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From the Ashes
Dear Author,
Insecure, self-conscious, shy, geeky, clumsy. In other words a walking disaster.
It is the only way I could describe myself. My past boyfriends didn’t help any with their constant criticism and belittling comments about my person.
So you can’t be really surprised that I have given up finding my knight in shining armour.
But I have never taken into consideration the one beautiful man, who is so far out of my league that it is not even funny. He became the only source of my self-esteem.
But when he started acting suspicious all my insecurities came back full force.
Please give us a HEA. I love him too much to lose him because of a misunderstanding.
Photo Description:
Two men sit on the wet ground, at the bottom of a ravine, with smiles on their faces. One man is leaning against the other while they hold hands, their arms outstretched as if they are about to take flight. They look happy and worry-free, and completely at ease with each other.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
Insecure, self-conscious, shy, geeky, clumsy. In other words a walking disaster.
It is the only way I could describe myself. My past boyfriends didn’t help any with their constant criticism and belittling comments about my person.
So you can’t be really surprised that I have given up finding my knight in shining armour.
But I have never taken into consideration the one beautiful man, who is so far out of my league that it is not even funny. He became the only source of my self-esteem.
But when he started acting suspicious all my insecurities came back full force.
Please give us a HEA. I love him too much to lose him because of a misunderstanding.
Photo Description:
Two men sit on the wet ground, at the bottom of a ravine, with smiles on their faces. One man is leaning against the other while they hold hands, their arms outstretched as if they are about to take flight. They look happy and worry-free, and completely at ease with each other.
This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.
This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.
52 pages, ebook
First published June 23, 2014
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
August 11, 2016
If you're in love with your best friend you:
A. Pretend to be drunk so you can tell him without actually telling him
B. Snoop through text messages on his phone, misunderstand, and quietly seethe
C. Have loud bang-the-headboard sex with a random one-night stand in the room next to his while he's trying to sleep
D. All of the above
I did not feel the love here.
Noah has anxiety issues due to a very dramatic incident that's mentioned once. Ben is his best friend/roommate. The best-friends-to-lovers was ill defined and just sort of happened; forget the slow burn and lingering glances.
The lack of steam really didn't work here, since the relationship never seemed to progress.
Also, "commitment ceremony" in 2014 in New York? Well, damn, that's no commitment at all.
This one didn't work for me; fluffy and easy, sure, but too undeveloped and one-dimensional to be billed as anything but.
Plus, see choice C above. WHAT? Just what in the holy hell?
A. Pretend to be drunk so you can tell him without actually telling him
B. Snoop through text messages on his phone, misunderstand, and quietly seethe
C. Have loud bang-the-headboard sex with a random one-night stand in the room next to his while he's trying to sleep
D. All of the above
I did not feel the love here.
Noah has anxiety issues due to a very dramatic incident that's mentioned once. Ben is his best friend/roommate. The best-friends-to-lovers was ill defined and just sort of happened; forget the slow burn and lingering glances.
The lack of steam really didn't work here, since the relationship never seemed to progress.
Also, "commitment ceremony" in 2014 in New York? Well, damn, that's no commitment at all.
This one didn't work for me; fluffy and easy, sure, but too undeveloped and one-dimensional to be billed as anything but.
Plus, see choice C above. WHAT? Just what in the holy hell?
June 23, 2014
Another sweet LL story.
I'm so grateful for all the LL authors making these prompts come to life.
Noah has become a recluse, he is very careful, not wanting a panic attack to catch him off guard.
His best friend Ben, is not only his roommate but also his secret and unrequited crush.
I liked this short a lot, I liked Noah realizing he needs to work on himself and for himself.
I loved Ben and his patients with Noah and of course there's a cat! :)
The epilogue was really sweet.
I'm so grateful for all the LL authors making these prompts come to life.
Noah has become a recluse, he is very careful, not wanting a panic attack to catch him off guard.
His best friend Ben, is not only his roommate but also his secret and unrequited crush.
I liked this short a lot, I liked Noah realizing he needs to work on himself and for himself.
I loved Ben and his patients with Noah and of course there's a cat! :)
The epilogue was really sweet.
August 20, 2016
Sweet with likeable characters, the patience Ben has and the strength Noah finds! Definitely could have done without the rude random pick up, though.
August 2, 2014
This didn't work for me. I didn't like either of the MCs, nor did I feel the romance between them.
Both behave childish and stupid. The big misunderstanding was not very skillfully set up and annoyed me (especially because it was really unnecessary for the story).
Then I thought there was one big plot hole - who prescribed Noah Xanax if he's not in some kind of therapy?
Both behave childish and stupid. The big misunderstanding was not very skillfully set up and annoyed me (especially because it was really unnecessary for the story).
Then I thought there was one big plot hole - who prescribed Noah Xanax if he's not in some kind of therapy?
June 23, 2014
3.75 stars
Noah and Ben have been long time friends who live together. Noah has secretly been in love with Ben for quite a while but feels like it's a lost cause - Ben would never love him, he isn't Ben's type and Noah has difficulty leaving the apartment due to an anxiety disorder. Ben, on the other hand, goes out of his way to ensure that Noah is comfortable in their home and outside when they are together; it's very sweet.
Watching Noah finally take steps to get over his anxiety in order to be with Ben was lovely. The last chapter/ epilogue was really great. I would have enjoyed reading a little more about their relationship after it got started.
I would have liked to know a little more about Ben
This was well written and I really enjoyed reading about Noah.
Noah and Ben have been long time friends who live together. Noah has secretly been in love with Ben for quite a while but feels like it's a lost cause - Ben would never love him, he isn't Ben's type and Noah has difficulty leaving the apartment due to an anxiety disorder. Ben, on the other hand, goes out of his way to ensure that Noah is comfortable in their home and outside when they are together; it's very sweet.
Watching Noah finally take steps to get over his anxiety in order to be with Ben was lovely. The last chapter/ epilogue was really great. I would have enjoyed reading a little more about their relationship after it got started.
I would have liked to know a little more about Ben
This was well written and I really enjoyed reading about Noah.
November 17, 2014
This was a 3.5 star book for me, a low key story that builds to a lovely conclusion. We have a man with issues, who struggles with anxiety and cannot deal with crowds, and for a good reason. We also have his roommate, who is also his best friend and perhaps more? This story was understated, evenly paced and honest. Our MC who struggles realizes he has put a lot on his best friend, and his BF lets him dictate a lot more of their lives than our MC realizes, and his epiphany causes him to finally get help. The only incongruous moment is when the roommate/best friend sleeps with a waiter he meets in the beginning (though the waiter very quickly exits stage right). Doesn’t fit with the story, nor with the actions of a man supposedly in love with our MC. But this is the author’s first work besides fanfics and I absolutely see the potential here for more. Plus I just loved the ending! Looking forward to more in the future!
Did Not Finish
June 26, 2015First description of Noah is that he was a - a sickly, stick-thin, slightly effeminate boy with the suggestion that he's not changed; he's nuerotic, doesn't leave the house and has panic attacks if anyone looks directly at him. Within the first pages he's described as miffed and being in a snit while his bright outgoing love interest Ben has headboard banging sex with a random hook-up in the next room.
It's the prompt, it's a common trope - but the boy doesn't need romance, he needs therapy and I don't see the attraction on either side. Quickly gave up at the first flashback.
It's the prompt, it's a common trope - but the boy doesn't need romance, he needs therapy and I don't see the attraction on either side. Quickly gave up at the first flashback.
July 4, 2014
Tough to rate. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for the redeeming second half of story.
I liked this story, don't get me wrong, but I felt Ben having sex with someone while allegedly in love with Josh was a bit odd. I tried to explain it to myself as him being frustrated and without hope for his love, but that was the problem. I was doing the explaining. I think maybe if we got some flashes of Ben's thoughts it would've been a lot better. Particularly as up until he got jealous I wasn't really seeing the unrequited in him. So although I liked the story and it's right up my street as far as theme goes, I wanted to see a bit of Ben's inner dialogue.
I liked this story, don't get me wrong, but I felt Ben having sex with someone while allegedly in love with Josh was a bit odd. I tried to explain it to myself as him being frustrated and without hope for his love, but that was the problem. I was doing the explaining. I think maybe if we got some flashes of Ben's thoughts it would've been a lot better. Particularly as up until he got jealous I wasn't really seeing the unrequited in him. So although I liked the story and it's right up my street as far as theme goes, I wanted to see a bit of Ben's inner dialogue.
June 23, 2014
3.5 stars rounded up
Good contemporary friends to lovers story. Noah suffers from a fear of crowds, which cripples him to the extent that he can barely leave the home he shares with his best friend Ben. He keeps it a secret that he feels more than friendship for Ben until he discovers that the feelings don'g just go one way, after which he takes steps to face his fears. There was the potential for a "big misunderstanding" here, but the author handled it well, getting the guys to actually talk. Very enjoyable.
Good contemporary friends to lovers story. Noah suffers from a fear of crowds, which cripples him to the extent that he can barely leave the home he shares with his best friend Ben. He keeps it a secret that he feels more than friendship for Ben until he discovers that the feelings don'g just go one way, after which he takes steps to face his fears. There was the potential for a "big misunderstanding" here, but the author handled it well, getting the guys to actually talk. Very enjoyable.
December 27, 2014
It was very easy to relate to Noah and his anxiety. Living this
close to the author I've actually remember reading articles about a couple certain clubs going up in flames and killing and harming civilians. I totally thought it felt realistic. It was as nice read and it was enjoyable to see Ben and Noah become more than friends and have such camaraderie.
Major kudos to the prompter and author for this fun sweet story.
close to the author I've actually remember reading articles about a couple certain clubs going up in flames and killing and harming civilians. I totally thought it felt realistic. It was as nice read and it was enjoyable to see Ben and Noah become more than friends and have such camaraderie.
Major kudos to the prompter and author for this fun sweet story.
June 23, 2014
A sweet enough story with nice writing, though I felt Ban was being a bit of a shit acting so openly jealous when it was him who brought hookup(s) to their apartment.
I very rarely read friends to lovers but since these two hadn't known each other all their lives I decided to give it a chance and am glad I did.
I very rarely read friends to lovers but since these two hadn't known each other all their lives I decided to give it a chance and am glad I did.
Want to Read
June 29, 2014
Offered for FREE from the M/M Romance Group's Love's Landscapes event. Thank you too all the amazing authors who participated!
Not downloaded yet
March 3, 2015
Ben and Noah living together best friends yes another one of those story's but this time both are gay. And no matter what happens in these books i still love it. Sometime you hate things happen in books but still great reading to me. Anyway Noah has a problem with crowded places since the death of his sister. Both guys been inlove with each other but dont say anything.
June 29, 2014
I have a hard time reading a m/m romance story when one of the main characters is "banging the headboard" with the waiter while the other main character has to listen in. I just don't feel a connection to that character. Didn't work for me....
April 2, 2016
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
February 28, 2017
Picking up the waiter and having rough/loud sex in your shared apartment with another guy you've picked up does not make me feel you care about your roommate, let alone are in love with him.
Especially when said roommate suffers from PTSD and severe agoraphobia/anxiety.
Especially when said roommate suffers from PTSD and severe agoraphobia/anxiety.
event-stories-unread
June 12, 2015[NOTE: I rate most writing event stories (free reads) 4 or 5 stars because of my appreciation of the author's participation and gift.]
June 24, 2014
This was absolutely adorable! I really loved the characters. Loved it!
July 1, 2014
Loved this story so much! Thank you, Leah ♥
August 4, 2015
Very enjoyable thank you.
Want to Read
July 9, 2014STORY INFO:
Genre: contemporary
Tags: friends to lovers, sweet/no sex, anxiety disorder, humorous, businessmen/lawyers, writers
Word Count: 17,178
Genre: contemporary
Tags: friends to lovers, sweet/no sex, anxiety disorder, humorous, businessmen/lawyers, writers
Word Count: 17,178
July 28, 2014
Sweet, no sex. Yawn. Just kidding. There were a few feel good, emotional moments to give it some umph. Nicely done.
August 17, 2014
Quite a nice sweet GFY - I enjoyed reading it.
September 4, 2014
Didn't really connect with either character.
March 5, 2015
3.25 stars
June 23, 2014
3.75 stars
August 14, 2014
2.5 stars
August 27, 2014
Review to come
September 11, 2015
I liked the writing style. the story has some weal points. But I really liked the plot idea.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews