Jackie Says Noel York's Randy and Edward (Birds of a Feather #1) Is A Promising Start To A New Series

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all. ― Emily Dickinson

In this, the first installment of the Birds of a Feather series, we meet the three major players. First there is Randy, an out and proud gay man. Recently Randy has been re-evaluating his life due to a health scare. What he finds is a total surprise to him. He realizes he is over the love ’em and leave ’em lifestyle he has been leading; he wants a partner, someone to share his life with. Then we meet Max and Jimmy. These two guys are Randy’s best friends. He could never date either one of them, because as he says, he isn’t into incest. To round out Randy’s little family we meet his sister Kat, a plastic surgeon who is in town visiting for a wedding she and Randy are both participating in.

While attending the wedding rehearsal Randy meets Edward. Edward is everything Randy has been looking for in a man. He is handsome, well built and funny. After some fun flirting Randy is sure he has met a man who could turn out to be “the one”. That is until Edward informs Randy that he is straight, as in a newly divorced father that is straight as an arrow. Randy isn’t buying for a second that the flirting and bantering was misunderstood. Does he want to see where things could go, or should he just walk away?

The next day during the wedding, he gets the answer to his question. Edward explains how his ex-wife found out he is gay, divorced him and threatened to take him to court for full custody of their daughter if he ever had a relationship with another man. Randy feels sorry for Edward, but he can’t force the man to risk his relationship with his child on the off chance they might work out. He asks Edward for one kiss, and man does that kiss put him back on his heels. It leaves him wanting more, but Edward won’t risk it, can’t risk his daughter, no matter how much he may want to.

Imagine Randy’s surprise when Edward shows up at his door the next day, asking for a chance to date and see where they could go as a couple. Of course, they would have to keep it a secret from everyone. Randy decides he can take a chance with Edward and starts dating him. Everything goes great for a while; he and Edward have started to truly care for one another. Unfortunately a mistake sends Edward running and leaves Randy angry and alone.

Will Edward let his ex-wife ruin a good thing between himself and Randy? That question does get answered and in a very sweet way. As much as I found myself not liking Edward in some parts of this book, he wins me over in the end. The ending of this book blew my mind and now I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next! It was a very sweet read, there weren’t many surprises, but the writing was great. I can’t wait to see more of Jimmy, Kat, and Max in the next book, it should be very interesting. I also wouldn’t mind revisiting Edward and Randy. :)

Reviewed by: Jackie

You can buy Randy & Edward (Birds of a Feather #1) here: