Rating: 4
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 1st person
Series: Island Love #3
Genre: contemporary romance, MM
Tropes / tags: hurt / comfort, first time, mental health issues
“Shh,” he repeated, so softly and so tenderly I nearly burst into tears. “I’m going to make sure you’re safe.”
I was thrilled when I found out that Max was getting his own book, and I loved to see Max and Caspian slowly find their way to each other!
Max was so sweet and I adored how badly he wanted to take care of Caspian, even if he wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. Caspian was struggling a lot throughout the story, his PoV was difficult to read at times – the pain and struggles felt very realistically portrayed and were heartbreaking to read. It was quite an emotional story, and Max and Caspian certainly had their fair share of obstacles and uncertainties to get past before things started to feel a bit more settled between them.
It wasn’t all heartbreak through – I enjoyed seeing how Caspian started to reclaim his life and the positive effects he and Max had on each other. Max’s calm and unwavering support was something Caspian sorely needed after years of abuse from his ex-husband and co-worker. There was no magic fix, but it was great to see him beginning to heal and moving on together with Max. Their relationship development was sweet and swoony, and even if Max struggled with social codes and came across at awkward at times, his affection and feelings for Caspian were crystal clear.
While there was a lot of things I loved about Max and Caspian’s story, I couldn’t help but feel like the ending was a bit too sudden and unsatisfactory. There were some things I was hoping to see resolved and there were too many uncertainties for it to feel like the solid ending that I wanted and needed for these two after everything they’d been through.
Vine was overall a beautiful and emotional romance – Fearne Hill is amazing at writing these stories full of feels with realistic characters, vulnerabilities and struggles! Max and Caspian’s story was a great addition to the series and I loved spending more time on this little island with these characters.
And there it was, the sum of all my anxieties, all my restlessness, the sleepless nights, the pills gulped down dry, my unhealthy relationship with a razor blade. Crystalised into one simple sentence. Everything that makes him feel happy makes me feel sad.
Book links:
Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub | StoryGraph
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