Friends to Lovers by Sedonia Guillone and D.H. Starr

Title:  Friends to Lovers

Series:  N/A

Author:  Sedonia Guillone and D. H. Starr

Genre:   Contemporary, Historical and Romance

Length:  Anthology (177 Pages)

Publisher:  Ai Press (October 27, 2012)

Heat Level:  Explicit

Heart Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥4.5Hearts

Blurb:   What do an advertising executive, an Olympic skater and an 18th century samurai have in common? Each is in love with his best friend and knows he’s found his soul mate. But is Fate destined to give him his heart’s desire? A timeless theme explored in three sizzling M/M stories by two of today’s favorite authors, D.H. Starr and Sedonia Guillone.

It Was Always You (D.H. Starr) A drama club geek and a consummate jock—hardly a formula for friendship. Yet Caleb Richards and Kevin O’Brien have been best friends since high school. Kevin’s free spirited ways brought Caleb out of his shell, and Caleb introduced Kevin to a world outside of sports. When Kevin came out to Caleb as gay, all the things he’d thought were wrong about himself suddenly seemed right…except for his inability to say the four words that could open the door to his ultimate happiness: I love you, Kevin. Years later, when Caleb finally faced his fear and plans to finally tell Kevin, “It was always you,” he’s a bit too late: Kevin tells him he’s found someone. How will a friendship ever become more now?

Blind Love (Sedonia Guillone) After a harrowing seventeen-year separation, Hirata Morimasa leaves his home and secure future to search for his childhood friend, Sho. Blinded by illness when they were children, Sho was sent away, apprenticed to a blind masseur (an anma) to learn his trade, and then disappeared. Desperate to find the other half of his heart and soul, Hirata willingly sacrifices the prestige and security of his father’s dojo to find him. When an anma who looks exactly like Sho crosses his path in front of a gambling parlor one day, the man flatly denies he is Sho. Hirata knows better and is determined to get the truth…and to rekindle what he’d lost with his friend. However, even though Hirata knows in his bones this man is his soul mate, Sho has…changed…in ways Hirata could not have prepared for in his wildest imaginings, changes that could continue to keep them apart…forever.

Skating For Gold (D.H. Starr) Joined by sorrow, Olympic figure skating hopeful Devon Hayes met champion Lance Dawes at a time when both their worlds were falling apart. Devon lost his mother to cancer and Lance’s family rejected him for being gay. When Devon leaves for college, a door seems to close on any hopes for something more than friendship…until Fate provides a second chance. Devon returns home to train with Lance. As the Olympic trials draw closer and their love grows stronger, the tug-of-war between desire and ambition threatens to ruin everything. If they can’t discover what matters most, they might end up with nothing

Product Link:  http://ai-press.net/2012/10/29/now-available-friends-to-lovers/

Reviewer:   John

Review: 

It Was Always You by D.H. Starr ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Caleb Richards and Kevin O’Brien are best friends since high school. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Caleb has always been in love to him, but he had not found the courage to share his feeling with him since Kevin has a reputation of sleeping around with a lot of guys. However, everything changes one day when Kevin wants to introduce to Caleb the guy he calls The One. This is where things get interesting.

I loved Caleb. He was smart, funny and a very nice guy. He has always been in love with Kevin, but has not dared to confess it to him. I absolutely loved Kevin since he was a real bad boy and a player. I was happy and shocked to know that Kevin loved Caleb as well, thus the name of the novel fits perfectly. On the downside, the story felt a little too long, even though it was a short story. It would have been better if the story was cut straight to the point or reduce the pages of internal conflict of the main character.

Blind Love by Sedonia Guillone ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Hirata Morimasa was a Samurai in training and his father owned a dojo. His best friend was Sho, a blind child who was the son of his father’s servants. But everything is not perfect since at just ten years old, Sho has to leave with a Blind Guild. Against Hirata and Sho’s wishes, he leaves and is never seen again. Before he is taken away however, Hirata promises that he will look for him someday. When Hirata is seventeen years old, he leaves his home and finds Sho ten years later. Everything should have been perfect, but it’s not since Sho does not recognize him.

This novel is not my type, but it was a masterpiece. The author clearly shows knowledge about this era and culture beyond my expectations. At first, I was sad by Sho’s rejection to Hirata since the guy had been looking for him for TEN years. For ten solid years, he looked far and wide for his one and true love. Now, that’s true love! After Sho told us his side of the story, I fell for the kid even more. He was a lost little boy who was force to grow up away from his family, friends and love. I knew then why he behaved that way. Everything about this story was perfect and story line was believable. The author did an amazing job with this short little story.

Skating For Gold by D.H. Starr – ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Devon Haynes is an ice skater who has been training with Lance Dawes. They have been in love with each other, but neither of them have had the courage to say it out loud to each other. When the Olympic Trail nears, they become closer and shared their troubling conflicts.

D.H. Starr is an amazing author. There is no doubt about that. His writing style comes alive on every page, but this was my least favorite story. Don’t get me wrong, the characters and story were great and believable. Everything flew well, but I don’t know why this story felt too long like the first one. Maybe, it was the amount of pages given to the troubling thoughts surrounding the characters. This would have been much better if it was cut straight to the point or reduce the number of pages of internal conflict of the main characters.

I recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read three amazing little stories about how friends become lovers and one in the same.

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