Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Ask 26-year-old artist Cid Walker how he’s feeling and you’ll likely get a snarl, or a glare, but not a real answer. Cid’s soul is so damaged from a brutal and savage ex-fiancé that trusting anyone is out of the question.
Two classmates try to get his attention; Barry and Kellen. Barry is only 18 and a very naïve, sweet boy-next-door type who is young, needy, and anxious to get involved with the mysterious artist. He wants to be with Cid more than anything, but his efforts fail.
Kellen, all of 22, is as snarky as Cid is at first, but soon manages to get across to him. Kellen understands why Cid is acting out because Kellen is also keeping his soul and psyche intact with mere Band-Aids after being attacked a few years ago.
Add in a stalker that won’t take ‘no’ for an answer and you have Cid’s life at the moment. Who can get through his broken heart?
***trigger alert*** mention of past sexual assault
Okay, so this book took me forever to get through considering it’s about 200 pages long. The story just moved slow and I think my annoyance with the characters/storyline didn’t help. And while it’s not a bad story, I think there were just too many things that bugged me.
I get why Cid was stand-offish and scared to get involved with someone but I think my biggest annoyance was Barry. He was childish and needy and that was the last thing Cid needed to deal with but then Barry would lay the guilt trip and it made Cid think he did something wrong throughout the whole book, which he didn’t, they were never dating, Cid never said they were dating and specifically said friends (which seems to be an impossibility to Barry).
I did like Cid and Kellen together they both helped each other heal though I think Kellen protecting Cid did more for both of them. I loved the Kellen could just silently sit there when it was needed to (not something Barry seemed capable of). I was glad to see their happily ever after and Cid gained a family but with the large time jumps there was more explaining what had happened than seeing it which is alright for a short story but not one this long.
The cover art by Bee Javier is alright and it gives a slight visual of Cid.
Book Details:
ebook, 206 pages
Published: August 1, 2018
Edition Language: English
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