KU e-book
Author: Tal Bauer
Luke’s life has been slowing losing all its color and brightness. An artist at heart, he hasn’t picked his sketchbook in years. He’s now widowed (and he was in a loveless and toxic marriage) and lives with his teenage son, Emmet. He basically has no relationship with the surly teenager who lives at his house and he craves the loving bond they shared when Emmet was little. They used to draw together and make pancakes. Now they barely talk. His son’s only interest now is football and they don’t even share that and it’s slowly killing Luke inside.
One day, a letter addressed to his late wife arrives, asking for her help volunteering with the team moms. He goes to practice to set the record straight and ends up being roped into joining the “moms” by Landon, another single dad and who happens to be the father of Emmet’s best friend.
Soon, volunteering brings him closer to Emmet. Little by little. And his friendship with Landon, a gay man who has Super Dad status, starts bringing color and light into his life again. When he least expects it, he realizes that Landon might just not be his best friend but the love of his life.
OMG. This was so moving and so romantic! Told entirely through Luke’s POV, you can’t not feel the pain of his estrangement from the boy he loves above everything else. It’s heartbreaking to see how much he craves the connection to his kid.
The romance is a slow burn and we follow Luke figuring out everything that has been wrong in his life and how it all can finally become good. We are right there with him when he is hit with a bolt of lightning: “I am in love with my best friend”. The friendship between the two teens is lovely and brings a new depth to the story.
A lovely story of love between two dads of stinky teenage boys, of football games, of Tuesday dinners, of Netflix and chilling and finding out what true love feels like.
Beautiful, heartbreaking at times and utterly romantic. LOVED IT!
Rep: queer romance. MM. Bi-awakening.
PT: death of spouse (historical), drug use (mention)
