Review: A story of a double unrequited love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 31, 2011
The cover is hot, but I'm not judging the book by its cover.I like m/m historicals. I know that the couple will never be able to show to the world that they are in love and that there's always the danger they'll be hanged. But the historical setting creates a whole different atmosphere with candle lights, the fire place, the layers of clothes. I like Ava March's stories of unrequited love and her characters with their kinks. I could read all the variations of her stories book after book after book.In this book there's a double unrequited love: Nate's for his friend Peter, who's going to merry the following day, and Jasper's for Nate, who's been pining for his best friend for years without realizing that Jasper is suffering with him and for him, because Jasper has fallen in love with Nate. The problem is that Jasper is a prostitute working in the brothel that Nate has been visiting for years. He has a kind heart, good manners, gorgeous looks, but he is still a whore.When Jasper helps Nate come to terms with the fact that he will never have his best friend, Jasper realizes that neither he will ever have Nate, that they'll never be able to live their relationship, that they are two worlds apart that are not meant to come together. Jasper decides to retire from a profession he was only keeping because it was the only way to meet Nate, so that he can begin a new life in the country. Jasper and Nate's last encounter is truly heartbreaking. The way the author conveyed Jasper's desolation turning to desperation hurt me more than I could explain. At the same moment she also made me feel for Nate, because he was so blind and hollow that he wasn't able to realize the extent of Jasper's devotion. After Jasper has gone, Nate opens his eyes to the truth that he and Jasper are meant to be, so he goes to the country to meet the man who's been close to him for all these years.It's a short but emotional story that made me want to re-read it right after I finished it.