Author: B.G. Thomas
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 350 Pages
Rating: 4 Stars
Blurb: Seasons of Love: Book Two
Scott Aberdeen doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or God. Or love—at least, he knows no one will ever love him. After all, he has carried a torch for his best friend Sloan for a decade, hoping his feelings will be returned one day. But when Sloan finds springtime love with another man, Scott’s fantasies are crushed and his skepticism confirmed.
Cedar Carrington, raised by rock star parents, leads a free-spirited, nomadic life, never staying in one place for long. Due to a dark past he refuses to share or even think about, he is willing to let men into his bed for sex, but never for the night.
When Scott finds himself camping in the middle of nowhere with over a hundred men who all believe in love—and faeries and a magickal gay brotherhood—he’s pretty sure he’s in the wrong place. And when Cedar connects with cynical, critical Scott, he wonders how he could be falling in for this man of all men. But hearts and lives have been transformed at the Heartland Men’s Festival before, and it might be just the place where two very different men can release their pain and find true love at last.
Review: I was so excited to read, Summer Lover, the second book in this series. I loved the first one and was happy to return to this wonderful world, with the great characters created by Mr. Thomas.
There are four close friends in these stories: Sloan, Scott, Asher, and Wyatt. From what I understand the author has plans for four books in this series, each character getting their own book. While the first book Spring Affair focused on Sloan, our focus now turns to Scott.
Scott is a tough character to categorize, he’s likable enough, but he’s very cynical and a skeptic about everything, which was a little hard to read at times. As much as I loved and devoured the first book, this one took a little bit for me to get into. For me, I think it was the character not the writing style, and definitely not the story itself. It took me a long time to warm up to Scott, to really get to know and understand him. About halfway through, I started seeing him in a different light. I was right there during his self discoveries and making amends with old ghosts and beliefs. He definitely found peace within along the way.
Cedar, aka Jockster, is a character we meet for the first time here. He’s a free spirit, loves the open road, and never even thinks about being with someone longer than it takes to get him off. He was another character I wasn’t too sure about at first. We know going into the story he’s going to be the love interest for Scott. What I loved most about the author’s handling of these two was the slow build up toward their relationship. We see them playing cat and mouse with each other for most of the story, until they both come to terms with how they really feel about each other.
The setting in this story is a first for me. A gathering of gay men celebrating who they are, where they come from, being free to express themselves. There was magic, faerie names, sarong wearing, singing, music, laughter, tears, storytelling; it was peaceful and endearing.
I loved how the author really brought the reader into this world. The descriptions were written so well I felt at times I could actually see, hear, and smell every word. I have to admit I was right there with Scott at the beginning asking, “What the hell is this?” But, as the story moved along and we got into the gist of things, it was wonderful.
During this gathering we meet so many different characters. Some stood out more than others, but the one I loved and hope to see more of is Blu. He doesn’t come into the story until it’s almost over, but I absolutely loved him. He has that air of innocence about him, and it makes you just want to protect him for all things bad. I don’t know if the author has plans for him, but I would love to see him later on somewhere down the road. I need to know if he’s okay. And then there’s Scott’s friend Wyatt, who we meet from the first book and is probably getting his own story. All I’m saying is he really needs to find a new boyfriend. He can’t possibly be happy with that jerk.
Overall, this story has a multi layered concept. We see two men finding themselves and each other in a wonderful love story. We are surrounded by a cast of lovely characters who were colorful, whimsical and a little eccentric. We see personal growth, spiritually, and get a true understanding of acceptance. It was a wonderful story through and through.
I highly recommend this to everyone.
You can buy Summer Lover here:
I LOVE B.G.’s books (you should read The Boy Who Came In From The Cold) but he outdid himself this time! This is such a unique story and wait until you find out what the Jockster’s problem is with sleeping all night with a partner! characters are fantastic and you will love them. Great review again, Lisa!