It’s an undeniable truth.
My heart is in his hands, and he’s squeezing it.
And he doesn’t even know.
Doesn’t even suspect.
This book is told in three parts and spans about 20 years. I loved the first part, told entirely from Dylan’s POV, which shows us how he met Adrian. And follows their friendship and bond forming over about 17 years. It was lovely how Adrian’s family brought Dylan into their brood and gave him a place where he felt like he belonged for the first time in a long time. As they grew up, Dylan realized he was in love with Adrian, and the pining and unrequited love was portrayed so well. My heart went out to Dylan because Adrian only had eyes for his girlfriend/eventual fiancée, Freya. There was never even a glimmer of a chance for Dylan.
Then, part 2 happens, and the two of them are thrown into a wild survival situation for quite a long time, and it causes feelings to shift between them. This part of the book dragged a bit for me. I think the “surviving on a deserted island” trope is exhausting by nature. The repetitiveness and tedium that come with trying to keep yourself alive while stranded on an island are draining, even for a reader. So it took me a while to get through part 2. I’m also not convinced that Adrian would have ever looked at Dylan as more than a friend if it hadn’t been for what they experienced together on that island. And I’m not sure how I feel about that, considering how much Dylan truly loved Adrian and had for a very long time.
Part 3 is basically just an angst fest as they figure out what to do next. The tables were turned a bit, and it was Adrian who had a lot of pining. But these guys end up suffering for quite a while before things end up how they do. For all they went through, I would have loved to have seen a bit more of happy times between them. They deserved at least that much!
The Book Boyfriend Addict 