I’ve read/listened to three books in the ten-ish days and they were all worth a mention here. I’m going to start with Cat Sebastian’s because every book she’s ever written has left me looking at things a little differently than when cracked the book open.
This one isn’t my typical era to read. It takes place in 1950 so there are phones and TVs which, these days, makes me almost immediately skip over it but it’s Cat Sebastian so skipping just isn’t an option.
Like most of her books, it’s an M/M romance and the characters glaringly differ from one another and are beautifully well-developed down to every last comical detail. And make no mistake, there is lots of quirky dry humor in these pages.
Andy, doubtless has adhd and kind of stumbles through life from one blundering error to the next always feeling like he is less than he should be. Unfortunately, he is also the only son of the editor of the paper he works at and is expected to, all too soon, step into his father’s very large shoes.
Nick befriends him when Andy gets his tie stuck in the filing cabinet. He is Italian, with a stereotypical Italian family that had me laughing and shaking my head through much of the story and is a seasoned reporter. He takes Andy under his wing
This book somehow manages to have the feel of everyday life – without excessive drama or angst – and simultaneously pull wildly at your heartstrings. Nick falls in love with Andy from the start but is satisfied with friendship because it’s all he thinks he will have. It follows them through a series of normal events that Cat Sebastian makes memorable through her wit and beautifully expressive writing and we watch these two grow and evolve both in their rights and with one another.
It’s truly a mark of brilliance when a writer can take a love story and make it compelling without the rollercoaster of ups and downs that so many of us rely upon. There wasn’t a single moment that I willingly put down this book.
My single complaint was that the book was written in present tense 3rd person which I find a bit jarring but I can forgive that given that it made me smile roughly 12 thousand times.
