This is a nice little short story, I really wish it was longer! Mary has given us a great world, family, characters, and a good story, but not enough! I get it was meant to be a holiday novella, and I'm really not criticizing, I would have liked to have more!Nothing really surprising in the characters, one big and dominant, pure alpha male. The other creative, lanky, toward the submissive side. Good characters certainly, but very similar to her other books. Good family drama, lack of communication between Carver and Pete, all adds up to a nice quick story. Add in a bit of hot sex and I was quite happy! Ooooooo I love Carver and Pete. And I love Carver's family and little Mayberry home town (kinda like where my mom grew up). What a wonderful sweet and sexy story of two guys madly in love and it turns out ready to do what it takes to stay together and do the right thing. Kay has had a stroke and Carver needs to move back home to help his family. Carver and Pete are fantastic together, but I think my favorite conversation in the whole story is between Pete and Kay when Kay is asking Pete what he's going to do and he tells her he's going to stay with Carver in this little podunk town because after her stroke, she needs Carver to be there rather than in Chicago.“And will you miss things terribly?”“I have friends and my job there, so, yes, I will.”“Friends are important; man cannot live by family alone. And if we’re lucky, our friends become our families too.”“Yes.”“But living in different cities won’t end things, will it?”I thought about Elliott and how he was more a brother than a friend, and how much Felicia meant to me all on her own. “No.”“Will your friends visit, do you think? Could you go visit them?”They would. I would. “Yeah.”“I don’t want to be a burden.”I dropped her hands and hugged her. “You’re not.”“I am, because I’m scared.”“Why are you scared?”“Because I’m becoming less me every day,” she whispered into my dress shirt.“That’s okay. If things change in your head, we’ll start meeting each other new every day. How fun will that be? You’ll never get bored of talking to me.”Oh.My.GOD! You have to just worship Pete after a conversation like that. Love love love love Mary Calmes :) Quite possibly one of the nicest women on the plant who also happens to write brilliant and beautiful books as well.
What do You think about Where You Lead (2013)?
Can I be in love with a book? I think I am in love with this one. Fucking perfect.Read.
—thiru
Typically Mary Calmes' story. In order words, very good.
—Patty
