Title: Leaning Into the Look
Series: Leaning Into: Book Six
Author: Lane Hayes
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 222 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: Leaning Into the Look is sweet, it’s loud, it’s colorful, it will make you smile, and it will make you want to keep reading.
Reviewed By: Ky
Blurb: Grant Kostas made a career based on his looks before joining his family’s real estate firm. He may not love his job but he’s better at sales than he thought. And when he’s poised to bring in the biggest account of the company’s history, even his father is impressed. Unfortunately, the extra attention highlights Grant’s personal life. His parents accept that he’s gay. They just wish he’d meet a nice Greek man.
Miles Harrison is a fabulous red head going through a rough patch. Between getting dumped by his long-term boyfriend and finding a new place to live in the city, he’s nearing his wits end. He’s not sure why he thought rooming with his boss’s friend was a good idea. Miles has had a crush on Grant for years. However, he knows attractive people aren’t always pretty on the inside. As the two men grapple with external problems, they form an unexpected bond of friendship and trust that feels like the real thing. The only way to know for certain is to let go of fear and lean into the look.
Review: Leaning Into the Look is Grant and Miles’ story. It’s sweet, it’s loud, it’s colorful, it will make you smile, and it will make you want to keep reading.
Miles is a tough character to figure out. We never get his point of view, and maybe that played its role, but I felt like there were many things about him that were left hidden. He spoke about his past and about his feelings, but in a way that implied he held something back. I always felt like this character was incomplete, like something was missing and that something was going to be revealed at some point so I could understand him and get the full picture of him. Sadly, I think we only saw the surface and he still remained a mystery even after the end of the book.
As for Grant, he was more open and easier to figure out. He had his issues but his reactions and his behavior were understood. He talked about his past and his relationship with his family, about how he became the person he was and the events that helped shape his character. The story is told through him, so I’m sure that helped in getting to know him.
We learn here that Grant is a nickname he picked for himself, but, for me, the nickname his family had given him was much better and suited him more. I smiled every time someone called him Gio, and luckily that was more common as the story progressed.
There’s barely any angst in this book and what little there is, is relationship-oriented. Generally, Grant and Miles worked pretty well together, they fit effortlessly from the start, even though they were worlds apart in every way. They transitioned slowly from acquaintances to lovers, with about ten other stages in between. I don’t think those other stages were necessary, especially since they didn’t seem to fit with their behavior toward each other. It seemed like they were more labels they put on in an effort to try and keep things more casual, as their minds told them was the right thing to do, and not be honest about the way they were feeling for the other. Their behavior showed pretty easily that there was more between them but neither wanted to admit that, so they stuck the friends or the roommates label on while acting like boyfriends. I didn’t have a problem with that; it’s just that they went through a lot of uncertainty and nerves out of sheer stubbornness to stick with the notion they had in their heads instead of what they wanted in their hearts.
Bonus points for the Greek character that really felt like a Greek character. It’s tough to really make a character read as though he is from the place he’s supposed to be but here, it happened. Grant and his family were in contact with their heritage, and it came through in the story. It was something clear and not just a mention of ethnicity. There were traditions, cultural references and Greek recipes.
The characters from previous books of the series make appearances here as well, some short and others longer. Eric and Zane had the biggest parts, and they were amazing as always. Still, this book can be read as a standalone as the other couples’ stories aren’t discussed.
Highly enjoyable read and definitely recommended!
You can buy Leaning Into the Look here:
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