Sarah loved Con Riley's Charles and was incredibly eager to start the follow up, Sol, and re-enter the world of Glynn Harber. She is even happier to know that the book did not let her down, instead building up a second chance romance that warmed her heart. And I fell the same way - we both rate Sol as 5 Stars!
From the Blurb:
Fifteen years later, Sol’s back in Cornwall where it happened, single, shy, and oh-so lonely. Teaching art to kids wasn’t his life plan. Neither is raising a teenage nephew, but with no family left to support him, a live-in job at a boarding school becomes his life raft.
Problem: that life raft is sinking.
Solution: Sol’s first love could have the cash to keep it afloat.
Reconnecting with Jace Pascoe might save the school—the one place Sol’s nephew is happy. Asking for his help opens old wounds, but Jace helps to heal them, fusing Sol’s broken heart back together. However, Jace has his own shadows, no matter how brightly his smile dazzles.
Falling for Jace again could be so easy. It could also be a huge risk when neither of them plans to stay in Cornwall forever….
♥ Featuring sweet angst, hurt/comfort, and second chances for a shy heart, Sol is a standalone MM romance novel in the Learning to Love series with a fulfilling happily ever after. ♥
Sarah's Review:
Sol is the art teacher at Glynn Harber, a man who has extreme Imposter's Syndrome, having only taken the post in order to get his nephew, fifteen-year-old Cameron, a spot at Glynn Harber. At the start of the story, he is disconnected from the other teachers, from his nephew, from his job, and honestly from the world. He would rather stay in his studio than interact. He is a natural introvert. He often wonders what he's doing teaching.
When he gets a call from his ex-boyfriend, Austin, stating that his school is in danger, his worry is not for the school but for his nephew Cameron. If the school is in budgetary crisis, then Cameron might lose his scholarship. Of course, Cameron might lose it anyway if he doesn't stop making trouble. The headmaster, Luke, asks all of the staff to try to find someone that could raise the school's profile or make a hefty donation in order to get more paying students and save the school, confirming what Sol heard from Austin.
This is the catalyst for Sol to look up his ex-best-friend/cause of his teenage bisexual awakening, Jace. Jace's mother was a famous artist and unfortunately, passed prior to the book (a fact Sol only learns when he looks up Jace's mom.) When Sol hears that Jace is in town, he goes to visit, desperate to do something to make Luke proud. Their first interaction is laden with the history the two men share and Sol is given his second chance. A second chance that grows better as Luke commits to helping the school, because its the best way to keep Sol.
The beauty in this story lies in more than just the love story between Sol and Jace. While that story is beautiful (and has some incredible, beautifully written steamy scenes), it is the family aspects of the plot that drive most of Sol's development. Sol's relationship with his nephew and how Jace helps to heal it felt like the true heart of this book. I was just as interested in watching Cameron heal from the trauma of his life as I was watching Sol and Jace fall in love and finally get their second kiss and the life they both dreamed about when they were fifteen.
Con Riley once again wrote beautiful characters and a story that had me desperate to read on in my stolen moments. I cannot wait for the next book in this series and anything else that Con Riley offers up.
Heather's Review:
Sol is more than a romance story. It's a glimpse into the growth and development of a man who hides from the world and is so introverted an insecure that he's a sad shadow of himself. Con Riley writes the angst, fear and self-doubt that Sol feels incredibly vividly. She doesn't slump when it comes to building strong and vital characters. Jace, Cameron, and all of the other people who touch them in this book come alive.,,
This book is well paced, beautifully prosed and a joy to read from cover to cover. If you're looking for a book to take you on a romantic and life altering journey, pick up Sol and then wait with anticipation to see what Con Riley gives us next!
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