Before They Were Lovers: A Nothing Special Valentine's Origin Story

Nothing Special #.5

by A.E. Via, Abbie Nicole (editor), Jay Aheer (illustrator)

Two warriors. One unbreakable bond. A love story in the making.


God is a hardened and confident alpha with emotional walls that keep him isolated. Day is quieter, more watchful, and looking to connect.

During their months at the Atlanta PD training academy, Day stealthily observes God’s raw power, his command of any situation, and the lethal marksmanship that makes him long for God to be his brother in arms on the force.

This origin story reveals the start of God and Day’s powerful, complicated relationship. It’s filled with tension, emotional growth, and the beginning of their legendary partnership.

Genres: M M Romance, Audiobook, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Novella, Crime

120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2025

About the author

A.E. Via is an author in the beautiful gay romance genre and also founder and owner of Via Star Wings Books. Her writing embodies everything from hopelessly romantic to spicy to scandalous. Her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.

When she's not clicking away at her laptop, she devotes herself to her family--a husband and four children.

Adrienne Via has tons of more stories to tell, but she really would like to hear yours. Via Star Wings Books is currently accepting submissions for established and aspiring LGBTQ authors. I've contracted and successfully published a couple authors - whose information can be found on my website - who can tell you that my passion is giving other writer's stories the love and care it deserves so it could be a gift to another. Visit my site to learn more!

Go to A.E. Via's official website http://authoraevia.com for more detailed information on how to contact her, follow her, or a sneak peak on upcoming work, free reads, VSWB submissions, and where she'll appear next.

Reviews

[Denise R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember what you know about God and Day and add tax. This book was so damn good, I love how Day knew he wanted God for his partner in all ways and set out to make it happen. The way God was vulnerable in this book, omg I absolutely loved it. The humor was just right and had me laughing out loud plenty of times. What to say about Johnson, man he was truly annoying. But, you have to just remember that this happened before they were becoming the baddest alpha’s ever. Ms. Via can do no wrong in all that she does.

[SJ]

I am so stoked to read an origins story about God and Day!

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feb 2025
Kindle edition

Just long enough to pass as a read for a group challenge week 5. It was alright. Time skips and snippets of God and Day's relationship leading up to book 1. These two already felt like a couple from the get go with how long they spent together and the cock blocking. The office guy that won't take no for an answer made me cringe.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kick Ass start

I loved getting to read how these two alpha males meet and become work partners and best friends. It makes me want to start the series all over again ❤

[Xanthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nothing Special series by AE Via is one of my absolute favourites and I was so excited to see this release! Getting a look at how God and Day became..... well, God and Day is so much fun.
God is even more surly and silent than ever, with it being Day that ever so slowly brings signs of life out of the quiet man. Day is just as energetic and eager as I remember, now with the added incentive of first, getting God to be his partner, and then to make the man laugh, or even just a smile would be a start!
It's an entertaining prequal to the Nothing Special books and introduction to the wonder that becomes God and Day on the Narcotics team, how their partnership becomes an intrinsic part of each of their lives.

[Sammy! · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nothing Special series by AE Via is one of my absolute favourites and I was so excited to see this release! Getting a look at how God and Day became..... well, God and Day is so much fun.
God is even more surly and silent than ever, with it being Day that ever so slowly brings signs of life out of the quiet man. Day is just as energetic and eager as I remember, now with the added incentive of first, getting God to be his partner, and then to make the man laugh, or even just a smile would be a start!
It's an entertaining prequel to the Nothing Special books and introduction to the wonder that becomes God and Day on the Narcotics team, how their partnership becomes an intrinsic part of each of their lives.

[Ethel Nesson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Curious Beginning!
After reading most of the steamy Nothing Special series, this story focuses on the attraction, yearning and platonic relationship between God and Day. The years of wanting, but waiting and honing their teamwork as Atlanta police officers are a curious approach. It’s one that adds steel to their partnership and intriguingly sets them apart from the men they command later in the series. Enjoy!

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st read: March 2025

Re-read: Dec 2025

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're expecting serious police content, this is not for you. Anyone who's read the Nothing Special series will know that it's kind of OTT, and this one is probably the most OTT one yet. Now don't get me wrong, I love God and Day and it's great to get more of a backstory for these guys.

I'm a bit on the fence with my rating for this one. A lot of the story that wasn't directly focused on their relationship felt like a repeate of things that happen in Nothing Special or a bit later in the series. We have a drunken/out-of-it romantic vibes on a couch situation, a convenience store robbery, a raid where they shine and outclass everyone, and sexual harassment by Johnson in the break room. For all of these scences I started of thinking "is this happening now?! shouldn't it be later...oh it's a new and unrelated scene, but very much the same".

I'm also confused by the Prescott Vaughan storyline. I thought they were actual boyfriends in the past, not just best friends who were romantically interested but never really did anything more than some mild flirting. Or is that just what God has been thinking all these years? I might have to re-read both Nothing Special and You Can See Me to refresh my memory.

I do love the parts of the story that are focused on how God and Day got to know each other and how they build their relationship. We get to see their first day at work from God's perspective in Nothing Special, so it was fun to see it from Day's perspective in this one. And I love the "you're my guy" vibes, that they both seem to get that they have something special but can't do anything about it.

In the end, I think most people who read this book will be here for the same reason I am. They already know and love God and Day and their OTT shenanigans. And they won't care too much if part of the story feels like a repeat. For that reason, I'm lading on 4⭐.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately Yes! And it’s out on my birthday too! 😍❤️‍🔥

Edit again to add: I just realised this is the audio version due to come out but I will also be waiting on that release because I just know the narration will be perfection 🧑‍🍳💋


Edited after I finished reading!
I loved every second of this and couldn’t put it down, I can’t even imagine having that kind of bond with someone 🥺❤️ It is just beautiful, I think the closet I would get is with my mum, we always know what the other is thinking just with eye contact and we are always there for each other no matter what. Shes my best friend.
But to have that from someone who is ‘in’ love with you is so special.

I just adore Day and his quick witted responses/ humour, he is the perfect partner for God and it’s been so great reading about the time between their first meeting and the 4 years later where the series properly starts off. Especially because I’ve always thought their attraction for each other just came out of nowhere when I first read Nothing Special.
Maybe not so much on Days side but definitely from God.

The drunken scene with Gods confessions was so funny to read but also amazing for Day because her realised his feelings weren’t quite so one sided 😍

There are a few things I’m confused about though after reading the main series multiple times at this point, I thought Prescott did teach Leo some of his culinary/ cooking skills? But Day said he wouldn’t ever lie to God so that threw me as I thought in the first book, he says a few times that he was taught by him.

Johnson is even MORE of an asshole than I first thought and it now makes even less sense why 1. Day and God push him together with Ronowski!?! And 2. The whole 4some thing does not make sense at all! With how possessive they are over each other. It don’t make sense when reading the original books but now I’m just baffled why they allowed others into their bed when they clearly only have eyes for each other……

Anyway, looking past that minor inconsistency, it was such a great read and I’ll defo be reading again as well as re reading the entire series 🩶

[Anna Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved God and Day! When I started the Nothing Special series up until I read the last book released in the series, God and Day have always been my favorite, so this review might sound bias, I am so sorry about that.

Before They Were Lovers goes back to the day Day first saw God, when they were still at the Academy. God has caught his eye back then. But God was so focused and always laying low that he only saw Day on their first day at the new police station they were assigned to together. Their eyes met during that meeting when they were first introduced to the whole rooster and when God came to Day's defense Day declared that they are going to be partners. And so it begins.....

We will go on an adventure on the many instances during their beat together as patrolmen (I hope I am using the correct term) and then when they were requested by the SWAT team to help in a raid and how they made a name for themselves as guys who can bring it to any situation. They started becoming infamous when it comes to bringing their criminals in, doing it by the book.

We will see for ourselves how they became friends and how Day has been attracted to God since he first saw him in training and how God slowly came to accept his attraction to Day even though he believed he was not gay. I think he thought of this early on but due to his circumstances, he chose not to acknowledge it himself.

Thank you Ms. A.E. Via for letting us in at the beginning of God and Day's friendship and how it developed into something epic, my all time favorite!

[Zuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

– 3.5★ –

I had never heard about this series before, but the blurb sounded so good I decided to read this anyway. Who knows, maybe I liked the mcs and had a new series to start.

I really enjoyed it. Because of their names (and cause I’m oblivious) I was expecting something more literal, like, an actual God and the Day, but no, they’re just boring humans buu. However, I loved their relationship, there was a very marked connection there. And I liked that Valentine’s was all over this book.

My problems are, first, the harassment. I mean why?? We all could've done without it. And second, these guys and this whole book is a copy extremely similar to Black and Brown. Turns out that’s a sequel, but it’s not just their jobs, it’s the mcs’ personalities, the time skips, the ‘we met at the academy and then became great agents’, every moment felt like I was reading the other book. (Well, technically that book’d be the copy). And I don’t appreciate when an author writes the same thing again and again, even spin-off books should have their own souls, otherwise what’s the point?

I still liked these two better than Grace and Mirage, and I’m still debating whether to start this series, and whether to rate this 3★ or 4★ 🤔

[Emily Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A part of me has always wondered how God and Day became the powerhouse duo they were at the start of the Nothing Special series, and now I've finally gotten to see their early days as partners! As its title suggests, this book was more of an origin story than a romance, so the juiciest this book got was a drunken night of confessions and a splash of steam to break the UST. I devoured the entire thing in one sitting, and it was so much fun to see how God and Day's relationship dynamic grew with time. It doesn't surprise me at all that Day was the instigator nine times out of ten, but God had his moments when he let his stony mask slip. As the two of them got to know each other, I could feel them falling in sync and becoming each other's perfect complement, and it was such a rush to see the way they excelled at everything the police force could throw at them. God remained mostly locked down about his personal life throughout this book, but it was clear that he held Day in highest regard and didn't want his attention to stray. I reveled in the little moments of possessiveness and jealousy that God and Day couldn't contain, and honestly now I'm itching to go back and read the full Nothing Special series so I can relive everything that happens next!

**I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. This review expresses my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

its so nice to finally have the extra tidbit of information of these two PRIOR to their book in Nothing Special. AE touched on all the little quirks that made up the beginning tale of these two MCs from Nothing Special and made reasoning behind them show in this Origin Story. We got to see how Leo and God began to fall for each other. what made them the bad ass team they are in the NS series.

Now i do love AE spicy scenes and even though its impossible to have these two actually be together when their first time (together) wasn't till book 1. She managed to put a little spice in there for us.

All in all it satisfied the " i want to know more" about these two that I've been craving, and i'm sure others have as well. plot was great, absolutely love the characters. only thing was not enough spicy scenes but again impossible when they officially do the fun stuff in NS 1.

[Jenn Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 – 4.5 Stars

I am a huge fan of the Nothing Special series and this is a really great look at God and Day and how it all began! I thought it was so much fun to see these two before they were ‘God and Day’! I really enjoyed seeing the connection these two had right from the start and how natural it is. Even though this isn’t the romance part of their story, we see the connection form and see how deep it is for both of them even in the beginning.

It’s definitely entertaining to see how it all begins, to see that even in the first days Day’s infectious and energetic self breaks through God’s toughness and grouchiness. These two were meant to be from day one and I love it. I’m definitely feeling a re-read of the whole Nothing Special series is in order – I so love this group! Such a fun read and a great way to revisit some of my very favorite characters!

[Katharine Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Partners Feel for Each Other

Cashel Godfrey: You’re all I’ve got, Day. Do you know that? Just you, man. You’re the only one who’s never made me feel like a monster.

That truth was an uppercut right on the chin, hurting like a son of a bitch. He needed his partner so badly it scared him. What if Day left too?

Cashel Godfrey: Don’t go. Don’t leave me.

Leonidis Day: Never. I’ve wanted you much longer than you know, God.

Cashel Godfrey: If I could have you, Day, I’d protect you with my life. I’d treat you better than anyone has ever treated you. I’ve been with a lot of women... but none of them make me feel like you do. I never laughed, hadn’t laughed in at least twenty years... until I met you.

[Miruru Shouting · Rating 5 out of 5]

No spice (but there is one masturbation scene) because it's the story of "before they were lovers" but it was so nice to be reading about the little bits of events in-between the events of book 1, and also the beginning of Day's crush from the academy to their rookie days to them making detective.

There will be spoilers for book 1, but they're minor enough that it doesn't affect Book 1's plot. It ends with transitioning into the first chapter of Book 1, so I think it's ok to read this before you've read the series.

All their february 14th traditions of hanging out were so "bro"cute and it was also nice to see Prescott again. Loved this bonus special story. Even though it's short, it didn't feel like it, since it spanned many months and years of them together; it almost felt like a full book.

[Titania · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beginning of God and Day...I loved it. God is so focused. Day is just as focused but much more vocal. I loved seeing Day and God find their way as rookies and friends. I enjoyed the easter eggs that became more in this world A.E. Via has created. Honest this is like the best prequel ever. You see that God was never really young. He doesn't let folks in but Day has wormed his way in by persistence. He was determined that God would be his partner and he worked toward that goal. He was determined to be God's friend and he worked toward that. I loved seeing the beginnings of the Gos and Day we know and this just made me want to revisit their journey towards happily ever after.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the beginning of Day and God story! I love it!! The first Day got his eye on God in the academy, Day has always have a smart mouth loved it!! Day and God as rookies and how well they mesh and they become great friends and partners with a little bit of more. Their relationship was always their first priority and l love how their feelings start but they never were able to act on them because of their job. This was a fun read and I really enjoyed watching them grow into what we know about them today!!

[la review bleu · Rating 5 out of 5]

God and Day. They live rent-free in my head. I loved them from the start of Nothing Special series. Now we get to learn more about their years as partners. It is just beautiful to see how it all started. How they slowly but surely fell in love. There is no real spice, but the feelings in this one are phenomenal. Especially if you already know God and Day from Nothing Special, and if you don't know them yet, start with this book and then read the series.
I devoured every page. Absolutely beautiful.

[Sue Milkovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

20+ SHINY GOLDEN STARS

This is the Beginning of the Partnership between God and Day. A.E. VIA is the first Author I found who writes the BEST Police Books. These Books grab you by the short hairs and don't let go til the end. This is a MAGNIFICENT SERIES whose Books I've read over and over. This would make a GREAT Movie. This is better than a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day!!! I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS A NOTHING SPECIAL SERIES!!!!!!!!!!

[Gale MR · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are books that will always hold a special place in my heart like Nothing special series. And this one is no different! It was a pleasure to read the very beginning of Day and God's journey together from Academy through the first years on the force and reaching the Detective level. It has zero spice because this is History in the making - the moments that defined who they are before they become a couple. Definitely very interesting to read about it.

[Lyn Solomon-Linville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally A.E. Via is back and this book was a great way to re-enter. Godfrey and Day are very interesting detectives with a fun past and anceven more fun present as for the future one can only hope. They are partners in almost every way that detectives can be, reading each other's minds and doing a job on the bad guys. I am about to start the Nothing Special series by this,author so I can see if I can get what I want from this partnership!

[Marsha L Respess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love God and Leo so much and enjoyed reading about their first meeting and then their remarkable partnership. You know Day loves God and having read the first book in the series you know about God's terrible childhood and rejection of his mother and brother that almost destroys him until they find out the truth. Day was there the whole time and never stopped loving him even when God shut him out. One of the best series ever.

[Beatrice Zibell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ for everyone who loves this series! Are you like me and you ask youself:
How did God and Day's partnership start
Were they always the Dynamic Duo or did they have trouble at the start?
What cases did they work before they got in to narcotics?
Before they were lovers will answer your questions

[AshPenny37 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool origin story

I really enjoyed seeing a younger God/Day duo work from being strangers as rookie graduates to partner uniformed officers to being the kick@ss detective unit they are in Nothing Special. It's a great addition to the series and was a surprise treat I really didn't know I needed. Time for a series reread, I think...

[Laina Gruver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This is a quick trip through God and Day’s early days as rookies. Pretty much what you’d expect if you’ve read the NS series.

We get to see them become the outstanding detectives they are and we get the early days of Ro, Johnson, and Vicki too.

*****
POV… third person

Standalone or series… novella leading up to NS

Hangover… no

Recommend… sure

Reread… sure

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I downloaded this short story I didn't realize it was a kind of intro to a series featuring these two cops. I have to be honest and admit the start of it kinda bored me a little, but luckily I persevered and found it delightfully entertaining, 'God' and 'Day' are in turn wildly funny and then intense and on the job.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow-burn origin story showing the exact moment God and Day begin orbiting each other. Intense, intimate, and steeped in character building. It adds weight to Book 1 and deepens their legendary bond.
Best for: God/Day fans
Rating:★★★★½ (4.6/5) — excellent prequel * Spice:🌶️ (low, mostly tension) * Emotion:💘💔💘

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately Yes! And it’s out on my birthday too! 😍❤️‍🔥


Edited after I finished reading!
I loved every second of this and couldn’t put it down, I can’t even imagine having that kind of bond with someone 🥺❤️ It is just beautiful, I think the closet I would get is with my mum, we always know what the other is thinking just with eye contact and we are always there for each other no matter what. Shes my best friend.
But to have that from someone who is ‘in’ love with you is so special.

I just adore Day and his quick witted responses/ humour, he is the perfect partner for God and it’s been so great reading about the time between their first meeting and the 4 years later where the series properly starts off.

There are a few things I’m confused about though after reading the main series multiple times at this point, I thought Prescott did teach Leo some of his culinary/ cooking skills? But Day said he wouldn’t ever lie to God so that threw me as I thought in the first book, he says a few times that he was taught by him.

Johnson is even MORE of an asshole than I first thought and it now makes even less sense why 1. Day and God push him together with Ronowski!?! And 2. The whole 4some thing does not make sense at all! With how possessive they are over each other. It don’t make sense when reading the original books but now I’m just baffled why they allowed others into their bed when they clearly only have eyes for each other……

Anyway, looking past that minor inconsistency, it was such a great read and I’ll defo be reading again as well as re reading the entire series 🩶