Title: Mourning Jack
Series: N/A
Author: S. A. Meade
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel
Publisher: Total E-Bound
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: When Ade loses his best friend he soon learns that mourning Jack brings not only sorrow but happiness too.
Restaurant chef Ade is a man of his word. When his best friend is killed while serving in Afghanistan, he honours a promise to look after Jack’s lover, Cal.
Ever the white knight, Ade does his best to console Cal in spite of losing his job and nearly losing his life. Ever the fool, Ade falls in love and learns the hard way that loving someone who can’t love him isn’t enough.
With a new job in a new place comes the possibility of a new love, but Eric has baggage of his own. Can Ade and Eric leave their old heartaches behind and find new happiness with each other?
Product Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1655
Reviewer: Portia
Review: Ade and Jack were as close as brothers. If fact, when Ade’s family didn’t take his coming out well, Jack’s family became his surrogate parents and all but adopted Ade. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to honor his friend. But, falling in love with Jack’s lover wasn’t on his agenda…it just kinda happened.
The title of this book kind of threw me. Maybe, it’s me, but this was so much more than Ade or even Cal mourning Jack. Don’t get me wrong; even though he’s dead before the book even begins, Jack is a primary character in this book. But, for me, this is Ade’s story. Despite his love of cooking, his job has become a chore. He fights his attraction for Cal, because he feels like it’s too soon, if ever they are meant to explore the mutual chemistry between them. He really just wants a normal life, with a normal man who loves him.
I loved the glimpse into English village life that Mourning Jack gives the reader. There is a laid back pace that really worked for me. I can’t tell you more of the plot, because there are a few twist there that were totally unexpected. But, the ending left me with a smile. Ade and Cal mourn Jack in very different ways, but in the end they both found a way to fill the void that his passing left. This is a very well written novel and I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy a gentler pace to their romance and lovers who find love in unexpected place.
And on a side note: If S. A. Meade were a nice person, she would post recipes for all the lovely dishes that Ade creates throughout this book. J