Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Seven years after leaving his boyfriend Jayden, Nash Vargas has reached his emotional limit.  Not because he’s left Jayden behind, but because his sister, whom he loves more than he’d ever have imagined possible, is dying from cancer, and Nash will be left to raise her nine-year-old daughter, Lupe, alone.

After Jayden sent him off to finish his degree, Nash did very well in college and rolled right into a master’s degree program, but his sister had problems with a deadbeat father, and Nash seemed to be the only family member willing to help.  He moved in with her and Lupe, and when they were stunned by her diagnosis of cancer, he became caretaker for both of them.  Now, operating on barely any sleep, Nash is caring for Lupe while trying to make his sister’s last days comfortable.

In the meantime, contrary to the advice of his friends, Jayden hasn’t moved forward. He’s never forgotten Nash, nor given up hope for his return. However, with all of Nash’s moves, Jayden doesn’t know where he is and no longer has his phone number.  Could Jayden find it if he searched hard enough? Yes, but he figures Nash has moved on, and he refuses to go begging.

Two stubborn men = one messed-up relationship = good plot bunny.

Fortunately, Nash’s cousin Bill and his partner Tim know where Nash is, and they plan to bring both men together at their own wedding, having separately asked both Nash and Jayden to be their best men. But even before that happens, Nash’s sister dies, and Bill and Tim convince him to bring Lupe back to Arbor Heights and move in with them.

I’m sure anyone reading this review can now guess that Jayden and Nash do get back together, but the fun is watching them fumble and bumble along.  Neither has had a relationship since they broke up because they considered each other the love of their lives.  I found this a bit hard to believe on an intellectual level. After all, young men in their twenties and thirties going seven years without even having casual sex feels a bit farfetched, but the romantic in me was happy to hear it.

I finished book one, Boyfriend for the Weekend, about six weeks ago.  I loved them in that story and was happy to find out there was a sequel.  However, when I read the blurb, I felt very disappointed that the men had lost touch, seven years had already gone by, and they were still not together, so I put off reading the sequel.  I shouldn’t have done that.  This book was a very satisfying ending to the series.  The men were as charming and sweet as before, with an added layer of maturity and experience to make their lives as a couple that much richer.

I recommend this to those who have read the first book. I would not recommend this as a standalone as it’s setup as a continuation of the first.  It’s a sweet contemporary romance with two likeable characters who finally move forward on the road to their HEA.

~~~~~

Cover art by Melody Pond depicts the torsos of two casually dressed men, with arms around each other, in the top panel of the cover, with a script-style title across the center and a scenic view of the mountains across the lower panel. Closely linked to the style of the cover of the first book, this one shows the men in light-colored casual wear more indicative of men comfortable with each other as is the case in this story.

Sales Links:  MLR Press | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | Buy It Here

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 101 pages
Published September 20th 2015 by MLR Press
ASINB015NHSXSU
edition languageEnglish
Boyfriend Series

Boyfriend For The Weekend (Boyfriend #1)
Boyfriend Forever (Boyfriend #2)