The Gift

Love in O'Leary #2

by May Archer

Daniel
I suck at relationships and don’t trust anyone, but there are reasons for that. For one thing, every person I’ve ever cared about has let me down. The only recent exception: O’Leary’s town veterinarian...my new best friend.

I came to O’Leary for a fresh start. To pare things down to essentials. To forget about the failures in my past. The last thing I need is complications, and most definitely
Not.
A.
Boyfriend.


Julian
I’ve lived in O’Leary my entire life and learned to fly under the radar a long time ago. I do what’s expected, say what’s expected, and keep to myself as much as possible. It’s a hell of a lot simpler spending my time working with animals than trying to interact with actual people. The one unlikely exception: the gorgeous guy who moved to a cabin just outside of town and somehow became my best friend.

But friendships are complicated, and one morning I find myself accidentally telling the whole town the biggest lie of my life. Which is how Daniel Michaelson, my very straight, very hot best friend becomes my fake boyfriend, even though he’s most definitely
Not.
My.
Lover.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, Audiobook, LGBT, Contemporary Romance

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 2019

Reviews

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

~3.5~

Overall, this was a truly enjoyable friends-to-lovers story. I liked both MCs, especially Julian with his random animal trivia and awkward rambling.

Daniel blew hot and cold. His unwillingness to tell Julian anything about himself made me crazy.

There was just enough steam, and the ending was a lukewarm HFN. Where did the epilogue go? Daniel asked Julian to move in with him, and Julian ignored the question. "I love you" was implied but not spoken.

I also didn't care for the side plot involving Julian's brother and his friend Sam. I liked Sam's personality, but her story felt like a distraction, especially with all the drama at the end.

And, finally, while I like the small town setting and revisiting with familiar characters, the setup for book 3 was rather heavy handed. The scene in the kitchen between two secondary characters that Julian witnessed, an entire chapter dedicated to Julian receiving love advice from Parker ... totally unnecessary and really, really obvious.

This one can be read as a standalone.

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel llego al pueblo de O'Leary con la intencion de alejarse de todo y de todos, asi que no le gustaba interactuar con la gente del pueblo, y apenas iba para alla cuando le hacia falta reabastecerse. Asi que cuando un dia consiguio un animal herido, decidio que la unica forma de salvarlo era llevarlo al veterinario del pueblo. Lo que no imagino es que ese hombre se convirtiera tan rapidamente en su mejor amigo y poco tiempo despues, lo obligara a plantearse el cambio en su sexualidad despues de tanto tiempo. Pero las cosas entre ellos estan plagadas de miedos, Daniel tiene miedo de seguir sus patrones de relaciones fallidas, y Julian tiene miedo de que se canse de el si lo conoce realmente. Asi que entre ambos deberan enfrentar la realidad de sus sentimientos, superar sus miedos y darse cuenta que realmente O'Leary es su hogar.

Este libro es mas romantico que el anterior, mucho mas enfocado en la pareja y en los problemas personales y familiares de ellos, muchos de ellos tan reales que uno puede verse reflejado. Me gusto mucho esta pareja, me gusto que conocieramos un poco mas del pueblo, y que reaparecieran (muy poco, pero aparecieron) los protas de libros anteriores. El misterio del "ladron" fue tan facil de ver, casi desde que se conocio al personaje, que realmente nunca fue un "misterio" a resolver, lo que dejo el libro mas en el nivel romantico que otra cosa.
Sin embargo, siento que le falto un poquito mas de tension (y no emocional, de esa hubo demasiada), en cuanto al misterio, siento que en algunos momentos fue como demasiado plano, y en otros demasiado rapido. Pero, a pesar de todo eso, fue una excelente lectura, muy entretenida y divertida de leer. Voy a continuar con la serie, esperando que siga siendo igual de interesante.

[Eugenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superb AUDIOBOOK performance (4 stars) by Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese👏👏👏!

The story (3 stars) had its ups and downs:

Downs:
FUCKING NON-COMMUNICATION TROPE! 🤬🤬
Way too many side characters
The mystery here wasn’t much of one
Self-doubting MC’s who have little reason to do so
(One is a successful author and the other is a fantastic vet).

Ups!
Loved Julian the babbling vet!
Daniel and Jules had great chemistry as friends (I really liked this part of the book before they got together!!!❤️)
Fake boyfriend trope=❤️❤️❤️❤️
Straight Daniel falls for sexy vet!!!
Some Fluff

I haven’t read any of the other books in the series. I don’t think I needed to in order to get the feel of this very intrusive small town. I’ll skip the first and third because of reviewers I trust.

My rec? I enjoyed it, didn’t love it, and was just waiting for it to be over for the last 2 hours of the narration. Why? I could see where this would go and it was nothing exciting or world changing. I’m happy for the author who found the will to write again (Daniel) and the “don’t make waves” vet. But I’m not jumping for joy here.

[Cat the bookworm (semi hiatus ish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute, mostly drama free small town romance

Maybe I’m in a book slump, maybe it’s the heat wave - it takes me a lot more time these days to finish a book.

But even if I read slower than usual, I really liked it. This time is the story of Daniel, the mysterious, grumpy man living in a cottage in the woods, and Julian, O‘Leary‘s vet.

In book one, there’s a scene where Julian gives Daniel an alibi, saying they spent the night together. This book more or less starts there, with a few flashbacks to show how Daniel and Julian met and became friends.

I usually love a good gfy story, and I loved how (straight) Daniel embraced his newfound interest in Julian. And I loved Julian, he’s such a genuinely likable character, with all his inner monologues and ramblings.

What I wasn’t enthusiastic about: it took Daniel an awful lot of time to open up to Julian about his past. I get that he wanted a new start, but really- it wasn’t like his past was shady or anything. Another thing that didn’t really add to the story: the subplot about the thief: no idea if there are people out there who didn’t guess from the start who’s behind it.

It was a good book though, I’d rate it a bit better than book 1 with 3.5 stars, rounded up because the warm summer evening during which I’m writing the review makes me generous 🙃

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread: I loved this even more the second time?
How is that possible?
.
Rereading books I loved is my number 1 coping mechanism for anxiety and I decided on this one yesterday, and boy did it put a smile on my face.
.
.
First read:
4.25 shit shit shit
What does it say about me that I was hoping this series would be bad so it didn’t fucking consume me
Ackkkkkkk

Also, why the hell isn’t Jamie and Parker’s book next, I need those two shitheads to figure their shit out. slowly. and angstly. with a lot of miscommunication. and obliviousness.

Yes, I’m aware I have a fucking problem. Don’t be rude and point it out

[Aricka Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Well, at this point I needed to accept that every breath he took was going to make me hard, didn’t I?”

It’s been a while since I’ve been in this small town and all their gossip and nosiness. But it’s good to be back and to see Daniel and Julian and how their relationship happened. I like the fact that this story is told during part of the events of the 1st book. I always liked when a series is about characters who know one another and everything is happening at the same time, it gives you such a cute little surprise when you see what actually was happening with them from their pov and not others. Anyways this was a cute friends to lovers fake dating hi awakening. This one didn’t have too much emotional drama and things worked out. A very Hallmark type of romance and I’m okay with that.

[Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this one more than I usually do the 'fake boyfriend' trope, but it felt really long.

[Jennifer☠Pher☠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man it feels good to be back in O’Leary!

This was just so much fun! I really enjoyed this even better than the first and I also really enjoyed that one! I love when the only way to go is up!

I was a little bit nervous at the beginning with the past and present chapters but it ended up flowing for me and I wasn’t bothered at all, I ended up actually enjoying that aspect of the book. Go figure.

I think my favorite thing about this series is that it reads light and easy even though there are very not light and not easy things happening. Somehow, even when it gets a little serious it still has the ability to feel fun and sweet and well, light and easy. It’s like magic.

I think I also like that there is a secondary small town mystery happening behind the scenes. (I also figured this one out pretty quickly, yeah me!) I had a much better time with the secondary characters in this one and looked forward to learning about them and hoping that their story will be next.

I love both Daniel and Julian equally. I love that they are best friends and they call it that, best friends. They just made me smile constantly. They are so awesome together as best friends and just upped that feeling when they became more. This is one of the best GFY/OFY type stories I’ve read even if Daniel didn’t want to label it  I believed it and loved watching it happen. Daniel’s inner dialogue was a trip. What can I say about Julian to even do him justice? He is just so everything. I love that he finally found someone who he can be all the Julian’s with. All of them. These boys are perfect for each other.

I just had a really good time reading this and didn’t want it to end.

This is a small town romance series that is done right and I just can’t wait to visit again, I hope very, very soon.

[Tiash . · Rating 4 out of 5]

[4.5 ✨]


THIS IS JUST MY KINDA BOOK sweet but not too sweet, awesome plot, notable character development, lots of kisses. It only lacked in steam department. There were two sex scene not too graphic but intimacy, it was maddening. I just wish it had some more scene or at least a more graphic one. (😂) I've read a handful of May Archer by now and It's by far her best take imo.

THERE IS A HUGE SURPRISE IN.LAST CHAPTER. ( it was soo good and well put that I'm willing to overlook the things it lacked, which in a manner of speaking not much. )

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 Stars
🔥🔥.5/5 Heat
4/5 Gossiping Town Folk

*Note: "The Gift," could be enjoyed on it's own but would be better if reading after, The Fall as the books overlap with each other.

Well. I'm still not head over heels in love with O'Leary. However, I am warming to it. And I did enjoy this book more than book one. I liked it enough to immediately get the next one! David and Julian had a cute vibe. It had a fake relationship thrown in which I never turn down and a bisexual awakening that was fairly angst free. I actually kind of do like angsty ones sometimes but it's also nice to have the opposite.

The town continues to straddle the line between quirky and too quirky. But I'm warming to them as well a little bit. They don't drive me bonkers like the townsfolk of Lavender Shores or Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls.)

It seems like it's going to be one of those series that gets stronger as it goes because you form attachments to the characters who haven't gotten a book yet, which makes their book more meaningful. That's why I snagged book three as soon as I finished this one. I'm anxious for Con's story. I'm even more excited for the book after with Jamie and Parker.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've given this a B+ for narration and a C+ for content at AudioGals.

May Archer’s The Gift – the second book in her  Love in O’Leary  series – is a cute, low-drama, fake-relationship/GFY romance set in a small town in upstate New York where everyone seems to know everyone else and has their nose in everyone else’s business. That intrinsic busybody-ness is part of what sets this particular story in motion, when one member of the community, thinking to spare a friend from the gossip-mongers, basically announces to everyone in town that he (who is gay) and said friend (who is not) are romantically involved.

Daniel Michaelson moved to a small house in the woods outside O’Leary some months earlier after his big city life imploded and his career went tits-up. Wanting to get away from everything – his friends, his family and, most of all, reminders of his failure – he keeps himself to himself, travelling into O’Leary rarely and, unbeknownst to him, gaining himself a reputation as a bit of an oddball. Towards the end of the previous book in the series, that reputation caused the O’Learyans to become suspicious of him, the rumour mill even going so far as to suggest that he may have been involved with the recent disappearances of a couple of hikers – and it’s this suspicion that causes the town vet, Julian Ross, to give Daniel an alibi by telling everyone they’re a couple.

Which… they’re not, although they’ve actually been friends for a few months, since the day Daniel rescued an injured owl and rushed it to Julian’s surgery. They get together regularly to share a meal and talk about books, watch movies and just hang out, but that’s all there is, or all there can be between them because while Julian is very much attracted to Daniel, Daniel is very much straight. He’s also very unforthcoming about his life before O’Leary and his background; he clams up whenever the subject of family comes up, he won’t talk about what he does for a living or divulge anything about his past, and Julian learns to skirt around those topics, even though, the longer their friendship progresses, the more hurt and frustrated he becomes at Daniel’s unwillingness to tell him anything at all.

I like fake-relationship stories as a rule, and in spite of the rather awkward beginning to this one, Julian and Daniel make a cute couple and I liked them as friends, as a couple and as individuals. Julian is a really sweet guy who longs for connection, but even though he’s highly competent when it comes to his job, deep down, he’s insecure about his attractiveness and so worried about meeting everyone’s expectations and keeping them happy that he’s forgotten that he’s entitled to happiness, too. Daniel has recently ended a marriage (to a woman) that lasted just a year, and is on the outs with his family; like Julian he struggled under the weight of expectations, but in Daniel’s case, he knows he’s a huge disappointment to his parents – and to himself – given the circumstances that sent him running off to O’Leary in the first place. The trouble is, however, that when we FINALLY learn those reasons, I found myself thinking “Huh? That was IT?” because they’re really anti-climactic and, to be honest, make Daniel’s wound-licking seem a little pathetic. The revelations are also too long in coming – which I’m sure also contributed to my general feeling of “meh” once they came out; the author spent so much time building them up that I’d expected something really serious instead of… well, what actually happened.

In terms of the romance, the author creates a really strong friendship between Julian and Daniel, which makes their transition to lovers feel like a natural progression; they have good chemistry and the author creates a strong sense of the attraction and connection they feel for and to each other. Daniel can’t help feeling confused when he starts to realise that he’s attracted to Julian when he’s never felt the slightest bit attracted to a man before; but when he decides to acknowledge and accept that attraction for what it is and try for something with Julian, I liked that he didn’t try to second-guess himself. He doesn’t know if he’s gay, bi or something else, and as far as Daniel is concerned, it doesn’t matter, labels don’t matter. He’s falling for Julian, and he wants him in his life… and that’s enough.

We met some of the secondary cast in the previous book (The Fall); the O’Learyans continue to be a likeable bunch for the most part, and I was pleased that the main sub-plot was a lot less bonkers this time around.

I’ve listened to both narrators several times before, and have enjoyed their collaborations so far in Eden Finley’s Fake Boyfriend   series, so I was pleased to see them teaming up again. Iggy Toma pitches his voice a bit lower and gruffer than usual to read the chapters from Daniel’s PoV, while Alexander Cendese lightens his up a bit to read those from Julian’s. I admit that I’d expected that to be the other way around, but it didn’t matter; I like listening to both of them, and they captured the essence of Daniel and Julian’s characters really well, so it’s still a win! They do an excellent job with the vocal characterisations across the board in fact, from crusty old Henry Mayor to the town gossip and mean-girl, Karen Mitchener-Martin who, in the hands of Alexander Cendese is, quite simply, a hoot. I’ve mentioned several times that his female voices can often seem caricature-like, but in many cases, the characters are supposed to be that way, so the voices work for me. Both narrators bring the town and its colourful inhabitants to life and are really good at picking up on the humour in the text, but most importantly they convey the strength of the emotional connection between Daniel and Julian really well.

The Gift is an entertaining listen in spite of its flaws. I enjoyed it a lot more than the first book in the series (the absence of the bonkers sub-plot was a big help on that score), and although it’s a bit cheesy in places, I liked the central characters and bought into their romance. It’s an undemanding listen with a heavy helping of cute, and the excellent performances from Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese earn it a recommendation.

[☆Kylie☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute series, a lot of small town vibes review to come

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

After running away from his old life and looking for a fresh start Daniel ends up in O'Leary, hiding away in a remote cabin where he shouldn't be hassled, let down or rejected. He meets and bonds with O'Learys vet, Julian who becomes his best friend. Things change when Julian stands up against the residents of O'Leary to protect Daniel from the gossips setting up something neither were prepared for but is so right for them both.Their coming together is slow due to not communicating what they want but its lovely when they do.
The secondary characters are great, crazy and fun and just need to give these two a push! Love the youngsters Sam & Theo also please please can Parker & Jamie have their HEA?!

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writer and Veterinarian find love on the mountain !

The poor owl was injured, so he scooped it up and brought it to the Veterinarian. This begins the friendship, talks and sharing books for our guys.
We get their back stories, where Julian, 29, Veterinarian, has a big meddling family, and Daniel, 33, who was an only child of rich parents, and is divorced.
Daniel bought 60 acres and a small cabin to get away from the frantic world of publishing and writing books, his agent and the stress. Bit by bit our guy’s friendship turns into attraction that confuses straight Daniel, but he’s all on board after the first kiss. Skyrockets went off and the passion is overwhelming. Neither man has experienced such intensity.
We have a lot going on in O’Leary and we see how our men react. We find Julian and Daniel are perfect together. Great writing that hold our interest, along with sexy times and excitement keep us happy.
There are mysteries to solve, a missing teen and a fire, plus other surprises are happening.
It’s fun and fabulous.
Enjoy !

=====

[Steph (Teacups & Tropes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5✨

“I wouldn’t go traipsing into the fucking Forbidden Forest here for just anyone.”

Oh. My. God.

Julian and Daniel are AMAZING and I will protect them at all costs.

Julian aka Dr. Julian Ross aka Vet Extraordinaire befriends Daniel aka Daniel Michaelson aka Weird Creepy Guy that Lives in the Woods that Everyone Thinks is a Serial Killer. It's that last one that makes Julian stand up in the middle of a diner and tell everyone that no, Daniel is not a serial killer. He was, just in fact, a private person. And in a relationship. With Julian.

Except, he wasn't.

Daniel values his privacy but Julian is the only friend who has ever stood by him, even when he brings Julian wild animals to help and takes him hiking and makes fun of Julian's favorite mystery author. But when it's his turn to help Julian and protect him from embarrassment, he volunteers to play the part of his boyfriend. How hard could it be?



I had to, okay?! But basically, one thing leads to another and Daniel discovers that Julian does it for him. Up, down, left, right, back, and forth does it. After an awkward Thanksgiving dinner and some heart to heart talks they realize that maybe they do have something. And boy, oh boy, isn't it beautiful?!

I totally, TOTALLY, figured out Daniel's secrety-secret at the end though. Like in the first chapter or two. But it was perfect and I can't smile big enough. Read this one. Read it.

[Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story requires a *healthy* suspension of disbelief. The story line is slightly outlandish and the characters remind me characters one might come across in a Spanish soap opera. Not for me, but maybe you'll like it? Read other reviews and go with your gut on this one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good writting, good premise, minimal bullshit. Recipe for a good book. Great addition to the series, looking forward to more stories.

[therese ˃ᴗ˂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every time I read a May Archer book, I'm convinced we are not reading the same thing.

Mysterious mcs are the worst. I get it they want privacy and hard to crack, or they want a new change, but they are mostly selfish, and most of their secrets dont make sense of keeping. Also Daniel sounds like a homophobe and snob. In the beginning he was so offputting I didnt like his attitude. He knows Julian likes him and he took advantage of his friendship. Daniel pushed and pushed until Julian lives off the scraps he gave him.

I didn't like how Daniel acted so superior to others either. I just didn't like him at all. May Archer mcs are not only unlovable but they are so pathetic they might as well be miserable alone. I feel like putting them with the kindest people or people who have good intentions are just form of mental torture in their relationship.

This one has the weirdest ending ever too many unnecessary scenes and the conclusion was so lousy.

This author was always 3 stars for me. I might as well remove their other works and won't even be interested in their releases. Just realized that Fools was the only book of the author that I liked, and it was a collab book. Moving on, I've given up from this author and won't be reading from them.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful entry in the O'Leary catalogue

Just as with book one, I loved almost all of this book but just wasn't 100% sold on the 'mystery' element - which this time I spotted from the very start.

I'm also not sure the big dramatic moment was needed as it only involved our two heroes on the periphery and instead focused on two minor secondary ones.

However, that's my only two niggles, every other thing about The Gift was just that for me. I loved Daniel and his reticence, I loved Julian and his verbal animal facts diarrhoea.

Together they were just seriously sweet and had a lovely slow burn friendship which morphed perfectly into physical attraction when Daniel realised he found Julian irresistible.

There's a bit of a sledgehammer indication of who the next book's likely to be featuring but I didn't mind that so much because I love a good frenemies or enemies to lovers romance, especially coupled with old school friends and potential second chances.

[JenMcJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Believable characters, interesting plot, tight storytelling. Looking foward to the next one.

[Antisocial Recluse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this author’s stories. They’re not cookie-cutter tropes and the writing is well done with dual perspectives for the main characters, Julian and Daniel. I enjoyed the GFY/OFY plot and although Daniel was in denial for a while, it was while they were just being friends. When Daniel let himself believe it, it stayed fairly slow burn a bit longer. Their issues were the good old “lack of communication” device but was handled well, with friends urging them to grow up and talk, then they actually did. No silly drama about it. The secondary plot with the teens offered a corollary for Daniel’s problems with his family. The narrative engaged me and the characters interested me plus dogs & cats!

[Kel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Julian's mother is an overbearing, OTT, boundary stomping person. Grates on me. Don't care for Theo and Sam's side story. Ending was bit rushed with time jumps and not much explanation on what Daniel has been withholding,

[Lora Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was funny, even funnier than the previous one. But it was also kind of frustrating. Julian wasn’t just a pushover, he had extremely low self-esteem, and it didn’t really even make sense as to why. Because of a years old fight with his dad? And I couldn’t stand his mom, because until almost the very end she hung her whole life on her sons and would try to make them feel guilty for not catering to her wants and needs first. Didn’t help that Julian was a willing doormat. And he would often turn into a cranky, whiny individual when he didn’t get the answers he wanted because he was too soft to push for them.

Daniel’s storyline made little sense. I understood his wanting to escape his poor relationship with his parents, the disappointment of his career, and friends turning their backs. Who wouldn’t need a break? But what was with all the secrecy about who he was and why he was there? Keeping his pen name a secret was ok, in case someone wanted money. But he could’ve said something about his parents, childhood, former friends, ex-wife, nearly everything! He came into the relationship as untrustworthy.

The mystery of the thief was pretty easy to figure out, but it took up too much of the story, IMO. As did the parts about Rae, the non-gender binary character who never actually makes an appearance, and Parker and Jamie.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice surprise. I enjoyed Daniels and Julians story ... especially as it painted a good picture about hang-ups people have and how they worked around it.
some misunderstandings were well-done and I enjoyed Parker and his advice. really want to read his story.
the end could have been a bit more ... would have loved an epilogue,but maybe that is just me (I always want to see more of the MCs in the end)

all in all a good read

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one way much better than the previous one. Both main characters are likeable. My favourite is the last chapter when Julian got a surprise , and it's also surprised me as well!
The drama is in the right portion, nit too much. That made me happy.

[Bitchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the whole, I really enjoyed this one. I liked that the "mystery" wasn't some big crazy thing this time, although it did start out another mystery, that I hope will be the plot of the next book, and it better be about Parker and Jamie!

But this one! I really loved both of these guys, although I had a LOT of frustration about Daniel's big "Secret" life, how long it took for the details to come out, and it seemed that most of it happened off page, or at the very end, without much discussion. I loved that Daniel didn't spend a bunch of time angsting over his sudden attraction to a man. Instead he angsted over falling for ANYONE, which was easier to take.

Overall, 3.5 stars, but rounded up, because I did like it more than the first one.

[F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow burn romance where the men become friends first - also a gay for you romance. Loved Julian's verbal diarrhoea and the interesting little known animal facts that he slipped in. Daniel was very standoffish, used to his Manhattan ways, but thankfully Julian managed to gradually melt the ice. Nice to see them both learn more about themselves along the way to falling in love.
An enjoyable lazy afternoon's read in the winter sun after days of rain and cloud.

[Ed Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and the narration by Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese was wonderful. This book is slow burn and low angst. It was just a wonderful sweet story and I love all the characters in O’Leary.

[Kendra T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a little bit to get into, but I think most of that was because the end of book 1 stated they were together already, and I had some dread about going backwards in the timeline to get story about them. Luckily, it didn't follow what I expected, and I loved the way Daniel and Julian came together. They were great best friends, and Daniel's development and understanding of his feelings towards Julian as time went on was well written. I really loved the way the ending worked out and Daniel's grand gesture of love. I am very much loving May Archer's writing style, and this book was no exception. I loved getting to see the town of O'Leary again, and I can't wait to see other characters find their happiness. I'd especially love a Parker/Jamie story!

I am voluntarily reviewing an ARC provided by LesCourt Author Services

[Emily Seelye · Rating 4 out of 5]

After his last two books flopped,