Review: I fell in love, I cried and I loved every second of it.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2014
This isn't just a story of falling in love and accepting who you are. It's a story of loss and and letting go. We start the story with a much older Dylan who is struggling with moving forward from a past that he's tethered to by his guilt.Before...Dylan has the perfect family, they care for him and they ensure that he knows he is loved. Life in a small town with his two friends (Brothers) Shane & Reid - their lives are completely opposite, bound together by their love of baseball and friendship. But for Shane, his life is not perfect. Dylan knows that his feelings are different from most teenage boys, it's something that he can admit to himself, but something that he wasn't ready to admit to Shane - until he had no other choice.For Shane, admitting that he has more than brotherly love for his best friend is much tougher. He can't just simply rely on his family for support, his father didn't love him as a straight teenage boy, he would never accept that he was gay.A secret relationship begins and although Dylan is ready to let the world know how he feels, Shane isn't yet... but one it is discovered lives are irrevocably changed forever. A bad decision by one boy and one stubborn decision by another destroys so much.After...Dylan wasn't looking for anything beyond a bit of eye candy when he walked into the gym that afternoon. Getting close to anyone after Shane wasn't in his future, but he just couldn't stay away from this man.Conner had it all. A career he loved as a MMA fighter but he lost it all. Starting over with his own gym, out of a relationship with a man that walked away when he needed someone most; Conner meets Dylan. A guy that obviously isn't the kind to want a future, but for Conner - he isn't the one night stand kind of guy.As Dylan tries to confront his past he is finding that he might just reclaim a future that he once thought was lost.This was my first Melissa Collins read and although I am new to the world of m/m romance, this book was just so much more than just a romance about men falling in love. This was a beautifully told story of love, it made no difference that these characters were all men, the story they had to tell was that of acceptance and love. Simple. No blurred lines, no questions... just love.It is pretty easy to see where the relationship of Shane and Dylan is heading from the prologue that is told from Dylan's POV before the flashback into his past begins. Even with that intro, it was not enough to prepare you for the emotions that would be felt as you read it. I always enjoy seeing how an author is going to bring you to that point of discovery when the outcome is already so clear - but still being able to ensure that you are taken by surprise by the events and that you can still feel like your heart was torn from your chest.Once he meets Conner, Dylan's life is turned upside down. The desire for this man is beyond just for a few hours of pleasure - it's for a future. For the first time in years, something has caused Dylan to see that he has to find a way to let go of his past, to let go of his guilt. I would love to say that my emotions settled down at the transition from past to present, but I felt so connected to Dylan that with each step forward he took my heart swelled with a mixture of sadness and happiness.After finishing this story I am excited to go back to the start of the Love Series and discover the other characters and their stories. This was a fantastic romance that would be a good first time m/m read for those that are a little curious about whether or not they'd enjoy it.