Review: Emotional and Heartwarming
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2014
Note: A free copy of this book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.This was a wonderful story about Sean and Rusty, MCs first seen in “Meant to Be”, when they fly back home to New Orleans to celebrate Christmas with Rusty’s family.  It’s actually Sean’s family now too, since his family of origin turned their backs on him when he was a sophomore in high school, and Rusty’s family welcomed him with open arms.  Sean and Rusty have loved each other since they first realized they were gay, and maybe even before that.  They’ve grown closer together through the turmoil of Sean’s rejection by his family and the upheaval in their lives when Sean accepted a job in Boston after college graduation.When Sean wins third place in a Halloween drag queen contest, he trades his gift with the fourth place winner who won a set of airplane tickets.  He knows that going home to New Orleans is Rusty’s dream holiday, even though Sean is totally stressed out by the idea of traveling back there.  He’s always concerned that he’ll run into his bigoted, abusive father and never feels worthy enough to be fully a part of Rusty’s wonderful family.  Regardless, he does it for Rusty and decides to set a personal goal to allow himself to be with them the way he is with Rusty.  In other words, he plans to be himself, no matter what others might think.With this newfound determination, the holiday goes much better than he had thought it might.  He’s finally willing to call Rusty’s parents Mom and Dad and is astounded by how much that means to them.  He’s also willing to engage in some PDA, especially hand holding in public and a kiss or two in front of others at the family’s annual holiday party.  He also feels strong enough to go through with his plans to leave a gift for his mother, father and sister on their front porch on Christmas morning while they are in church.  He’s been doing this every year since he left and admits to Rusty that he does it so that they’ll know he hasn’t forgotten them and that he still loves them.On Christmas night, he’s shocked when his sister appears outside the church he’s attended with Rusty’s family.  And he’s even more shocked when she tells him that his mother is in the car and hopes he’ll go over to see her.  What follows is an emotional and tearful reunion, one that is healing for both Sean and his mother.When they arrive back in Boston, both men realize that they are happy to be home.  During the trip, Rusty had recognized that both he and his family had changed, and although he enjoyed the visit, his home is with Sean in Boston now and he’s eagerly looking forward to the future with the man he loves.I fully engaged with these young men and appreciated the depth of character the author was able to sketch in less than 100 pages.  Sean’s full of angst and anxiety as he makes the changes he needs to make to live a full and happy life with Rusty.  Rusty is working on ways to stop trying to smooth things over for Sean.  He’s putting action to thoughts as he allows Sean to feel his feelings and to find his own solutions.  In New Orleans, Rusty is experiences a rude awakening to the changes that have taken place in his family since he’s been gone.  Nothing remains static, and he struggles to accept that throughout his stay in his hometown.This book is the fourth in a series of short stories about these characters and gives a good perspective on the emotional maturity both young men are achieving.  They’ll be getting married in two months and I’m hopeful that the author plans another story to cover that event.  Although this book can stand alone without the need to read the previous books, I recommend that you read book one, Meant to Be, since it’s short and quick to read, and it’s free.  I found that reading that one first gave me a better perspective on both men and added to my enjoyment of this one.I recommend this story to all lovers of M/M romance, especially those who enjoy stories of established couples who’ve been together since they first realized what love is all about.  Very enjoyable story!