Monday, 15 October 2018

Building Forever (This Time Forever #1) by Kelly Jensen




337 Pages
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Buy links: Riptide | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Blurb

Charlie King is doing fine. Sure, he’s a widower raising a teenage daughter who just got her first boyfriend, his book series isn’t writing itself, and he has a crush on his new neighbor — the guy next door. But everything’s just fine.

Simon Lynley is doing better. He moved to Bethlehem to fall out of love and rebuild his career. An affair with his neighbor isn’t part of the plan, but the attraction between them is too hard to ignore.

But when Simon’s ex follows him to Pennsylvania seeking reconciliation, and Charlie’s life starts to feel like a video on repeat, everything comes apart. Charlie worries that he’s failing as a father, and Simon is a distraction he can’t afford. Meanwhile Simon doesn’t know if he could survive being left again, and he hasn’t come all this way to make the same mistakes. But despite their fears, it’s only together that they’ll find the strength to slay old foes and build the forever they’ve been waiting for.

Review

*Sighs* Such a wonderful, heartwarming, and charming book.

Some books are like a whirlwind, picking you up and not letting you rest again until you’ve read the last page. Other books are like a comfortable blanket, wrapping you up in their warmth and leaving you with a huge smile on your face and a warm heart. Building Forever squarely lands in the second group, although I did have a hard time putting the book down when life interfered with my reading.

I dare anyone to read this book and not fall at least a little bit in love with both Charlie and Simon. Charlie is nothing short of adorable with his run-away motor-mouth and Simon is such a wonderful study in contrasts between his calm exterior and his inner turmoil. Both men struggle with relationships that have ended; Charlie’s due to his wife’s way too early death and Simon at the hands of a cheating long-term partner. And both of them fully deserve this opportunity to find happiness again.

I loved that Charlie’s bisexuality wasn’t an issue for either man. Charlie has always known he is attracted to men. The fact that he’s never had an opportunity to explore that attraction because his former wife pregnancy when they were both still teenagers put a stop to any experiments…until now. Simon arrives at exactly the right time for Charlie to widen his sexual horizons.

This is mostly a smooth, even-paced and gentle story with few large emotions or upsets. But, when shit does hit the fan and throws Charlie into a backward spin, it is for completely understandable and relatable reasons. What’s more, it’s thankfully not dragged out and dealt with in a way that is as charming as it is believable.

This book features a fabulous cast of secondary characters who add to the story and allow us to see both Simon and Charlie from various perspectives and the writing is pristine, faultless even. So I have no problem summarizing my feelings about this book as follows: Building Forever was a winner for me. A wonderful story featuring charming protagonists, a gentle and enthralling love-story, and endless moments that brought numerous smiles to my face. I’m looking forward to the next titles in this trilogy.



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