Mean For Each Other by D.H. Starr
Meant For Each Other is a lovely story with coming of age and best friends turn lovers themes. On the one hand, the romance between Jeremy and Craig is very tender. A long separation at a young age makes their struggle quite poignant. On the other hand, because both Jeremy and Craig are in long term relationships when they meet again after the 15 year separation, a significant portion of the story focuses on Jeremy and Andrew's relationship, as well as Craig and Robert's relationship. It is this aspect of the story that didn't work well for me. I would have liked more focus on Jeremy and Craig. A tough request, because once you take Andrew and Robert out of the picture Craig and Jeremy's HEA is a given, leading to a very romantic but potentially boring story. Andrew and Robert are key to the conflict in the story.
My other slight frustration with the story was the characters moral code. To put it bluntly, their idea of right and wrong doesn't mesh with my own. I am not naive enough to believe that everyone goes through life doing the perfectly right thing every minute of every day, but I had a problem with Jeremy and Craig keeping their feelings for each other quiet for as long as they did. I also had a problem with Craig lying to his friends and business partners to take a sweet deal for himself. If his partners are good friends, couldn't he just tell the truth? Anyway, this is entirely a matter of opinion. (Isn't it always?)
Issues aside, I enjoyed this story and read it all in one sitting. That counts for quite a bit in my book!
Blurb: "Sometimes your first love is the one that was meant to be.
Craig Harper and Jeremy Finn were best friends growing up. They attended the same school, spent all of their time together, and hung out with the same group of people. It wasn't until the day before Jeremy and his family moved across the country that they discovered their attraction to one another.
Fifteen years later, they reunite by chance in New York City. Both are in relationships and have established a routine in their lives. But routines and relationships are shaken as they begin to spend time together once again. Old feelings and connections are still strong.
As each deals with the issues in their own relationships, they begin to question whether the comfort of what they know is more powerful than the pull of what they could have been...and what they might become. Struggling to find the answer, only their hearts can reveal if they are meant for each other."
Meant For Each Other at Ai Press