THE COLOR OF HOME is a low burn second chance demi romance. Charlie knew Myles was more than his best friend when they were fifteen years old, but Myles had no idea that when they parted he would miss his "person" until the day they reunited.
From the blurb:
Charlie
Ask pretty much anyone, and they can tell you who their first real crush was. First love leaves an impression, after all.
Is it normal that I never remotely got over mine? Probably not, and I’m totally willing to admit it. I’ve tried. Believe me. Somehow though, nothing I do seems to be enough to get Myles Marlow out of my head.
Maybe the reason is that Myles wasn’t just my first crush. From the day I met him until the day my family left the town of Riverside, he was my best friend and the absolute center of my world.
Did I know he could never be anything more than my friend? Yes, I did. He’s straight, after all. And I’d accepted it…mostly. But, for all my pining, I’d absolutely never imagined a world where he would be anything less. Least of all had I imagined a world completely without him.
I’d like to pretend that my move back to Riverside has nothing to do with Myles. That would be ridiculous…wouldn’t it? We haven’t spoken in ten years, and besides, he’s long gone from this small town, traveling in Southeast Asia last I’d heard (and no, you don’t need to ask how I know this).
The thing is, I’m just not sure I’m that good at lying to myself.
Myles
Riverside is the one place in the world I’d sworn I’d never set foot in again. Yeah, I can’t pretend anywhere else could ever feel as much like home as the forests and the river here, but this place is haunted by nothing but painful memories for me. And yet here I am. Back for as long as it takes me to fix up and sell the run-down mess of a house my dad left me when he unexpectedly died.
It’s been ten years since the biggest mistake of my life cost me my friendship with the one person who mattered most. Ten years spent knowing I’d never get a chance to make things right, until what I’d thought was nothing but a crappy twist of fate throws me the opportunity I hadn’t even dared to hope was possible.
Because it’s not just me that’s back in Riverside. Charlie Lancaster is here too.
Charlie’s forgiveness is worlds more than I deserve; another shot at a friendship with him my literal dream come true. I tell myself it’s all I could ever want.
So why does that keep getting harder and harder to believe?
Color of Home is a high heat, estranged childhood best friends to lovers MM romance with the sweetest, slowest of all slow burns and a guaranteed HEA. The story is low on angst, full of mutual pining, and certain to give you all the feels. It features a demisexual MC having a bi and demiromantic awakening, lingerie, makeup and lace, a dash of hurt/comfort, and a rural small-town setting. Color of Home is book 2 in the Colors of Us series, but can be read as a standalone.
Molly Otto's review:
This is one of those delightfully painful yet beautiful slow burns that will find a place forever in your heart. Myles & Charlie where best friends until Myles had to move away and Charlie made the poor choice of ghosting versus continuing their friendship. Ten and half years later with the passing of Charlies father it is time to return to the place that he wanted to leave in his past, to find Myles to has returned. What starts with a tentative friendship soon morphs into two men realizing how much they missed in their friendship. I absolutely loved the slow build up to intimacy making both men one hundred percent in the relationship before taking that last major step. A beautifully written piece of work. This was my first book from this author and plan on for more if they hold up to anything of this beauty.
SNik's review:
Second in series (Colors of Us), but can be read as a standalone. Small town. Former childhood best friends. Demisexual representation. Slow burn. Dual POV. Heed content warnings.
Charlie has never gotten over his first love, and has missed his former best friend every day for the last ten years. Now Charlie is back in the small town where Myles grew up, and Myles takes a chance Charlie will forgive him and allow them to become close again.
This book is full of yearning and a kind of love that never fades. It was beautiful to see Myles learn and examine his feelings for Charlie as they were in the past and how being paired with attraction made the depth of his attachment stronger. As Charlie and Myles build their friendship again, everything is slow and low angst as eventually they begin a possibly limited time physical relationship that is incredibly steamy. Both men are deeply in love with the other and the way this story is written allows the reader to believe and experience the truth and the assuredness of their HEA.
Angel's review:
I had the pleasure, and the joy, of first Alpha reading this book, then Beta reading it, AND also being able to edit it as well, so I have a deeper connection with these two then with my usual ARC reads. I saw their story come to live, I saw them being created, turning into the version of them others are being introduced to now. So, for that reason alone they are very special to me. Seeing everyone reading this book and loving these two as much as Lucia and I do has been SO amazing!!
While I do love this book because I saw it come together, I also love it because the story is just really lovely! The characters, the writing, the dialogue, everything is just exceptional! I loved these two SO much, I enjoyed reading every moment that occurred between them. From the awkward first moments after meeting again, to chopping wood together, and the hike in the woods that was the irrevocable moment that Myles started thinking about what Charlie means to him. All of those special moments combined together were what made Charlie and Myles such a joy to read about.
I really loved and appreciated the demi rep with Myles's character. I thought that was written in a beautiful and respectful way. Lucia didn't have that be the sum of Myles's character but she made sure to let the readers, and Charlie know, that his realization of being Demi, is a part of who he is. And I thought that was really well done. All in all, this story is going to make you feel things, good things, along with happy emotions. And I think that's what the world, and this community, really needs right now. I think Lucia did an excellent job with combining real world elements, with fiction, to create a story you can relate to but also one you can escape into and not have to think about what's going on in the world currently.
What's going on in the world IS important, but it's also important to have an escape too, and Lucia provided that. If you're looking for a MM romance that's going to leave you feeling good with a smile on your face, you HAVE to give Color of Home a chance! You won't regret it!
Color of Home is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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