Review: Beautiful angst and believable romance.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2012
4  starsI've read and reviewed two of Val Kovalin's m/m romances and enjoyed them both but this one is hands down my favorite.  It's sweet, romantic, sexy and perfectly angsty.  Just the way I love a great romance!Bobby and Alejo met when they were six years old and became best friend and secret lovers when they figured out they were attracted to each other as teens.  But life and Alejo's fears pulled their lives in two very different directions and they have spent the bulk of their adult lives living separate lives.  Alejo took over running the family restaurant at eighteen, married a woman and raised twins who are now eighteen.  Broken hearted Bobby became a successful attorney and has tried to live a life without Alejo in it.  Though he has had several male lovers, his relationships never seem to work out for very long because Alejo, even after all this time, is the one he truly wants.  The two get together occasionally over the years, unable to resist the pull of each other, but Alejo's obligations and guilt always pull them apart. Even with Alejo's children nearly grown and his now ex-wife on the verge of remarrying he is unable to admit out in the open what he truly wants.  And all he wants is Bobby.Oh the beautiful angst!  Can you feel it?  I'm getting all bleary eyed just recalling it.Alejo is the guy who lives to please everyone except himself (and of course poor Bobby who loves him so much it hurts).  Raised in a strict Catholic family, those values stuck and he constantly worries about what people will think if he comes out and how it will affect others around him - especially his kids.  He coddles his surly son Carlos who has turned into a headstrong, spoiled brat who can't seem to get out of his own way.  Alejo is always there making excuses and smoothing things over so his son won't hurt.  As a parent I can understand why Alejo acts the way he does and my heart breaks for him even when it's clear he is making things worse for Carlos.  Alejo's daughter Josephina brings a nice balance to all of the Carlos drama.  She is intelligent, intuitive and only wants to see her Daddy happy.  She is an easy character to love and I thought these two kids were very well developed and played important roles in the story.The love story which spans decades is told through flashbacks.  I admit that in the very beginning I was a little leery of the setup and feared it wouldn't work for me.  Alejo and Bobby start out the story as occasional sex buddies with a long past.  Alejo can't seem to fit Bobby into his life and I felt terrible for Bobby who is happy with scraps he can get because he is obviously madly in love.  But as the author exposed bits of their tumultuous past and advanced their current relationship, I began to understand both of them, love Bobby even more, and felt that achy pain in the chest that only comes when reading an amazing romance.  The heat between these two is something rare and beautiful to behold, and their love is 100% believable.  The only slight niggle is that the story came to an end too fast and ended on a flashback.  I wanted more current day happiness but I'm greedy like that!  If you're in the mood for some well written angsty love I highly recommend adding Fall Into The Sun to your ereader.