When two men meet and are attracted to each other, but one wants a no-strings-attached affair while the other wishes for commitment but will settle for being friends, trouble is bound to follow. This is what the two men in this novel face. Caleb is a graphic designer who left LA to escape a three-year relationship with his cheating married boss, and he longs for a committed relationship with an honest partner. Trent is a small town cop whose former lover has been in a coma for five years, and he can’t bear to think about a relationship at all, for fear of losing that man, just like he lost Simon. The result is a great story with believable characters, emotional depth, and lots of (sometimes painful) growth for both men. They each have their own set of issues they struggle with, but being together, despite all the ups and downs, turns out to be better than being apart.

Caleb is desperate to get way from his past, so he moves from LA to a small town in Colorado. He has bought a former horse ranch and loves the big house, but has no clue abut living “in the mountains” as his sister calls it. His first encounter hearing noises outside at night, thinking it must be a bear and calling his new cop friend for help, only to find out it was raccoons, made me laugh. But he is determined to make it work. And when I found out more about the lying ex as the story unfolded, I could see why. It’s pretty sad that Caleb only wants “someone not to lie to him” and to make sure that doesn’t happen, he does his best not to have a relationship at all. But Trent is tempting, and Caleb has to fight hard to remind himself to stay away.

Trent is scarred from losing his boyfriend, Simon, of one year in a ski accident – not to death, but to a coma. His family decides to keep Simon on life support – and that is where he still is five years later. While Trent realizes it is over, and moves on physically to one hookup after the other – he has a much more difficult time emotionally. Not that he understands this until he meets Caleb, for whom commitment is as much a “must” as it is a “no go zone” for Trent. How is he supposed to deal with potentially losing another man if he lets himself fall in love?

If you like character-driven stories with lots of psychological issues and personal growth, if you want to know more about two men who figure out that they are better off together than on their own, and if you’re looking for a read that is emotional, fascinating, and ends on a hopeful note, then you will probably like this novel.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )