Title: Learning to Love Bundle
Series: Learning to Love
Author: K.C. Wells
Genre: Contemporary, Young adult
Length: Collection/Bundle (979 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (1st January 2016)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts
Blurb: Don’t miss this exclusive bundle of all four stories of the Learning to Love series by K.C. Wells!
—: Sean and Michael are best friends from the minute they meet and become roommates. When they also discover they have feelings for each other, the reality of homophobia intrudes on their academic and personal lives and threatens their happiness.
—: Evan’s new housemate, Daniel Collier, is everything Evan could want in a boyfriend. Evan just needs to work out why Daniel panics whenever Evan tries to get close….
—: Now that Chris finds himself sharing a house with Josh, he wonders where the strong, sexy guy who had been his rock and support has disappeared to. Chris wants him back—but he can’t wait forever.
—: One house, three couples, and one year left…. As their school career comes to a close and the one person who holds them all together starts to fall apart, the final exam is a true test of friendship.
ISBN: 978-1-63476-733-0
Product Link: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon US | Amazon UK
Reviewer: Prime
Review: From start to finish this bundle of KC Well’s Learning to Love series is simply a pure joy to read. Each of the three stories get a resounding 5/5 from me! I love the characters and plot and the development of both. I particularly loved how each story, despite the fact each book centred on a different couple, flows on from one to other. The new couple is flawlessly introduced towards the end of the preceding story. It is generally just great seeing how these guys, all uni students living away from their biological families (and have very different family lives), make a new family centred around the first couple of the series: Sean and Michael.
Sean and Michael story is simply cute! It attracts the nerd in me because although I’m not particularly a Mel Brooks fan, I can more than relate to the couple who meet by exchanging lines from the movie Blazing Saddles. The book goes through the whole school year of Sean and Michael’s first year at university. There are ups and downs – there is some funny parts as both Sean and Michael come to terms that they really aren’t straight though their openly gay housemate, Evan, was convinced from the start. I think I have some reservations about what happened between the guys and Evan – I’m not entirely sure it flowed properly – but in the big picture it all works well. Yet, at the same time, pretty sure the story/series could have done well without that particular set of events.
Secondly, we have Evan and Daniel. After the events of the first book Evan is lonely and it is so deeply felt through the words of book. It makes me understand the “particular event” I wasn’t thrilled about above, but I still think that it could have done without it. I hate to say it in these words but Evan is a bit of a queen – but he is totally sweet and understanding and generally wonderful. In short, he is everything that Daniel needs. Daniel has gone through some traumatic experiences in the past and they have reared again once more.
Thirdly, we have Chris and Josh’s story. Chris first popped up in the series as a villain, but he was a misunderstood villain and has since been taken under Sean and Michael’s wing. In a way, Josh came in as a consequence of what Chris’s initial involvement in the group. Josh was a nurse who got to know the guys after a couple of trips to hospital by Michael and Evan in their respective stories. I have to admit that Chris and Josh dance about each other both figuratively and literally and I will admit that the book seemed rather slow. However, in the end some drama helps to ignite the tension between us. Of all the minor characters, I have to say that Josh’s father, Mark, is a favourite of mine and he really did shine in this book along with his son. I will admit that when things looked at a bit dicey for Josh I shed a couple of tears and it was at this point that Chris really cemented his place in Josh’s life and in my heart as a truly wonderful character.
For the fourth and final story, we get to see all the loose ends tie up and most of the guys graduate from university. There is a lot of drama in the face of a medical scare for Sean. It is simply delightful to see the friends and their families rally around Sean and Michael. However, both Evan and Daniel and Chris and Josh go through their final bit of dramas. It all feels natural and in the end, though I love a good HEA, I was sad to see the guys finish their stories.
Each story gives us a peek at very different situations – death and two different forms of abuse. I loved these books and I cannot think of anyone who would dislike them, but I suppose, if you’re not into reading about guys in university, etc. this isn’t the book for you. But as I said, I think this bundle has something for everyone. All six guys are super relatable and totally wonderful.
