Glancing at the Amazon reviews, I notice that most people really loved the book, so chances are it just rubbed me the wrong way and you'll love it. And I've already mentioned it twice, but I can't stress enough how fantastic these two narrators are. I liked the depiction of grief over the loss of Rhett.

To be honest I find it borderline offensive, it's such an overused, unrealistic romance novel trope.

It's perfectly possible (though admittedly far-fetched) for someone who grew up in particular circumstances to repress their own sexuality, but Deacon is very clear here that he's attracted to women in general and also Julian for some reason. For one thing, you shouldn't make the straight guy actually, literally 'straight except for you.' This is not how male sexuality works, as any gay man will tell you (or any straight one, for that matter). Now, GFY can work, if it's done well, and it can also crash and burn. The other issue that I have, and it's a hazard of the m/m genre, is the 'gay for you' category the book is classified under. well, like romance novel heroines, to be honest. There's a lot of overwrought 'I'm attracted to you, but I shouldn't be, but I am, but I can't be!' dialogue for a long time before the characters get together and then they talk to each other like. They were having a normal conversation and suddenly Deacon was in a rage for no apparent reason. There's a scene relatively early on where Deacon fights with his sister in a restaurant, and I had to rewind the book three or four times because for the life of me I couldn't understand what set off the fight. And the dramatics! Both Deacon and Julian are inclined to get super melodramatic about the least little thing. I'm not limiting this to Deacon and Julian, the two protagonists, either Deacon's straight, mechanic friend talks like a woman in her forties giving her friends advice. I think the most glaring issue for me is that the characters simply do not speak to each other or behave like actual men would.

Luckily, with a good narrator, I can get over it pretty easily, and as I previously mentioned, both narrators were superb here. This may not bug some people, but it's a huge pet peeve of mine. The minor issue is that the book is written entirely in present tense. I had three main issues, one minor and two major. However, the novel itself, for me at least, left a lot to be desired. And let me get it out of the way immediately: both Teddy Hamilton and Tim Paige were flawless. I actually pre-ordered this title I'll buy any m/m romance novel narrated by Teddy Hamilton, even though they're few and far between.

Marley valentine without you