Love Me Gently by EM Denning

Love Me Gently by EM Denning is such an aptly titled story... 

From the blurb:

Dusty Mack likes his quiet life, even if it means sometimes he’s lonely. He keeps busy with work and Dusty spends his down time being a shoulder for his newly single sister to cry on. Love is the last thing he’s thinking about, but after a splurge purchase, he can’t get the cute sales associate off his mind.

Jason Robinson has his life figured out. Work hard, pay your bills, smile, and don’t be a burden. He knows his mother’s death wasn’t his fault, but he feels like the destruction of his older brother’s marriage probably was. Fighting for independence, Jason wants nothing more than to stand on his own two feet. So when a hot, older customer needs a little more help than most, he’s happy to oblige.

Soon, Jason and Dusty are dating, but neither of their lives is perfect. While Dusty’s sister struggles, Jason does what he always does. He keeps his nose to the grindstone and hopes for the best. And the more Jason tries to get ahead, the farther the universe pulls him down. Even though Jason feels tempted to open up to Dusty, he doesn’t want to be another problem on Dusty’s list.

But they’re both about to learn that you can only ignore your needs and your wants for so long.

If there’s any hope for a future between them, Jason must learn to accept help from the people he loves, and Dusty will need to believe he’s worth loving.

Janet's Review:

Love Me Gently was a sweet romance. 

Dusty hasn’t had a relationship in years, he’s trying to help his sister and niece. He meets Jason, who is a young man who is struggling to make ends meet. He is also kind of beat down by his brother. He has trouble trusting. Their romance I thought was sweet. I didn’t like Dusty’s sister or Brother-in-law! Paul was kind of a jerk and I felt Heather was a user. 

Loved the low angst, age-gap. I loved Dusty’s patience with Jason! Overall, a great read! Well develop character, well written with great pacing. Highly recommend. 

Rating: 4 Stars

Heather's Review:

What an aptly titled book... a sweet, feel good romance that is told gently and well!  

This book delivers on the premise that you don't need huge fireworks or instant steam to find your HEA.  I love the way the characters interact and grow together and both need to learn how to be in an adult relationship.

Love Me Gently is still a study in contrasts - age gap, established vs starting out, experienced and not... but EM Denning is able to bring out Dusty's protective instincts and tame Jason's survival ones.

The book had good flow, great writing and was a quick and easy read.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Love Me Gently is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription