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After The Toast
What happens when you wake up next to the wrong twin the week of your estranged sister’s wedding? You stay. You suffer. You maybe burn the toast.
Malakai Sciavo didn’t come to Italy for romance—he came to survive his sister’s destination wedding without screaming during the toast. But when a drunken mix-up lands him in the bed of the groom’s gruff twin brother instead, his week in Asolo takes an unexpected turn. Will isn’t charming. He isn’t flirtatious. He builds chairs, ruins pasta, and asks questions that feel too close to home. And somehow, he’s exactly what Malakai didn’t know he needed.
What follows is not a whirlwind. It’s not even a breeze. It’s a slow, awkward, deeply inconvenient unraveling. Through burnt breakfasts, blackout apologies, and late-night non-conversations, Malakai finds himself confronting the grief he’s long ignored—and the quiet possibility of staying put for once in his life.
After the Toast is a romantic comedy about the chaos of commitment, the intimacy of imperfection, and the brave, ridiculous decision to stop running.
Malakai Sciavo didn’t come to Italy for romance—he came to survive his sister’s destination wedding without screaming during the toast. But when a drunken mix-up lands him in the bed of the groom’s gruff twin brother instead, his week in Asolo takes an unexpected turn. Will isn’t charming. He isn’t flirtatious. He builds chairs, ruins pasta, and asks questions that feel too close to home. And somehow, he’s exactly what Malakai didn’t know he needed.
What follows is not a whirlwind. It’s not even a breeze. It’s a slow, awkward, deeply inconvenient unraveling. Through burnt breakfasts, blackout apologies, and late-night non-conversations, Malakai finds himself confronting the grief he’s long ignored—and the quiet possibility of staying put for once in his life.
After the Toast is a romantic comedy about the chaos of commitment, the intimacy of imperfection, and the brave, ridiculous decision to stop running.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 27, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Brandon Cloud
202 booksBrandon Cloud writes queer fiction that bruises with honesty, heals without permission, and refuses to look away. A retired RN with an MSN and MBA, he now channels a lifetime of trauma, dark humor, and hard-won love into emotionally raw, character-driven stories.
A survivor of conversion therapy, cancer, and one abusive relationship too many, Brandon doesn’t write to explain queerness—he writes to honor it. His characters are complex, flawed, tender, and real. They’re queer, yes—but that’s not the whole story. His mission is to create LGBTQ+ fiction where being gay isn’t the entire plot. It’s important to tell queer stories—all of them—not just the tragic, the sanitized, or the simplified.
His novels (The Unspoken Cord, Reverb in the Fog, The Bleeding Heart, and others) explore love, grief, identity, legacy, and the slow, brutal work of becoming whole.
When not writing, Brandon is managing hotels, walking his chaos goblin chihuahua Daisy, or deep in a narrative video game with a Diet Dr. Pepper in hand. He believes in chosen family, joyful defiance, and telling the truth—especially when it’s inconvenient.
🖤 www.theclobra.com
📚 amazon.com/author/theclobra
A survivor of conversion therapy, cancer, and one abusive relationship too many, Brandon doesn’t write to explain queerness—he writes to honor it. His characters are complex, flawed, tender, and real. They’re queer, yes—but that’s not the whole story. His mission is to create LGBTQ+ fiction where being gay isn’t the entire plot. It’s important to tell queer stories—all of them—not just the tragic, the sanitized, or the simplified.
His novels (The Unspoken Cord, Reverb in the Fog, The Bleeding Heart, and others) explore love, grief, identity, legacy, and the slow, brutal work of becoming whole.
When not writing, Brandon is managing hotels, walking his chaos goblin chihuahua Daisy, or deep in a narrative video game with a Diet Dr. Pepper in hand. He believes in chosen family, joyful defiance, and telling the truth—especially when it’s inconvenient.
🖤 www.theclobra.com
📚 amazon.com/author/theclobra
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