Accidental Love

Title: Accidental Love
Author: Shae Connor
Cover Artist: Trace Edward Zaber
Publisher: Amber Allure
Buy Link: N/A
Genre: M/M contemporary romance
Length: 19,000 words
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

Summary Review: An enjoyable story of two College room-mates on the road to love.

THE BLURB

College roommates Greg and Keith are polar opposites when it comes to relationships. Greg equates sex with the alcohol and drugs he gave up, while Keith protects his heart by keeping sex strictly casual. At first, neither Greg nor Keith realizes the other is gay, but once they get to know each other better, they feel drawn together, and their developing attraction makes each of them reevaluate his stance on relationships.

Keith starts out thinking he only wants a roommates-with-benefits arrangement, something more than his usual weekend flings but still casual, yet soon he begins to feel more for Greg. Greg’s afraid of what he’s feeling because he has trouble mentally separating sex from the other bad habits that had nearly ruined his life.

Greg’s fears leave him spooked by an impromptu kiss following a game of one-on-one basketball, but that’s nothing compared with how he feels after a dinner date ends with the two men having sex. To help bring Greg back from the edge, Keith opens up his heart, but will it be enough to allow them to move forward together?

THE REVIEW

Greg has been sharing a room with Keith at College for a while now. They move in different circles and all Greg really knows about his room-mate is that he’s a hard worker who loves old films and spends his weekends out partying hard. When Greg arrives home slightly later than usual, it jolts the pair out of their routine and they begin to become friends. However, when it looks like Keith wants to deepen that friendship, Greg is unhappy. He’s put a lot of energy into cleaning up his act and he doesn’t want a relationship with a guy who’s only after a good time.

I found this to quite a lovely little story. It takes two guys who, as is normal for guys their age, are a little self absorbed and running a path parallel to each other. They are blinkered to the needs of each other because they are so focused on their own goals. Greg has made some mistakes in the past, clawed himself back from that and is now almost obsessive in his clean living. Keith is focused on keeping his life in separate boxes where he works hard in the week and then lets off steam at weekends. They are both what I would consider ‘nice guys’. Polite, mindful of the other, but also switched off and remote. When things start to change, I found it rather delightful to watch the lust build between them and also the way they discover how well they get on as a pair. The scenes where they sit and chat about their lives, or watch a film or show little kindnesses to each other were pivotal in showing us just how right they are for each other. These scenes left me feeling warm inside.

It’s not all sweetness and light for them though. Both men have problems, although perhaps Greg’s proves the biggest hurdle. I liked that, despite a few hiccups, the men talked through their problems and came out stronger as a result. These are College age guys though and I did find myself grimacing a little over the drama of it all whilst also recognising that people that age do have a tendency to over-react, over-think and take extreme actions. However, don’t think that this is an overly angsty story because it isn’t. There’s lots of emotion, yes, but the tone of the story, thanks the breezy writing and lighthearted feel, remains easy to read and not at all overwhelming.

If I have any niggles about the story it’s that the story is very focused on the couple, to the extent that they seem to exist in a bubble. We get told that the guys have separate friendship groups but we don’t get to meet any of them. In some ways the focus is a positive thing because it makes the romance seem intense, but I still would have liked to see how the characters act when they are away from each other and with different people.

That niggle wasn’t enough to spoil the story for me though and I found Accidental Love to be a well written and swift read. It’s high on the emotional content with lots of simmering lust in the background. Great stuff and a recommended read.