Paper Swans: A Best Friends To Lovers Novella by E.M. Lindsey

I will forever be a fan of EM's writing, I always fall in love with their stories. Paper Swans was no different.

From the blurb:

They’ve spent years sharing everything with each other.

Love.

Loss.

First kisses.

And quiet promises.

But the one thing Domenico will never be is Shiloh’s. It’s a cruel fate, but it’s one Shiloh can live with so long as Dom is happy. So long as they never stop being friends. But when Shiloh asks Dom to go as his date to a costume party, he realizes his best friend is going to discover a few things about him he’s never told anyone. A few things he’s afraid to say aloud to himself.

While Shiloh doesn’t think Dom will abandon him, it might just change the dynamic of who they are, and that’s not something he’s sure he’s willing to live with.

Paper Swans is a standalone novella featuring best friends to lovers, epic pining, comfort food, emotional support chickens, bad limericks, origami, lipstick, red dresses, and the sweetest most satisfying happily ever after.

Angel's Review:

This story is on the shorter side compared to the other stories EM has written but it's not missing anything! You can't even tell that it's a shorter story while you're reading. There is so much depth and details and so much emotion! My gosh, I was blown away! 

I'm a sucker for the friends to lovers trope, and that trope being written by one of my favorite authors? I had to read it! I was honestly blown away by the amount of detail and how well not only the characters but also the storyline/plot was so fleshed out. You could tell EM put thought into how they were going to write these two characters and how they were going to come together without it feeling rushed. 

Dom is a baker who has ADHD and dyslexia, not to mention everyone has always picked on him for his size. Except for his best friend Shiloh. These two men are as thick as thieves, they've been best friends since they were kids and they've been in love with each other for half as long. 

Yet neither of them knew how the other felt, nor could they ever believe that the other reciprocated their feelings.  Shiloh is color blind, he's sensitive to light and can't see clearly, he's also a primary school teacher who's been in love with his best friend for years. Yet Shiloh believes that Dom will never feel the same way, but after a push from Dom and Shiloh's mutual friend Sarah, and Shiloh's dad Benjamin, they finally realize that maybe, just maybe, they could actually be what the other wants and needs. 

I loved this story! I don't know how else to say how much I enjoyed this story! It was so well written and there were so many details, I wish there were more scenes of Dom baking but what little moments there were was great. I really enjoyed the development between these two, we could feel them slowly turning their friendship to something more than that. And I loved the cute and tender moments these two had together. There was also a lightness to this story as well, not as much angst which I thought was a nice change of pace. 

I highly recommend you to get this book for yourself!

Rating: 5 Stars

Paper Swans is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.