Jayce EllisRecensioni

Some time ago I tried this novel and couldn't get into it. When it cropped up in one of the on-sale lists I get, I tried again, and sank into it with instant interest. It's one of the kinds of stories I nibble at rather than read a lot of at a time. I enjoyed that. I liked the arcs of the characters, the complex family, the friendships, a lot. The jobs parts were not boring, always a plus. I'm glad I finally got to read it.

It's minus a star for a few reasons: for some dull sex, and for the white boy sounding more Black than I expected. (It happens, I just didn't get any idea how he picked up the phrases and idioms.) But mostly, I was disappointed both MCs gave in to fears and procrastination. I know adults don't always get past such habits, but that seemed excessive to me.

On the whole, a good book.

Liked the height difference, but, DNF at 12%.

I stopped reading this many days ago, bored with the trope (oh no, you're my boss?), bored with a sex scene. I tried to get back into it, but I'm not interested in these characters.

Obviously, I am not this novel's target audience. But also, that's one of the tiredest of tired tropes in romance.

This is the first I have read by this author. I saw a great deal of potential in the book...hence the 3 stars...but while I liked the two main characters, DeShawn and Malik...and I loved Grandma...the whole story frustrated me to no end. I really didn't get the reasoning behind the need for the divorce to start with. The reasons they stated should have been able to have been worked out if they had just tried TALKING to one another. This has now become a second-chance romance for Malik and DeShawn. They did something wrong with the paperwork for the divorce and as a result, they find that they are still married. Seven years have gone by since they thought they were divorced, and now they are more mature and very different people with very different outlooks on life. They still love one another but they have so much history and have made so many mistakes...and while they can be enticed to talk about it with other people, siblings, a grandparent...seems like everybody except the one they should be talking to...each other. If they had done this with the same intensity or clarity the book could have been half as long. I really, really in the worse kind of way, wanted them to just communicate. I would happily have sacrificed any number of the seemingly endless descriptions of life in either of their restaurants and the life of a celebrity chef just for those conversations.

If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis

Second chance M/M romance with all the feels – really liked the characters and reading their story!

What I liked:
* Malik Franklin: keeps the books for his family’s restaurant, an introvert, enjoys making desserts, guards his heart, does what he thinks is best for those he loves even when it might not be best for himself.
* DeShawn Franklin: Executive Chef at top restaurant, TV celebrity, has dreams and goals for his future, loves his family and friends, creative in and outside of the kitchen, knows what he wants and hopes he will get it.
* Bruno and Corey: canine family to Malik and DeShawn
* Larry: DeShawn’s cousin and lawyer
* Grandma: raised DeShawn, dying of cancer, wants to see Malik and DeShawn back together again
* The side and supporting characters in the restaurants and families
* The rekindling of the relationship
* That there were no big issues for the men to deal with in their relationship
* The media spin and following Malik and DeShawn’s relationship developed
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Robert: DeShawn’s uncle, gambling addiction, greedy, son of Grandma,
* The pushiness of Christopher, DeShawn’s agent, though such people do need to be pushy to further their client’s dreams.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? I believe I would

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars½

Paramedic, Jeremiah happens upon a sexy man one night when they're both returning home. Colin is trying to get his two drunk friends into their apartment. There's fire between the two of them when their eyes meet...but Colin, with his sexy lip-gloss seems reluctant to get involved.

Fast forward... and Jeremiah finds himself needing to look for a job due to takeover. In a twist-of-fate, he ends up bumping into Colin again and they agree to meet up to work on Jeremiah's resume.

I felt like this book was mostly about finding your way. Jeremiah and Colin are both on journies, and there are barriers in their way. One of the biggest barriers for Jeremiah is that he isn't out to his entire family. He's always thought that one day, he would just take his boyfriend home and that would be it. Turns out it hasn't been that easy for him. But coming out is more than just saying the words... sometimes, you encounter opinions that you didn't expect.

On the other hand, Colin is out to everyone but he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He thinks the right answer is to say that he's not into a long-term relationship, but maybe that's what he needs? His character went through a lot of subtle growth in the novel and I think he was my favorite character.

This is a contemporary love story, packed full of diversity. In fact, I loved the diversity! It's pretty much got something for everyone! It's a little light on plot... mostly, it's just about the two main characters making their decisions and then their coming together.