The Lonely Date (Pursuit of Love #1.5) by KC Carmine

The Lonely Date is an in-depth look into the history of E and Brian and how they came to their date.  The questions left unanswered from The Blindfold Date was refreshing and exciting! 

From the blurb:

An 18k prequel story to the Blindfold Date where we get to meet Brian and Ernesto at a pivotal moment 12 years earlier as students at the same university. The Lonely Date can be read as a standalone but the HEA happens in the novel, where the two men meet again on a blind date.

Brian has always dreamt of a professional football career. Years of dedication and hard work have brought that goal within arm’s reach, but now he’s facing a new battle—with his sexuality he can no longer repress. Coming out—or even experimenting—would endanger his prospective career. After a devastating accident, Brian finds himself being led through doors he was reluctant to open before.

E has always struggled with intimacy. As a gay geek on the spectrum, his love life has consisted of a series of haphazard and unrewarding anonymous encounters. After a hopeless crush on a fellow student, E faces a tough decision: step out of his comfort zone and reach for what he wants, or face a life alone.

A Geek/Jock novella from Pursuit of Love series. Book 1.5

This short novella can be read as a standalone if you haven’t read the novel. Angst + steam. The MCs HEA happens in The Blindfold Date.

Tatted_book_freak's Review:

After meeting Ernesto (“E”) and Brian in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦, KC has allowed her readers the rare experience of their history and college years where they have technically met.  Being able to witness firsthand what happened to Brian’s career-ending injury and E’s introduction to the BDSM lifestyle to satisfy his needs, answered a lot of questions from the previous book. 

𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.

Brian struggles with his sexuality, as he is faced with a dilemma of coming out while his professional career was still an option. While E struggled with his need for control of intimacy across the board. Once Brian’s career is ended, he dives into experimenting sexually, and E is introduced to becoming a Dom. The excitement of these two characters was intoxicating, and I am so excited for their future releases! 

Rating: 5 Stars

Janet's Review:

The Lonely Date is a prequel to The Blindfold Date. We get to see the jock Brian and the nerd E still in college. K.C. Carmine did a fantastic job with her characters and their depth. Even though this only an introduction to the characters there is some nice spice. Overall, loved it, well written with fantastic pacing that kept me engaged!

Rating: 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

The Lonely Date is an interesting way to look back at the characters from The Blindfold Date and a way to get to know their backstory that we rarely get a chance to see!  It's not a HEA - you get that in the Blindfold Date, but it helps us to understand more about the characters and why they behaved the way they did in the previous book. 

I think it would be interesting to hear from people who read this prequel before they read the book, and see if their reactions to the characters and the story are different from mine.

Well written and an easy read, I recommend you picking up The Lonely Date!

Rating: 5 Stars

The Lonely Date is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.