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From the blurb:
Meet me… in the place where the sun kisses the horizon and sinks into blue shades of you and me.
Meet me there… where everything was always perfect. You and me and the damp grass at dawn and the gray dirt in the late evening rain.
Meet me where we were ourselves and not these two people who can’t even say I love you.
Meet me there and maybe we’ll remember…
We’ll remember the us we were before them, before miles, before lost hours, and you’ll ask what color the sky is, and I’ll say blue like your eyes.
And you’ll smile, and I’ll forget I ever missed you.
****
Luka and Rook have been best friends since they were nine years old.
Five years ago, Luka threw it all away.
When his dad’s health takes a turn for the worst, Luka must come home to say his goodbyes and mend the bridges he burned all those years ago. But coming home is harder than he imagined, and after reuniting with his family, there’s only one person he needs.
Rook…
His best friend.
The one man he pushed away, the one man, no matter how hard he tried to forget, he can't stop himself from loving.
Even if loving him means breaking his heart all over again.
Sheena's Review:
5 full and wonderful stars.
I adored Meet Me in the Blue it made me ugly cry and that's a good thing, believe it or not. Luka's dad passing from cancer hit very close to home for me and I can say the author got all that part absolutely right, it was all handled so very well and while it was inevitable, and yes sad, things and life do go on after, and it's important to show that.
This is just so wonderfully written, full of mutual pining and a real sense of longing, but minus a lot of angst. Instead it's a story of hope, of two people finally finding what was there between them all along, and now was the time to believe in it and act on it. Luka and Rook are so perfect together, they just fit together so well. I never got the sense that things were moving too quickly, it was the perfect timescale for them both. Rook in particular, I loved. His demi/ace spectrum realisation was done so well, and I really felt for him. Luka really was his other half and they complemented each other so well. I loved that Rook didn't immediately forgive Luka, but they both worked hard for their relationship and talked about it.
I loved this book so much, it made me so happy in the end and I can't wait to go back to Hemlock Harbour, there are definitely more stories to tell there.
Rating: 5 Stars
SNik's Review:
First in series (Hemlock Harbor). Childhood best friends to lovers. Demisexual representation. POC representation. Slow burn. Heed content warning. Dual POV.
Friends since they were 9 years old, Luca and Rook have a friendship filled with affection, support, loyalty, communication, and a deep connection for 18 years but Luca lets those ties fade and for the last 5 years has regretted the loss.
Returning home to spend time with his sick father, Luca wants to reconnect with Rook, he has loved him for more than 22 years, and he desperately needs Rook back in his life. Rook has never felt anything close to what he has with Luca, and now that Luca is back home he has to evaluate his feelings on a deeper level to decide if he wants more from their relationship.
A beautifully written story full of yearning, memories, emotions and honest conversations, both Luca and Rook have their own personal growth during the book but also strengthen together as well. The comfort of a small town along with its annoyances, plus the large and interesting set cast of secondary characters were relatable as well as the main character’s grief over losing a parent.
Dreamy, swoony and romantic, Luca and Rook are meant to be together, their love for each other unshakeable no matter the time, distance and stumbles along the way as they get their well-deserved HEA.
Wonderful read.
Rating: 5 Stars
Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:
"I guess sometimes it's hard to let go... when you've loved someone hour whole life...Even when it hurts you over and over again."
Holy hell this book hurt. It's been a long time since I read a book that made me tear up for the majority of the story. Every time I thought we'd finally finished with the tearjerker moments another one followed. It wasn't just moments between the MCs either. Truthfully it was mostly the family moments surrounding Luka's dying father. It was very reminiscent of losing my grandfather, whom was the man who helped raise me when my own biological father wouldn't. It brought up memories of him lying in a similar hospital bed in our living room, making us all cringe yet still smile with his morbid death humor. And just like Luka and his family, we all came home at the end to spend the time he had left together. The difference is I didn't have to come home to face the man I'd spent my life in love with, yet left behind for 5 years.
"I hadn't asked him to come. But then again, I hadn't ever had to ask before. Rook used to know when I needed him. He didn't anymore."
So many emotions to wade through in Meet Me in the Blue. You have Luka, who believed he'd never stop loving his best friend Rook, even though he could never love him back. Then there's Rook, who doesn't know if he's even capable of loving anyone in relationship setting. Since he's demisexual, he doesn't feel attraction without a strong connection first and none of the women he's dated have lasted long enough for it to spark. Rooks sexuality has always been confusing to him and it takes a good friend of his, one who may be familiar to readers, to finally point him in the right direction. Imagine his surprise when he looks back on his life and realizes his best friend might just feel the same.
"This man had dotted every moment of my life with memories I never wanted to forget."
It was a long road for Luka and Rook, but eventually these two got it right. I loved how supportive their families were, even if there may have been a few "I told you so's." The epilogue was lovely and it truly solidified their hard won HEA. I'm ecstatic book 2 is going to be Ron's. If you've read The Glow Up, then you know Ron as the friendly security guard from campus. It seems he also left a best friend for whom he harbors feelings for behind when he up and moved away from Hemlock Harbor and I cannot wait for him to get his HEA as well!
Rating: 5 Stars
KjnRose's Review:
OML, what an absolutely wonderful story. This was hard to read at times it's so emotional, but that's not a bad thing. I love Luka and Rook and the love they go through. This story tells of their friendship from beginning to their HEA. Can't wait to see what's next.
Rating: 5 Stars
Meet Me in the Blue is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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