Moving On by Felice Stevens
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@FeliceStevens
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When his roof caves in, Sean Lovett thinks things can't get any worse. Until he loses his job, adding yet another bump in the rocky road of his life. None of his so-called friends can—or will—help. And asking a favor from his abusive ex? Hard pass. Luckily, his sister comes to the rescue and offers him a great apartment—in the city, no less—until he can get back on his feet.
Sweet deal.
Until a gorgeous man unlocks the front door and strolls right in with a grumpy attitude and a claim that his boss—who happens to be Sean’s brother-in-law—promised him the same apartment.
Former NYPD detective Tristan McDermott hasn’t stopped running since the death of his best friend. After almost two years of living in his own personal hell, he returns home to New York, hoping he can move on, but guilt still follows his every step. He's grateful to have the perfect apartment until he can settle into a place of his own. But there’s a cute guy already living there. And only one bedroom. And no way is Tristan leaving. He’s staying put.
Sharing the space is tough, but Tristan can ignore sweet Sean and his sunshiny smiles.
Kind of.
Except Sean's brother-in-law asks Tristan to keep an eye on Sean so he doesn't make any bad decisions.
Uh oh.
Keeping an eye on Sean is easy. Keeping his hands off him is much, much harder.
And sleeping together...well, that isn't a bad decision. Not when it feels so good.
Right?
From Lambda Literary award winning author Felice Stevens comes the story of a grumpy, green juice-drinking ex-detective running from the past and a sunshiney singing waiter who can’t catch a break. It features a meet-cute, only one bed, learning to trust, and a surprise lap dance.
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5 out of 5 (exceptional)
MOVING ON is a standalone story that tells the story of Sean and Tristan. Both these guys have baggage from their pasts that they carry with them wherever they go, and neither is prepared to trust anyone or anything to move on.
Both of their backstories are heartbreaking for different reasons. When they spoke about first times, I was completely with Tristan and his reaction to Sean's story. The thing I love about Felice Stevens' books are, although they are fiction, they are also completely believable. Nothing seems far-fetched, which can be both a good and a bad thing.
These two have a slow-burn until it's not. Tristan is very prickly and Sean works hard to get by that, to be his friend, and wanting nothing in return. I loved that Sean was someone who wants to live outside the box, whereas Tristan preferred order instead of chaos. They balanced each other out perfectly. Sean did tend to fly off the handle at times, and Tristan would keep things close to his chest. I wanted to slap both of them!
A perfectly paced story with a great storyline, this didn't quite push all the buttons and I have no idea why. Everything about it was just what I wanted but I just didn't connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. If Goodreads did half stars, this would be a 4.5. Instead, I'm rounding it up.
A brilliant story that I thoroughly enjoyed and have no hesitation in recommending.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Felice Stevens has always been a romantic at heart. She believes that while life is tough, there is always a happy ending just around the corner. Her characters have to work for it, however. Like life in NYC, nothing comes easy and that includes love. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Her day begins with a lot of caffeine and ends with a glass (or two) of red wine. She’s retired from practicing law and now daydreams of a time when she can sit by a beach and write beautiful stories of men falling in love. Although there are bound to be a few bumps along the way, a Happily Ever After is always guaranteed.
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