I knew he was guarded, and for good reason. But nothing was stopping us from having a sordid, secret love affair for the duration of my stay.
No one else had to know.
I love a good found family and this series is shaping up to be a great one. This book, in particular, has all the found family vibes I love. Deputy Colson Price lost everything the first time he came out and has stayed closeted ever since out of fear of losing the new life he’d built for himself in Hartbridge. But then a cute Brit literally speeds into his life and changes everything.
This book is aptly titled because it pulled at every single one of my heartstrings while I was reading it. My heart ached for Colson, it’s awful what happened to him when he came out to his family 10 years ago. And it understandably left him quite scared to own his truth. He threw everything he had into his job and thought the only way he’d be able to keep it was to stay closeted. But underneath it all, he was so lonely and longed for someone to share his life with. Enter, Braithe, the charming and sunshiny Brit who gave Colson a taste of what life could be like.
These two were just beyond sweet together. Braithe was so kind and supportive of Colson and Colson loved having someone waiting for him when he got home. The book was very much centered around Colson’s journey of coming out. There were lots of baby steps but I thought the progression was so perfect. I thought the author nailed his conflicting feelings of being so happy with each new development while also being upset over denying himself these things for so long.
The way the guys from the previous books welcomed both Braithe and Colson into their little group was so sweet. This is such a fun and accepting group and I love that it just gets bigger and bigger. But it was so lovely seeing Colson realize he wasn’t alone anymore. Between these guys and the people at his work, he had a family who had his back and would continue to have his back even when he decided to come out.
“You came into my life, speeding, actually. Eight miles over the speed limit, and like a ray of sunshine, you changed everything for the better. Every single thing about my life is now better because of you.”
Braithe and Colson fell fast and hard for each other, the Hartbridge holiday magic struck again. It was heartwarming and hot but also a little sad at times because Braithe was set to leave after the holidays. And even though you know he will end up staying somehow, the parts leading up to that when they both thought his time was almost up hurt my heart. The longing was intense! But I loved how it all wrapped up and the epilogue was adorable!
“I wished for you,” he said, his voice warm. “I wished for a boyfriend when I was younger. A man I could love, and who would love me. I had to wait a while, but Santa delivered him this year.”
The Book Boyfriend Addict 