Book: Catching Sparkles: An M/M Bi-Awakening Romance by L.A. Lambert
Reviewed by ErikaWasReading
Rating: 4/5
Catching Sparkles was such a sweet romance.
When Rhys Kensington’s life falls apart, he returns to the small town he grew up in. Only this time, instead of the star quarterback, he’s almost 30, jobless, in the middle of a contentious divorce, and living with his parents. Kendall, his younger brother’s best friend, has always been a part of his life; only now, instead of a scrawny kid, he’s a hot, confident man. Only, Rhys doesn’t like men…or so he thought.
I appreciated that Rhys’ bi-awakening was not linear. When he first finds himself attracted to Kendall, it’s easy to brush it off, since Kendall is simply a good-looking person, and no one has really paid attention to Rhys in years. And even as their relationship progresses, Rhys often struggles with his feelings and the larger questions of his identity.
His hesitation and screw-ups felt natural, and it was interesting to see that explored. There was so much to the situation beyond simply admitting he wasn’t as straight as he’d thought; if things didn’t work out, it would affect his entire family, and with how broken his confidence was, he truly didn’t think he had anything to offer Kendall.
My heart absolutely went out to Kendall! He was willing to risk his everything for this man, even though experience had shown that this would likely end in heartbreak. He was so patient with Rhys, and even when he had “moments” (as he saw them), his feelings were more than valid. I loved the contrast between Kendall’s confidence in who he was and the life he had built for himself, and Rhys’ self-deprecating spiral.
Overall, this was a sweet, fun read,
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I received an advance copy of this book from the author at no charge. This is my honest, voluntary review.