Just listened to this so adding my thoughts about the vocal performance. It was fantastic! I loved this book all over again hearing it the second time!
I *suppose* this can be read as a standalone although Zeb plays a big part in this (from book 1 of this series) and Charlie is mentioned a few times (also from this series). Ivo, and Henry to a small degree, is a big player in this story. They were also in Silas and Oz’s book (Finding Home series) so now that I have a couple of stories surrounding them I’m going to have to go back and read that series (Mixed Messages) because I feel a bit lost on the history, although not enough to make a huge difference on my enjoyment of either of these series.
In short, I loved this book.
The book is broken into two parts and I must admit to being so swept up in the first part I got confused by some of the characters and the timing. This is when Felix and Max first meet. They are instantly ensconced in a lust-filled relationship in which they promise no feelings for each other. Max clearly has a history he’s not willing to share and Felix has a bit of a gloomy past, so they enter the no strings attached relationship willingly; which of course blows up in their faces when Max lets Felix down epically.
In part two, we find they have continued to occasionally cross paths which gives Felix ample opportunity for snarky, sassy behavior which is what Ms. Morton does best in my opinion. They are involved in a minor tragic comedy of errors which puts them in close proximity for a couple of months forcing them to deal with their past. I absolutely love that we get Max’s POV in the second half of the story. He seemed so tortured in the first half which was only partially due to his experience as a journalist. His grand gestures to win Felix back are truly above and beyond.
I’m typically not a fan of flashbacks to complete the story but those used in this book are necessary but not revealing of critical parts of the story, more giving us insight into what was already assumed.
This is hands down one of my favorites by this author which is saying a lot because I’ve loved all that I’ve read. I’m going back to read the Mixed Messages series now.