Review: As Good as the First
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
I adored this book. I loved the first book in this series, After Ben, and then had a really hard time with the second, Saving Sean, but this was back to the quality of the first, with Aiden and Marco as a perfect couple.It has been 5 years since Aiden's dad died and left them with nothing. Since then, he's been supporting his mother and his brother, Evan, to spare them from the knowledge that their father committed suicide because of his gambling debt. This secret, however, is literally killing Aiden. When Peter from Saving Sean offers to let Aiden stay in his house while he's gone, Aiden is happy to get away from his brother and his brother's boyfriend, who he despises. He didn't count on having a roommate, Italian Marco Fortunato, the deceased Ben's brother, who drives him crazy with his incessant chatter and physical affection. When Aiden finds himself spending less time locking Marco out of the house and more time actually noticing all of the things that Marco does for him, their relationship changes.I loved both Marco and Aiden. Aiden was truly a mess. He was stressed and grumpy and still suffering from the death of his father, without having anyone to share the burden. Riley presents Aiden in such a way that we have no choice but to feel sympathy rather than frustration about Aiden's flawed character. And it's impossible not to love the Italian Marco. He won't give up on Aiden, even though he has every reason to do so, and is the only person who seems to be on his side when he needs it most. Marco is also charming and hilarious, and his interaction with Aiden is mostly sweet, witty banter.This is a well-written story with a simple, engaging plot and I can't wait to read the next one. Levi? I really, really hope so.