Review: Such a powerful, beautiful story!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 12, 2014
★★★★★ FIVE STARSA heartbreakingly beautiful story from Melissa CollinsI wasn't sure what to expect reading Let Love Live, being my first m/m book and all, but I adore the rest of Melissa Collin's The Love series, so how could I not read this one? I'm so glad I did! I was sucked in from the very beginning- stayed up all night reading it- and felt lost the rest of the day from a huge book hangover.This book can be broken down in two parts: before and after, past and present.Having read the other books in the series, I knew what was going to happen in the first part of Dylan's story. But even still I wasn't prepared for the gut-wrenching account of Dylan's first love and the injustice of it all. Part one broke me. I'm not a big crier when it comes to books. It takes a lot to get me there. But this book? BIG ugly cry. I actually messaged Melissa in the middle of the night, needing to vent to someone who understood. She wrote it so beautifully, so full of emotion and pain. I truly felt like I was living the story. I wanted to jump through the pages and beat up the bullies, stop what was going to happen, hold Dylan and make the pain go away. I wasn't sure I could go on after part one, but I pushed through and I'm glad I did.Part two finds Dylan seven years older, but still struggling to move on after the tragedy he went through with his first love. He feels guilty and is unable to commit to a serious relationship. He's basically just going through the motions and not truly living. Enter Conner Michelson.Conner is an ex MMA fighter who has just opened up his own gym. He's had a hard past and he's finally at a place in his life where he's ready to settle down. When Dylan comes into the gym one day, he is instantly attracted to Conner and vice versa. But of course Dylan isn't looking for a serious relationship and tries to fight the pull he feels toward Conner. But Conner doesn't give up easily and pushes Dylan to see what he's missing out on- what they could be if he would just let him in.Where part one completely broke me, part 2 perfectly put me back together again. Let Love Live is a hauntingly beautiful story of friendship, love, loss, grief, and learning to live again. A story that I won't soon forget. I highly recommend Let Love Live and the other books in Melissa Collins' The Love series."...my heart needed a hell of a lot more than warming. It needed a heat wave and that's exactly what it got when Conner made me a part of his life."~Dylan