Review: Sweet, YA, friends-to-lovers (just ignore the God-awful cover!)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2014
4 out of 5 stars***This book was provided free by the author in exchange for an honest review, through the Goodreads “Don't Buy My Love” program***This was a lovely, almost completely angst-free, feel good, friends-to-lovers story about Brian and Joey.  They grow up together, are inseparable best friends, and then enter the difficult world of high school and clicques.  The story is told from Brian's point of view; nerdy, quirky, shy and self effacing, frequently clueless, but always, always loyal to and supportive of Joey.  Joey, on the other hand, is eccentric, sometimes flamboyant, amazingly true to himself even though it lands him at the bottom of the high school social ladder as a “freak”, but he too is always loyal to Brian.  He inevitably develops a crush on Brian, which is of course obvious to the reader but not to Brian (even though he has already told Brian he is gay).  When Brian is surprisingly and unwillingly drawn into the popular crowd, we see the first hint of distance between the two friends.  But of course, (and I don't think this is a spoiler), after the appropriate amount of worry and anger, Brian has a gay-for-you epiphany and they live happily ever after.  Ms. Anthony even provides an epilogue so the reader is assured of just how well they've lived their lives, and how much they are still in love.Although the story was predictable, I loved it.  I think I loved it in part because I knew where it was going, and I knew these two would get together.  The fun was in watching what they went through from there to here.  Sometimes you just want that kind of sweet fluff!  The secondary characters were also well done, as was the realism of the setting in small town Iowa of the late 70s and early 80s.  The only part that truly didn't feel genuine to me was the lack of reaction to Brian's uncles Gary and Nat, who were living together almost openly as a gay couple.  As side characters, they were a wonderful backdrop to the story, but I would have expected their relationship to have impacted Brian more at school.  Or in the community.  But of course, that would have made this a different story altogether!Don't let the horrible cover of the book put you off.  This is a sweet read, YA but enjoyable for adults too (especially those of us who also grew up in the 80s and will appreciate all the musical and pop culture references).