Carol of the Bellskis by Astrid Amara
Carol of the Belliskis is probably one of the best romantic comedy I read lately. It starts with a breakup though. Seth and Lars are one years old lovers and everything seems perfect between them as the reader can understand from the first sentences, a very hot and lyrical sex scene, a sex scene that says and describes everything without using any “naughty” word. But it’s not all roses in Paradise, Seth and Lars are also colleague, Lars is a partner layer in the firm where Seth is a paralegal, but Lars is not out at work, and so he treats Seth like a stranger, worst like someone that it’s not at his same social level.
From this moment on the fight of the reader starts: to whom he has to give his support? To Seth that is madly in love with Lars and would like to scream it at the world? Or to Lars that is perfect in every detail, as lover and boyfriend, other than at work? It’s an hard fight since both of them have their reason.
Seth is really in love with Lars, but I think he has also some self-esteem issues. He projects his insecurities with other people, especially at work, to Lars and he sees Lars not recognizing their relationship at work like a way to not value him both as a person than employee. It’s true that he wants Lars to come out to be free to completely love him, in every moment of his life, but I think that it’s also true that he wants it as a proof that he is a valuable person, and in this second aspect he is a bit selfish in forcing Lars out of the closet.
On the other hand it’s maybe time that Lars takes a stance in his life: he is a successful layer, he is half-owner of the firm, and he is probably overestimating the consequences of coming out. Plus, refusing to leave for their week holiday only one day before, after promising he would have gone, it’s not exactly a nice choice to prove his love to Seth. True, he tries to make amends almost immediately, helping Seth with the management of his relatives’ B&B and at the same time wooing Seth in a very romantic way, accepting his grumpy attitude and patiently waiting for Seth to change his mind on the breakup.
I also like that, in the end, both of them realize that the solution of all is to compromise, but they take the same decision separately: both of them arrive to the conclusion that their love is to great a thing to not fight for it. No one of them asks to the other to renounce to something and both of them would have been willing to step back from their decision for the sake of their relationship. This is a thing that talks of real love.
One thing I particularly noticed is the perfect mix of romantic and sweet love story with hot and naughty sex scenes, the best type of all: the two of them don’t spend all their time in a sex marathon, but when they decide to “get dirty”, it’s definitely quality time, for them and for the reader.
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Amazon Kindle: Carol of the Bellskis
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Cover Art by April Martinez