then he had these odd moments of childishness which came seemingly out of nowhere. Given his isolated childhood, I guess I could find it plausible, but it definitely wasn't appealing. And I felt I had even less sense of him than I had of Morgan in After Ben.
Given Peter's need to help people and Sean's obvious immediate need for assistance, I could see what drew them together in the first place. That's a great recipe for a short fling, but not necessarily sufficient long term. I never really figured out what connected them beyond that enough to make HEA likely, or even desirable. Especially not when we got so few details about how, realistically, it might work. After the first book, I wished for better for Peter. Or at least the Peter from the first book, who wasn't necessarily the same guy in this one.
I also liked other characters from the first book much less in this one. I adored Maggie in After Ben, but was very frustrated with her in this one. She's described as having issues that would make anyone cranky (to put it mildly), so I decided to excuse the radical changes in her personality as being due to those factors. But having to consciously decide that meant I was pulled out of the story to think about it. And it was disappointing to see a favorite character become barely likable.
I had liked both Marco and Aiden in the first book, but I liked them much less in Saving Sean. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I disliked Marco in this one, which makes me nervous about the third book since I'm 99% sure it will be about the two of them becoming a couple. I'm hoping that this book was a case of sophomore slump and that the next book(s) will be better.
This one wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to the standard set by the first and I'm nervous now that I'll like the third book even less. I'm almost tempted to skip that one and just wait for the fourth book I hope will follow and focus on Joel and Evan. I still adore them, individually and together. Then, if I love that one, I could see going back and giving Book 3 a try. What I'll probably do, though, is go into Book 3 with much lower expectations.
Expectations can make all the difference, and I might have liked Saving Sean more if mine hadn't been set so high by After Ben. I used the word 'disappointing' a lot in this review, and I think that was the key. If you go into it expecting 'decent' rather than 'great' (especially if you like insta-love), you'll probably enjoy it.
This review was originally posted at Reviews by Jessewave, where I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Review: Though I got engrossed in this one faster than After Ben , my enthusiasm waned around the middle and by the end I was frustrated. Insta-love, a main couple planning HEA for reasons that weren't clear to me, gratuitous sex once the heroes got together, and formerly likeable characters who were now obnoxious did not result in a sequel that lived up to the standard set by the first book.
Given my pet peeve about insta-love, having these guys saying "I love you" and planning to live together after knowing each other only a week was just too much too soon for me. Granted, people do it. And I found it plausible that Ben had done it with Theo. It just takes... more... to get me to believe it, and this book didn't quite get there. That was an especially striking (and disappointing) contrast after the wonderfully slow build of the first book. When it ended with everything so neatly wrapped up and the two guys ready to live HEA after just a week, I finished with an urge to throw my ereader across the room.
Which is not to say this wasn't a good book. It was, just not a great one. I adored the relationship between Peter and his father, and how it was explored and healed in the course of the book. I think that was my favorite part of the book, and Peter's dad was one of my favorite characters. I was delighted to see he had an incipient romance of his own by the end. And I still loved Joel and Evan, and Theo and Morgan. The other characters, however, were disappointing in various ways.
Peter didn't seem quite the same man whose story I had so eagerly anticipated. He was more insecure, which could be a result of being in his POV; many people come across as more confident than they really are. But I also didn't remember him having logorrhea in the first book, so I had to adjust my perception of him as he blurted out every thought that crossed his mind. And I can't imagine that someone who's spent as much time alone as Sean wouldn't want to shove a sock in his mouth at some point. Maybe it works for them because Sean shoves something much more fun into Peter's mouth? ;) They did seem to have an awful lot of sex once they started, more than I really wanted to read.
As for Sean, I never quite made up my mind about him. He appeared a weak victim when Peter first met him, then quickly demonstrated himself to be self-reliant and pretty darn good at it. But then he had these odd moments of childishness which came seemingly out of nowhere. Given his isolated childhood, I guess I could find it plausible, but it definitely wasn't appealing. And I felt I had even less sense of him than I had of Morgan in After Ben.
Given Peter's need to help people and Sean's obvious immediate need for assistance, I could see what drew them together in the first place. That's a great recipe for a short fling, but not necessarily sufficient long term. I never really figured out what connected them beyond that enough to make HEA likely, or even desirable. Especially not when we got so few details about how, realistically, it might work. After the first book, I wished for better for Peter. Or at least the Peter from the first book, who wasn't necessarily the same guy in this one.
I also liked other characters from the first book much less in this one. I adored Maggie in After Ben, but was very frustrated with her in this one. She's described as having issues that would make anyone cranky (to put it mildly), so I decided to excuse the radical changes in her personality as being due to those factors. But having to consciously decide that meant I was pulled out of the story to think about it. And it was disappointing to see a favorite character become barely likable.
I had liked both Marco and Aiden in the first book, but I liked them much less in Saving Sean. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I disliked Marco in this one, which makes me nervous about the third book since I'm 99% sure it will be about the two of them becoming a couple. I'm hoping that this book was a case of sophomore slump and that the next book(s) will be better.
This one wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to the standard set by the first and I'm nervous now that I'll like the third book even less. I'm almost tempted to skip that one and just wait for the fourth book I hope will follow and focus on Joel and Evan. I still adore them, individually and together. Then, if I love that one, I could see going back and giving Book 3 a try. What I'll probably do, though, is go into Book 3 with much lower expectations.
Expectations can make all the difference, and I might have liked Saving Sean more if mine hadn't been set so high by After Ben. I used the word 'disappointing' a lot in this review, and I think that was the key. If you go into it expecting 'decent' rather than 'great' (especially if you like insta-love), you'll probably enjoy it.
This review was originally posted at Reviews by Jessewave, where I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.
January 24, 2013
I am so pleased to have found this author. Con Riley writes beautifully. "Saving Sean" is the second novel in the Seattle Stories publications. Judging by the way secondary characters are developing, there should be many more to come in this series.
Although this book is called "Saving Sean" it is actually Peter the paramedic's story, Peter was introduced in the first novel "After Ben." It's great to see characters return in this story, they become more like family or close friends rather than characters in a work of fiction. Happy endings are also preferable and Con produces these with plenty of trauma along the way. A truely great, emotional read, a great writer of m/m romantic fiction.
Not being a fan of decriptive sex scenes, I tended to skim or skip when these popped up. They seem, sadly for me, to be a prerequisite in this genre but are easliy skipped. They do not actually add anything to the story apart from a bit of pornographic titilation, so saying, they are much better composed by Ms Riley than the vast majorityof authors writing for m/m romance readers. It was a toss up between 4 and 5 stars because of this. 5 stars because Con Riley really is a beautiful writer.
Although this book is called "Saving Sean" it is actually Peter the paramedic's story, Peter was introduced in the first novel "After Ben." It's great to see characters return in this story, they become more like family or close friends rather than characters in a work of fiction. Happy endings are also preferable and Con produces these with plenty of trauma along the way. A truely great, emotional read, a great writer of m/m romantic fiction.
Not being a fan of decriptive sex scenes, I tended to skim or skip when these popped up. They seem, sadly for me, to be a prerequisite in this genre but are easliy skipped. They do not actually add anything to the story apart from a bit of pornographic titilation, so saying, they are much better composed by Ms Riley than the vast majorityof authors writing for m/m romance readers. It was a toss up between 4 and 5 stars because of this. 5 stars because Con Riley really is a beautiful writer.
September 28, 2012
3.5
Book one in this series had some emotional depth that makes it a hard to follow up with in book two.
The slow burn and emotional progession and growth that made me love book one are not present in this book.
However, this is still a good read, just not what I was waiting for.
Sean and Peter work great together, I wish there wasn't so much sex...almost like they used that to build their relationship.
This review is a bit fragmented, but that is how the story was for me.
My absolute favorite thing about this book was Peter and his dad, that's a relationship and a story that really has promise and I fully enjoyed seeing the history and what the future can look like for these two.
Overall, a good read, just don't expect the same depth as book one.
Book one in this series had some emotional depth that makes it a hard to follow up with in book two.
The slow burn and emotional progession and growth that made me love book one are not present in this book.
However, this is still a good read, just not what I was waiting for.
Sean and Peter work great together, I wish there wasn't so much sex...almost like they used that to build their relationship.
This review is a bit fragmented, but that is how the story was for me.
My absolute favorite thing about this book was Peter and his dad, that's a relationship and a story that really has promise and I fully enjoyed seeing the history and what the future can look like for these two.
Overall, a good read, just don't expect the same depth as book one.
June 21, 2014
Audiobook narrated by JP Handler
I was excited to read this story because of how much I enjoyed After Ben, the first book in this series, however, this story fell far short. I’m not sure if that is entirely the result of the story content, or if my disappointment is influenced by the narration as I found the narrator’s exaggerated pronunciation of every syllable of every word to be quite distracting. However, the fact that I wanted to smack Peter, and that I frequently found myself shouting “Stupid fool!” out loud throughout the first few hours of the audiobook, leads me to believe that the story content wasn’t doing it for me either.
You don’t have to read the first book in the series before this, but it helps. Peter is the one-time hookup, and now good friend, of Theo, MC of After Ben. His assistance is enlisted in finding Sean, brother of Theo’s assistant, Maggie, since Peter is on the road back to Seattle and the town where Sean is currently staying is a slight detour, but close to Peter’s drive. Against his better judgment, he agrees. What he finds is a young man lying along the road, having been apparently hit by a car which peels away as Peter approaches. The young man turns out to be Sean, and after Peter administers immediate first aid, Sean gets up and runs into the woods. Peter eventually finds him and when they get to Sean’s cabin, Peter discovers that the cabin is filled with paper and plastic containers from top to bottom. Apparently, Sean’s deceased father was a hoarder, and Sean is trying to make sense of the mess and deal with both his death and the past issues between them. The “accident” was no accident, simply another attempt by locals to get Sean to sell his land to the developer who needs it for an access road to the new golf course he’s building—a golf course that will provide employment for townspeople.
But Maggie wants the cabin sold as quickly as possible because of her financial debts, and when Peter reports back to her on the state of the cabin, she in turn, reports it to the local fire marshal. This sets off a chain of events which creates a push-pull between Peter and Sean, just when they were starting to get closer emotionally. Peter finds out that Sean and Maggie both have different versions of why Sean first left home and they continue to have misunderstandings and poor communication. Does he help with that? No. All of his internal dialogue seems to relate to how he needs to behave as a professional because he’s a paramedic and treated Sean when he first met him. I became so frustrated with Peter and his stupid decisions that I was ready to walk away from the story. And Sean? Though he’s supposedly around twenty-five, his behavior is that of a teen, or maybe even pre-teen, at least for the first part of the story.
When Peter is kicked out and returns home, one circumstance leads to another, and he finds himself reconciling with his father after many years of estrangement. Apparently, his teen perception of his father was wrong. His father wants to be with Peter, the son he loves and Peter when taps in to his father’s experience and seeks his guidance, he sees that he needs to return and help Sean, whether Sean wants it or not.
He asks Theo for help which comes in the form of Theo’s former interns, Evan and Joel. When they all get to Sean’s cabin, there’s another man there with Sean. Vic is apparently the professor who is helping Sean with his research for his degree, but he appears a little too friendly. Jealousy, of course, rears its ugly head, but eventually everything is straightened out, and Peter and Sean spend the night together getting much better acquainted. More misunderstandings and struggles occur the next day and the cast of characters who are troubled or just outright fighting with each other is amazing. Evan’s brother, Aiden, is feuding with Joel and with Peter. Peter is feuding with Aiden and with Vic. Vic is just being obnoxious. And Sean is being as obstinate and clueless as usual about how to handle disposing of his father’s hoard of papers.
At this point, I just wanted the story to end. But there was much more to come. When they finally have the cabin cleared, Sean is still objecting to getting rid of things and after many more pages (and minutes of listening), Joel and Evan seem to be on to something. They think there might be a pattern to all the old zoning materials that Sean’s dad hoarded, and when they find out that it’s true, it’s also finally revealed that Sean is a statistical ecologist, working to save trees. Peter finally has a light bulb moment and realizes that Sean is extremely intelligent and he feels like a dope for not seeing that sooner. Duh! Really, how could he? Sean’s been acting like a needy child.
Maggie finally shows up and is just as snotty in person as she’s been by phone throughout the story. I wanted to smack her so many times, it was ridiculous. She was totally self-centered and far from the supportive character we knew in After Ben. Joel and Evan were terrific, however, and were actually the best characters in the whole story. And they were the ones who finally came to Sean’s rescue, finding the link between his father and the documents. They then planned and executed the arguments necessary to get Sean and Maggie what they both needed by the end of this saga.
To be honest, if this was an audiobook I purchased, rather than a review copy, it’s unlikely I would have finished it. The story seemed to drag on forever. I felt like there was information overload—about Peter’s work as a paramedic, about Sean’s father’s work gathering information on zoning regulations, information about hoarding, background information on Sean’s and Maggie’s childhood, Peter’s childhood and his relationship with his father—all had some relevance to the story, but it seemed like the topics were explored ad nauseam.
Add to that, the fact that I didn’t enjoy the narration as stated at the beginning of the review, and I would not recommend this book.
Note: This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher through Hearts on Fire Reviews in exchange for an impartial review.
I was excited to read this story because of how much I enjoyed After Ben, the first book in this series, however, this story fell far short. I’m not sure if that is entirely the result of the story content, or if my disappointment is influenced by the narration as I found the narrator’s exaggerated pronunciation of every syllable of every word to be quite distracting. However, the fact that I wanted to smack Peter, and that I frequently found myself shouting “Stupid fool!” out loud throughout the first few hours of the audiobook, leads me to believe that the story content wasn’t doing it for me either.
You don’t have to read the first book in the series before this, but it helps. Peter is the one-time hookup, and now good friend, of Theo, MC of After Ben. His assistance is enlisted in finding Sean, brother of Theo’s assistant, Maggie, since Peter is on the road back to Seattle and the town where Sean is currently staying is a slight detour, but close to Peter’s drive. Against his better judgment, he agrees. What he finds is a young man lying along the road, having been apparently hit by a car which peels away as Peter approaches. The young man turns out to be Sean, and after Peter administers immediate first aid, Sean gets up and runs into the woods. Peter eventually finds him and when they get to Sean’s cabin, Peter discovers that the cabin is filled with paper and plastic containers from top to bottom. Apparently, Sean’s deceased father was a hoarder, and Sean is trying to make sense of the mess and deal with both his death and the past issues between them. The “accident” was no accident, simply another attempt by locals to get Sean to sell his land to the developer who needs it for an access road to the new golf course he’s building—a golf course that will provide employment for townspeople.
But Maggie wants the cabin sold as quickly as possible because of her financial debts, and when Peter reports back to her on the state of the cabin, she in turn, reports it to the local fire marshal. This sets off a chain of events which creates a push-pull between Peter and Sean, just when they were starting to get closer emotionally. Peter finds out that Sean and Maggie both have different versions of why Sean first left home and they continue to have misunderstandings and poor communication. Does he help with that? No. All of his internal dialogue seems to relate to how he needs to behave as a professional because he’s a paramedic and treated Sean when he first met him. I became so frustrated with Peter and his stupid decisions that I was ready to walk away from the story. And Sean? Though he’s supposedly around twenty-five, his behavior is that of a teen, or maybe even pre-teen, at least for the first part of the story.
When Peter is kicked out and returns home, one circumstance leads to another, and he finds himself reconciling with his father after many years of estrangement. Apparently, his teen perception of his father was wrong. His father wants to be with Peter, the son he loves and Peter when taps in to his father’s experience and seeks his guidance, he sees that he needs to return and help Sean, whether Sean wants it or not.
He asks Theo for help which comes in the form of Theo’s former interns, Evan and Joel. When they all get to Sean’s cabin, there’s another man there with Sean. Vic is apparently the professor who is helping Sean with his research for his degree, but he appears a little too friendly. Jealousy, of course, rears its ugly head, but eventually everything is straightened out, and Peter and Sean spend the night together getting much better acquainted. More misunderstandings and struggles occur the next day and the cast of characters who are troubled or just outright fighting with each other is amazing. Evan’s brother, Aiden, is feuding with Joel and with Peter. Peter is feuding with Aiden and with Vic. Vic is just being obnoxious. And Sean is being as obstinate and clueless as usual about how to handle disposing of his father’s hoard of papers.
At this point, I just wanted the story to end. But there was much more to come. When they finally have the cabin cleared, Sean is still objecting to getting rid of things and after many more pages (and minutes of listening), Joel and Evan seem to be on to something. They think there might be a pattern to all the old zoning materials that Sean’s dad hoarded, and when they find out that it’s true, it’s also finally revealed that Sean is a statistical ecologist, working to save trees. Peter finally has a light bulb moment and realizes that Sean is extremely intelligent and he feels like a dope for not seeing that sooner. Duh! Really, how could he? Sean’s been acting like a needy child.
Maggie finally shows up and is just as snotty in person as she’s been by phone throughout the story. I wanted to smack her so many times, it was ridiculous. She was totally self-centered and far from the supportive character we knew in After Ben. Joel and Evan were terrific, however, and were actually the best characters in the whole story. And they were the ones who finally came to Sean’s rescue, finding the link between his father and the documents. They then planned and executed the arguments necessary to get Sean and Maggie what they both needed by the end of this saga.
To be honest, if this was an audiobook I purchased, rather than a review copy, it’s unlikely I would have finished it. The story seemed to drag on forever. I felt like there was information overload—about Peter’s work as a paramedic, about Sean’s father’s work gathering information on zoning regulations, information about hoarding, background information on Sean’s and Maggie’s childhood, Peter’s childhood and his relationship with his father—all had some relevance to the story, but it seemed like the topics were explored ad nauseam.
Add to that, the fact that I didn’t enjoy the narration as stated at the beginning of the review, and I would not recommend this book.
Note: This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher through Hearts on Fire Reviews in exchange for an impartial review.
November 15, 2012
Broke down the review to parts:
On the writing:
Saving Sean highlights some problems with the writing. These problems existed in After Ben too, but are even worse here in SS.
The story tends to jump ahead, then rewind and explain something that happened earlier. While I've got nothing against that per se, it gets really annoying when pretty much every chapter starts like that - to the point where I don't even know if something is happening now or earlier sometimes.
On the characters:
Then there's the characters. Marco and Morgan were delightful. Morgan's short appearance and his description of Marco, as well as Marco's call to Peter were the best part of the whole book - which is pretty sad when you consider that they took up less than five pages.
The MCs on the other hand... Peter started out strong - both from the first book and this one. He seemed confident, though you can't really tell what kind of person he is. One book later, you still can't pinpoint what exactly he is. He feels like a vague lump of a character, instead of a properly constructed one.
And then there's Sean. One of the worst characters I have the misfortune to read, and I wanted to quit halfway because I couldn't stand him. He's a whiny, selfish brat and there's no two-ways about it. Yes, he needed closure after his father passes away, but he didn't have to be a brat about it. Yelling at Peter, running away at every opportunity, throwing people out at the slightest provocation - he reads like an unbalanced man who needs help instead of some mad genius.
As for Maggie and Mike... I'm just going to mentally white-out their existence in this book. Liked Maggie in the first one, despised her here. I can understand monetary worries, but their behaviour, to put it simply, were downright bitchy.
On the plot:
So many problems here I don't even know where to start.
1. Peter has been hung up about Theo and Morgan's relationship for months. But he suddenly drops it at the sight of the both of them happy? One second he's constantly thinking about Theo and then poof - not even mentioned for the rest of the book? Not believable at all.
2. Insta-love. Peter's known Sean for all of a week, and suddenly they're joined at the hip? I'll expect this from shifter and vampire stories, but not something as emotionally mature as this. It clashes with the tone of the story, so much so that I'm left with a 'Huh? When the hell did that happen?' at their 'feelings'. I'd go so far as to say that it's even worse than shifter stories - because at least those make some kind of supernatural excuse for it, however flimsy. But real, sane people just don't act that way, especially considering Sean's behaviour.
3. HEA. HEAs are a given in romance stories. I would have respected, even loved the author if she
It feels like I'm watching a movie where the protagonists are driving up Mount Doom and then suddenly a rainbow appears and carts them down safely to their rabbit hole. Completely unconvincing.
Verdict:
SS was awful, and the fact that its only saving grace were five pages' worth of secondary characters says much about it. After Ben put up a standard that this didn't live up to. I'm still looking forward to a Marco-Aiden story, but only because Marco has been a very promising character thus far.
On the writing:
Saving Sean highlights some problems with the writing. These problems existed in After Ben too, but are even worse here in SS.
The story tends to jump ahead, then rewind and explain something that happened earlier. While I've got nothing against that per se, it gets really annoying when pretty much every chapter starts like that - to the point where I don't even know if something is happening now or earlier sometimes.
On the characters:
Then there's the characters. Marco and Morgan were delightful. Morgan's short appearance and his description of Marco, as well as Marco's call to Peter were the best part of the whole book - which is pretty sad when you consider that they took up less than five pages.
The MCs on the other hand... Peter started out strong - both from the first book and this one. He seemed confident, though you can't really tell what kind of person he is. One book later, you still can't pinpoint what exactly he is. He feels like a vague lump of a character, instead of a properly constructed one.
And then there's Sean. One of the worst characters I have the misfortune to read, and I wanted to quit halfway because I couldn't stand him. He's a whiny, selfish brat and there's no two-ways about it. Yes, he needed closure after his father passes away, but he didn't have to be a brat about it. Yelling at Peter, running away at every opportunity, throwing people out at the slightest provocation - he reads like an unbalanced man who needs help instead of some mad genius.
As for Maggie and Mike... I'm just going to mentally white-out their existence in this book. Liked Maggie in the first one, despised her here. I can understand monetary worries, but their behaviour, to put it simply, were downright bitchy.
On the plot:
So many problems here I don't even know where to start.
1. Peter has been hung up about Theo and Morgan's relationship for months. But he suddenly drops it at the sight of the both of them happy? One second he's constantly thinking about Theo and then poof - not even mentioned for the rest of the book? Not believable at all.
2. Insta-love. Peter's known Sean for all of a week, and suddenly they're joined at the hip? I'll expect this from shifter and vampire stories, but not something as emotionally mature as this. It clashes with the tone of the story, so much so that I'm left with a 'Huh? When the hell did that happen?' at their 'feelings'. I'd go so far as to say that it's even worse than shifter stories - because at least those make some kind of supernatural excuse for it, however flimsy. But real, sane people just don't act that way, especially considering Sean's behaviour.
3. HEA. HEAs are a given in romance stories. I would have respected, even loved the author if she
It feels like I'm watching a movie where the protagonists are driving up Mount Doom and then suddenly a rainbow appears and carts them down safely to their rabbit hole. Completely unconvincing.
Verdict:
SS was awful, and the fact that its only saving grace were five pages' worth of secondary characters says much about it. After Ben put up a standard that this didn't live up to. I'm still looking forward to a Marco-Aiden story, but only because Marco has been a very promising character thus far.
December 21, 2016
1.5 Stars
I'm a bit at a loss here. This is, I think, my first book by this author. I've read lots of amazing reviews on her works and was eagerly anticipating digging into this one for a challenge. This has some moments, but ultimately they cannot save the book for me. I would have loved to do 2 stars because I nearly never do 1 star if I finish a book but the audio telling of this was, at times, so terribly dreadful I simply cannot make myself add that extra star. I literally was gritting my teeth through parts of it. There were a few times when it was much better - but overall I cannot recommend it.
I suspect a basic plot is in here but I cannot really find it through the endless pratter of Peter and the weird hot/cold Sean and all the flashbacks. Peter was just boring - all his internal thoughts which sometimes don't make a ton of sense, then somehow he thought something and another character responded to it. Huh? Super confusing. In the beginning when he was doing his training and such he seemed like an interesting, likable, affable guy - but unfortunately that lasted very few pages. All that time in his head was painful. Then you have Sean - who, frankly, acted like a toddler. Immature, whiny, selfish, and maybe with bipolar or anger/split personality disorder because he alternated between a sort of weird and a whacked character. I felt like he spent so much time with a hair trigger anger reaction I could not understand why any man, in his right mind, would even consider him for a partner. A one nighter? Maybe - but I still didn't see the draw in spite of the 432 times we are told about his physical characteristics (too much). Although I didn't care for Peter at all by the end I was like "that poor man..he's stuck with a looney tunes guy who flies off the handle for very little reason and runs hot and cold like my grandma's old faucet" - meaning it was always hot or cold and never warm. I seriously think Sean needs major psych help - some time as an in patient perhaps.
And the others? Ugh. Jack from the library is actually good and Peter's Dad was fine...Theo and Morgan give a few bright moments - but Maggie - that chick takes the cake. What an awful terrible person! It did sort of reinforce that I thought Sean had major issues given they are siblings - but she was so hateful and selfish and full of herself --- I did not read After Ben and I'm a bit scared to now but the reviews say she was different in that one. So perhaps Sean's bipolar disorder or whatever is going on with him is genetic and she has it too in a different form. In any case - anytime the narrator started with her voice I wanted to spit. Just yuck.
Once I got to the point where I really disliked both main characters (Peter for being such a complete pushover who seemed to exist to placate Sean and not make him angry - abuse anyone? - and Sean for being such an utter asshole so much of the time) it was a chore to continue. It felt endless - and I feel terrible because I am reasonably sure this author has real writing chops - and perhaps I am just not the right person to read this book as I cannot engage with these types of characters. If they were my friends I would have likely advised Peter to get a clue and get someone new and told Sean to go take a hike and grow up. One thing is for certain - whatever you do - I cannot recommend the audio.
I'm a bit at a loss here. This is, I think, my first book by this author. I've read lots of amazing reviews on her works and was eagerly anticipating digging into this one for a challenge. This has some moments, but ultimately they cannot save the book for me. I would have loved to do 2 stars because I nearly never do 1 star if I finish a book but the audio telling of this was, at times, so terribly dreadful I simply cannot make myself add that extra star. I literally was gritting my teeth through parts of it. There were a few times when it was much better - but overall I cannot recommend it.
I suspect a basic plot is in here but I cannot really find it through the endless pratter of Peter and the weird hot/cold Sean and all the flashbacks. Peter was just boring - all his internal thoughts which sometimes don't make a ton of sense, then somehow he thought something and another character responded to it. Huh? Super confusing. In the beginning when he was doing his training and such he seemed like an interesting, likable, affable guy - but unfortunately that lasted very few pages. All that time in his head was painful. Then you have Sean - who, frankly, acted like a toddler. Immature, whiny, selfish, and maybe with bipolar or anger/split personality disorder because he alternated between a sort of weird and a whacked character. I felt like he spent so much time with a hair trigger anger reaction I could not understand why any man, in his right mind, would even consider him for a partner. A one nighter? Maybe - but I still didn't see the draw in spite of the 432 times we are told about his physical characteristics (too much). Although I didn't care for Peter at all by the end I was like "that poor man..he's stuck with a looney tunes guy who flies off the handle for very little reason and runs hot and cold like my grandma's old faucet" - meaning it was always hot or cold and never warm. I seriously think Sean needs major psych help - some time as an in patient perhaps.
And the others? Ugh. Jack from the library is actually good and Peter's Dad was fine...Theo and Morgan give a few bright moments - but Maggie - that chick takes the cake. What an awful terrible person! It did sort of reinforce that I thought Sean had major issues given they are siblings - but she was so hateful and selfish and full of herself --- I did not read After Ben and I'm a bit scared to now but the reviews say she was different in that one. So perhaps Sean's bipolar disorder or whatever is going on with him is genetic and she has it too in a different form. In any case - anytime the narrator started with her voice I wanted to spit. Just yuck.
Once I got to the point where I really disliked both main characters (Peter for being such a complete pushover who seemed to exist to placate Sean and not make him angry - abuse anyone? - and Sean for being such an utter asshole so much of the time) it was a chore to continue. It felt endless - and I feel terrible because I am reasonably sure this author has real writing chops - and perhaps I am just not the right person to read this book as I cannot engage with these types of characters. If they were my friends I would have likely advised Peter to get a clue and get someone new and told Sean to go take a hike and grow up. One thing is for certain - whatever you do - I cannot recommend the audio.
September 29, 2012
4.5 stars
Unlike most people, it seems, I liked this book better than the After Ben. I connected with Sean and Peter and I liked the way their feelings and their relationship developed. I found Peter's way of handling Sean and protecting and helping him very tender and real. I also appreciated very much that the book conveyed to me not just strong feelings of romantic love, but also of friendship and family ties. It was interesting to see Peter and his father find each other again and in contrast to understand how difficult the relationship was between Sean and his own father. A relationship that cannot be saved anymore, which makes the way Sean tries to make sense of his father's life, holding on to his things and refusing to let it all go to waste, understandable and heartbreaking. I feel there is a lot of depth in the story, which resonated with me. In the end, I found myself on the edge of the chair, eager to see if Sean would find a way to finally make sense of things and achieve what he really needed to finally move on.
It was beautiful to see not only Peter, but Peter's friends too, try to help him, even when most of them can't understand why Sean cannot let go.
I liked Peter a lot, much more than in the first book. I couldn't really connect with him in After Ben, but I did here. He's a very lovable character, a guy with a big heart, in seach of someone to share his life with. I found the way he got over Theo and he fell for Sean to be believable. There's a moment in particular in the book where the passage from his crush on Theo to his love for Sean is made clear in a very simple but also very telling way.
I loved Sean even more. He's strong and fragile at the same time. He's had a difficult life and he has taken on a seemingly impossible task, but even when he feels like he's going to have to do it all by himself, he doesn't give up. And ultimately, with the help of Peter and his friends, he gets to the point when he can finally leave the past behind and start living in the present, with Peter.
Unlike most people, it seems, I liked this book better than the After Ben. I connected with Sean and Peter and I liked the way their feelings and their relationship developed. I found Peter's way of handling Sean and protecting and helping him very tender and real. I also appreciated very much that the book conveyed to me not just strong feelings of romantic love, but also of friendship and family ties. It was interesting to see Peter and his father find each other again and in contrast to understand how difficult the relationship was between Sean and his own father. A relationship that cannot be saved anymore, which makes the way Sean tries to make sense of his father's life, holding on to his things and refusing to let it all go to waste, understandable and heartbreaking. I feel there is a lot of depth in the story, which resonated with me. In the end, I found myself on the edge of the chair, eager to see if Sean would find a way to finally make sense of things and achieve what he really needed to finally move on.
It was beautiful to see not only Peter, but Peter's friends too, try to help him, even when most of them can't understand why Sean cannot let go.
I liked Peter a lot, much more than in the first book. I couldn't really connect with him in After Ben, but I did here. He's a very lovable character, a guy with a big heart, in seach of someone to share his life with. I found the way he got over Theo and he fell for Sean to be believable. There's a moment in particular in the book where the passage from his crush on Theo to his love for Sean is made clear in a very simple but also very telling way.
I loved Sean even more. He's strong and fragile at the same time. He's had a difficult life and he has taken on a seemingly impossible task, but even when he feels like he's going to have to do it all by himself, he doesn't give up. And ultimately, with the help of Peter and his friends, he gets to the point when he can finally leave the past behind and start living in the present, with Peter.
October 28, 2012
1.75*
Every review I read seems to say that this book wasn't as great as After Ben, which is neither here nor there to me since I had major issues with After Ben as well. I think this author's writing style just doesn't work for me. I need a cogent, concise story, with a sequence that I can follow and minimal distractions. The author's characters are awesome, dialogue is wonderful. It's everything else that I can't deal with. Incessant rambling, paragraphs and paragraphs of backstory that I couldn't care less about. As an example, if a character looks out his window and sees a tree, I don't then need 2 pages of how he and his grandfather used to prune trees as a child, with full details. This is fine if they are well utilized, sparse and somehow add to the story but most of the time they don't! It's almost like there's no editor to reign the author in and prune out the excess. I spent most of this book (and the first one) reading around, trying to find morsels of interest, backing up to read them and then skimming a whole bunch of nothing again.
I LOVE Peter and was disappointed that I couldn't even enjoy his story because of all the rambling and abundance of everything. I would so love to read about Aiden and Marco but, once bitten, twice shy and three times...just ain't gonna happen.
Every review I read seems to say that this book wasn't as great as After Ben, which is neither here nor there to me since I had major issues with After Ben as well. I think this author's writing style just doesn't work for me. I need a cogent, concise story, with a sequence that I can follow and minimal distractions. The author's characters are awesome, dialogue is wonderful. It's everything else that I can't deal with. Incessant rambling, paragraphs and paragraphs of backstory that I couldn't care less about. As an example, if a character looks out his window and sees a tree, I don't then need 2 pages of how he and his grandfather used to prune trees as a child, with full details. This is fine if they are well utilized, sparse and somehow add to the story but most of the time they don't! It's almost like there's no editor to reign the author in and prune out the excess. I spent most of this book (and the first one) reading around, trying to find morsels of interest, backing up to read them and then skimming a whole bunch of nothing again.
I LOVE Peter and was disappointed that I couldn't even enjoy his story because of all the rambling and abundance of everything. I would so love to read about Aiden and Marco but, once bitten, twice shy and three times...just ain't gonna happen.
September 24, 2012
'Saving Sean' tells Pete's story (from 'After Ben'), but it also gives us more Joel & Evan, and even some Morgan and Aiden. Theo, rightly so, remains in the background, but still there is a change in his life so I hope we get to see more of that in future books.
New secondary characters introduced like Peter's Dad and Jack the librarian add backstory and humour respectively, but of course, this is really the story of Sean and Peter.
Riley does this thing to show the way Pete is totally unfiltered. His stream of consciousness shows what he's thinking. And then the next line will be dialogue responding to those thoughts. Clearly Pete is not only thinking, but saying, but often totally unaware that he is saying. It is a witty & clever device and used consistently to develop his character. Even halfway through the book, it still surprised me. And it's adorable.
Sean is a KMUCK (Krazy Mixed Up Kid). Through Pete's eyes, he appears young and in need of protection. And we know how protective Pete can be. But he's also damaged and clever, and has all the feelings associated with grief: guilt, obligation, & heart-ache. Plus he's alone. As their relationship develops, so too does Peter's understanding of Sean and this arc is handled with sensitivity and joy.
Really loved this.
January 3, 2020
In this series of stories about loss and moving on, ‘Saving Sean’ deals with a different kind of loss than ‘After Ben’, but it involves some of the same characters, which I found fascinating. In book one, Theo lost his long-term partner, Ben, and had a very hard time moving on. Theo ended up falling in love with Morgan, but the other man he’d gotten close to, Peter, is now devastated that he lost the opportunity to be with Theo. So this is Peter’s story – the tale of how he finds Sean, who is in dire need of support and someone to help him, Peter’s struggle with his remaining feelings for Ben, and his coming to a point where Sean becomes more than a “project” or patient who needs help.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
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January 3, 2020The second edition of Saving Sean is now available on Amazon and for the first time via Kindle Unlimited.
This is the only Seattle Story that I significantly revised after getting it back from Dreamspinner. If you're reading it for the first time, or if it's a re-read, I hope that you enjoy Sean and Peter's story!
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Universal link
My Facebook group, where I hold frequent giveaways and distribute ARCs
This is the only Seattle Story that I significantly revised after getting it back from Dreamspinner. If you're reading it for the first time, or if it's a re-read, I hope that you enjoy Sean and Peter's story!
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Universal link
My Facebook group, where I hold frequent giveaways and distribute ARCs
July 13, 2017
Really more of a 2.5 stars but I'm feeling generous so I'll round up. Something about this story just bored me. I don't know if it was the writing style, the characters or the actual story but if I hadn't needed it for a challenge, I might have spent years trying to get through this one. By the end, I just didn't care one way or the other.
January 1, 2013
This is the second in the Seattle series, and though not as compelling and heart-breaking as After Ben this is still a good read. The story starts when our hero Peter Morse, the unrequited love interest of Theo Anderson receives an urgent call from Theo (who Peter is still crushing on). Peter has been on the road teaching paramedic training for months on end and just wants to go home to a cool beer, a hot tub, a 42 inch tv and a comfy couch. He decides whatever Theo is asking him to do he will say no to, easier said then done. Theo needs him to check on Maggie's ( Theo's friend and assistant at his job) younger brother Sean who Maggie is worried about and who also needs to sign legal documents in the sale of their late father's cabin and property. Sean is 25 years old, estranged from Maggie, and when Peter meets him he's being held down by some men. Peter comes upon this scene, the men escape leaving an injured Sean who then runs in the woods. Finally, when Peter is able to catch Sean he takes him to his cabin and then these two journey truly begins. This story has such wonderful characters including Peter's father, a kind and gentle soul who is trying in so many ways to reach out to his son. Joel and Evan, funny, loving, and wise beyond their years.Aiden, Evan's protective older brother, gruff and sad who has a big heart but is also very sad.Jack the librarian who Peter's father meets who becomes a friend to Peter's father and happens to be single and gay and lonely. I think needs his own story because he's interesting. We also have Vic, Sean's boss, whose opinionated, judgemental, and just not very nice. This story has little moments that bring a lump to your throat and scenes that make you laugh. I no some complain that Maggie wasn't the same as she was in the first book, but we only saw a peek at her in that story was truly Theo's and how she tried to help him find his way back. I think under the circumstances, I'm willing to cut Maggie some slack. This is a wonderful story and as comfy as Sean's worn leather couch! I can't wait to the third in the series!
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