Rating: 4
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 1st person
Genre: contemporary romance, MM
Tropes / tags: hurt / comfort, mental health, past abuse
I clutched my heart as I watched them for a minute. Somehow, that man and my dog were meant for each other. And hopefully I fit somewhere in there too.
In the Gray was a beautiful story that managed to be both heartwarming and heart wrenching at times.
Foster and Lachlan’s story had a lot of small steps and moments as they went from strangers to friends, from friends to roommates with benefits, and then lovers. It took Foster quite some time to get Lachlan to trust him, which was completely understandable considering his past.
It was easy to feel compassion for both Foster and Lachlan, these two really pulled on my heart strings and I didn’t want to put the book down until they found their happiness. It felt like they shared a special connection right from the start, and their chemistry was amazing. I loved their relationship progression, and even if it was done slowly, they were pretty quick to act on the attraction between them.
For being a story with heavy and emotional themes, it wasn’t nearly as angsty as I expected. I loved how the focus was mainly on healing, support and love, and how they found ways to support and comfort each other despite their different circumstances. It was overall just such a sweet and touching story!
In the Gray surprised me in a lot of ways, and I loved seeing these two men fall in love with each other. And no forgetting Oscar, who was being a very good boy, and an important part of the story as well!
It is a beautiful and important book, and I feel like Christina Lee manages to highlight issues that houseless people face in a respectful and educational way. I really recommend adding Foster and Lachlan’s story to your TBR!
I took his hand and placed the palm right up against my heart. “I want to go on walks and get coffee at our favorite spot. I want to dance to Beatles music because it reminds us of our moms. I want to hold you when you’re in the gray, and we’ll look up at the stars together.”
Book links:
Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub | StoryGraph
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