After the End by Alex Kidwell

17160816Title:  After the End

Author:  Alex Kidwell

Genre:   Contemporary

Length:  Novel (198 pages)

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press (January 21st 2013)

Heat Level:  Moderate

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥3½Hearts

Blurb:   After Quinn O’Malley loses his partner of ten years, Aaron, to cancer, he withdraws from everything. In a single tragic moment, he goes from an artist with a loving partner and a future to an uninspired comic book store owner who barely exists. He hides behind a shield of grief, refusing to let Aaron go. He feels guilty for even trying to imagine a life apart from what he’d had.

The charming party planner Quinn’s best friend insists he meet on a blind date isn’t someone he’s ready for. Brady Banner walks into Quinn’s small frozen world and turns everything upside down. For years, Quinn has focused on endings, but as Brady begins to thaw his existence, Quinn realizes that one moment can do more than stop a life—it can also start a new one.

Product Link:  http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3526

Reviewer:   Any

Review:  A sweet and sensitive read.

I really loved the beginning of this book. The moment Brady walked into the bar and spoke to Quinn, I instantly liked him. Why? Because Brady has such endearing self-assurance. Straight up, he tells Quinn how things are between them. This was refreshing to read and it hooked me.

Add to that beautiful little heartbreaking memories that Quinn has about his deceased love, and it is easy to fall into this story and get carried away.

There are many nice moments in this story, and the grief aspect is nicely woven in without becoming too angsty.

However, I feel the characters Brady and Quinn needed more time to get into their relationship, to take things slowly and carefully. I was disappointed when the decision to go slow and be friends first wasn’t followed through, and sadly, I began to feel rushed through the rest of their romance to the ‘I love yous’ and HEA. And with the haste to get there, I lost some vital connection to Brady and Quinn that had so nicely developed in the first half of the story.