Tuesday, 5 June 2018

BFF by K.C. Wells - Release Day Review




Pages: 200
Release Date: May 5, 2018

Blurb

I’m about to do something huge, and it could change... everything.

I met Matt in second grade, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. We went to the same schools, studied at the same college. When we both got jobs in the same town, we shared an apartment. And when my life took an unexpected turn, Matt was there for me. Every milestone in my life, he was there to share it. And what’s really amazing? After all these years, we’re still the best of friends.

Which brings me to this fragile, heart-stopping moment: I want to tell him I love him, really love him, but I’m scared to death of what he’ll say. If I’ve got this all wrong, I’ll lose him—forever.

Review

If there is such a thing as ‘the ultimate friends to lovers story’, BFF may well be it. And if there’s such a thing as ‘the ultimate sweet romance’, BFF is at the top of that particular list too. The journey Matt and David make from friends when they’re still kids, to best mates in high school and college, to discovering that the feelings they have for each other go a lot deeper than ‘mere’ friendship, is a joyful and heartwarming experience.

As much as the above may leave the impression that BFF is ‘just’ another addition to a long list of stories in which former best friends discover that they love each other, this book is different. From the very start, in fact from the acknowledgments, there’s no doubt how this story is going to develop or how it’s going to end. I mean, it’s a romance, so the eventual outcome wouldn’t be a mystery either way, but in this case, the ending is as clear as day. No, this story isn’t so much about two men getting together as it is about how they ended up that way, when nothing prepared them for that particular outcome. And boy is it a journey worth reading.

Because we get to join David and Matt for every single step of their journey—from the day they first meet until the moment they at last recognize and acknowledge their feelings for what they are—the build-up until we get to the more romantic part of the story is long; in fact, it takes up most of this book. And that makes for perfect pacing. When their eyes are opened at last and they find the courage to embrace what has been obvious to others in their lives and to the reader for a long time, we really know David and Matt through and through. We’ve seen them as kids, as teenagers, and as young men, finding their way in the world—always together. There is no need for suspension of disbelief in this story; if ever two men were meant to be together, it is these two.

And just because their journey towards love may be longish, doesn’t mean the road leading there wasn’t filled with moments to make me smile, blink away a tear or two, sigh, and even laugh out loud. I lost myself in this story so much that I did something I rarely do and re-read it before writing this review. And, much to my surprise, I enjoyed it even more the second time. Who knew?

If you look at the name K.C. Wells and expect a sex-fest, this book will take you by surprise because even the little sex that does make it onto the page is hinted at more than described. For me that was another example of this story’s perfection. This story is (almost) completely told by David, as he writes it out while participating in NaNoWriMo. And David isn’t the sort of person who would share the intimate details of his (love) life with the rest of the world. What’s more, this story isn’t about sexy-times. This is a tale of a beautiful friendship transforming into an even more gorgeous relationship, and as such it is glorious.

The ultimate beauty in this story, however, springs from the fact that it’s based on real-life; on a blog post titled ‘I’m An Otherwise Straight Man (Who Fell in Love with His Best Friend)’ to be precise. I’ve often finished a romance and thought something along the lines of ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful if this happened for real’. This time my thought process was different and the overwhelming feeling I was left with was: how wonderful that stories like these do happen in our world.

It isn’t the first time, and I can’t imagine it being the last, but I once again find myself highly recommending a new release by K.C. Wells. Go and read it. Trust me, you’ll enjoy BFF.





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