Review: Overall, this is a gentle story with a message of second chances and a sense of hope.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 30, 2014
I found this story really emotional. I am not talking about the emotional journey of the characters but rather the emotional state I found myself in.The story is set in a dying town and Michael's life seems so bleak - dead parents, alcoholic grand-father, dead-end job, never being able to acknowledge his sexuality and have a real relationship - it all seems so grey and depressing.For some reason this really rubbed off on me and I found myself feeling quite low and almost expecting something bad to happen. I guess it says something about a book that it can impact a mood in such a way but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure I liked this sense of unease but can't fully explain why I felt this way.The relationship between the main characters was quite interesting to watch unfold. Their attraction was immediate, which is understandable, but their acknowledgement of attraction to each other just seemed so fast and didn't fit with the characters and their background. I felt that they should have taken things a bit more slowly in the beginning. However, once they did start to spend time together, it was lovely and a relationship based on so much more than the physical attraction they both felt.Both men have their demons to face. For Michael it is the direction his life is taking and the lack of realisation of his dreams. For Eric it is overcoming the hurt of a past relationship.It is clear that Michael has a strong passion for architecture, that he is not just paying lip service to having wanted to have a career in that field. So it was wonderful to see Eric reopen his eyes to that dream and give him some hope for the future. Their weekend away was such a special and caring romantic gesture by Eric.We see Michael struggling to make the right decision regarding his path in life and Eric encouraging him to do so "The only person whose opinion matters when it comes to how you live your life is you." and Michael finally comes to realise this.I enjoyed the happy ending and gentle closure to the story but would have liked to see more of Eric. I wanted to better understand who he was, what ghosts were in his past and how he overcame his own fears to be with Michael.Overall, this is a gentle story with a message of second chances and a sense of hope.