Title: Carry Me Home
Series: N/A
Author: Sterling Rivers
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 187 Pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 8th.2016)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5 Hearts
Blurb: After his mom dies, Aiden Price returns to Texas to deal with the aftermath. Amidst disapproving family and painful memories, Aiden finds solace in love letters he discovers in his mom’s attic. Needing a change when his sexual orientation is unexpectedly revealed and his dad rejects him, Aiden sets out on a journey to Montana to find the mysterious author of the letters. There he meets Cody Bannar, who volunteers to be his guide.
Cody had a rough start in life but after being adopted into a huge, loving family, he lives out and proud, unafraid of what others think about his sexuality.
Aiden and Cody hit it off and Aiden is welcomed into Cody’s family with open arms. As they continue on their quest, they begin to fall in love, but Aiden isn’t ready to commit to Cody, or to embrace who he is.
Not until after the truth behind the love letters is revealed does Aiden realize his mom would have wanted him to follow his heart.
And home is where the heart is—firmly in Cody’s hands.
ISBN: 978-1-63476-842-9
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7391
Reviewer: Kenna
Review: Aiden Price has lost his mother, the most important person in his life. She was hit by a drunk driver and languished in a coma for five weeks. He and his sister are not close. She tried to get him to pull the plug, but Aiden was reluctant. He kept hoping that she’d wake up, but that was not to be.
This leaves him in absolute anguish, so when he goes to her house to sort out her things (she left him the house in her will), he feels very lost. Aiden is gay and closeted to his family, and he’s alright with that. As mentioned, he and his sister aren’t close, and his father has been uninterested in him since he divorced Aiden’s mother when he was 13 years old.
While in the attic, Aiden discovers an old army lockbox full of love letters to his uncle George from someone called Bibby. The first few were very sweet, but sad, as George had gone off to war. However, a few letters in, Aiden discovers that Bibby was a man, and he and Uncle George had been having a secret relationship. Of course, it would have been considered perverted at the time, so Bibby didn’t even get to kiss George goodbye at the train station because people would see.
In a state of confusion about his life, and missing his mother terribly, Aiden decides to head to Montana, where the return address on the envelopes is. There, he meets Cody who has such a sunny outlook on life, it’s infectious. Aiden begins a journey of self-discovery as he and Cody grow closer. He meets and becomes a part of Cody’s extended family and the people of the small town takes to him as well.
As Aiden falls harder and harder for Cody, he realizes that he’ll have to leave the warm arms of Montana, leaving him with a dilemma.
I. Loved. This. Book! The blurb intrigued me, and I’m so glad to have been able to read Carry Me Home. First and foremost, I consider it to be a great love story. Whether it’s about two men, two women, a man and a woman…hell, a man and a space alien, it’s about love. Aiden loved his mother, and she died. Bibby loved George, and they couldn’t be together. Aiden begins to love Cody, but he thinks he’ll be leaving soon.
This story grabbed my heart and held on all the way to the end. Aiden was so devastated by this mother’s loss, but I got to come along with him as he began his road to happiness. Watching him and Cody embark on the quest to find Bibby was exciting as well as sweet, and oh, when Cody brought Aiden home to meet his family, the smile on my face would have to be chipped off.
The chemistry between Aiden and Cody was off the charts. I fell in love with them as they were falling in love with each other. They were perfect as a couple. Cody wanted to take care of Aiden, and Aiden, as independent as he is, needed to be taken care of at this point in his life. The conversation and hand holding was almost as sexy as when they finally made love. Note that I said almost. Oh my, when they come together, it was so hot!
However, it was quite tender as well. The men were tentative but enthusiastic, and it was a joy to read. I’ve often said that sex isn’t the most important part of a story, but good scenes, placed where they need to be as opposed to being gratuitous, is a wonderful enhancement.
I don’t want to give the ending away. I believe that everyone should read this book, and it should be savored. I will tell you its perfection…sublime even. I expected to like Carry Me Home, but I wound up with a book that I’ll reread often.
You should definitely pick this one up.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *