Title: The One I Choose
Author: DH Starr
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: Novella (90 pages)
Publisher: Wilde City Press (September 19th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams
Blurb: Cal and Rhys have been together for three years. Having met and lived together in New York City, their lives were travelling along the same path. That is, until Rhys started working for a jealous chef and got blacklisted in the culinary world of New York City. They move to Boston, Cal using his inheritance to purchase a restaurant for Rhys to get a fresh start. Cal’s biggest challenge is figuring out how to balance work and Rhys. Struggling to make the right choices, will Cal figure out how to accomplish both things without hurting the man he loves?
Purchase Link: http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-romance/the-one-i-choose/#.VCnxRfldVGQ
Review: Cal and Rhys gave up their lives in New York to move to Boston and start over after Rhys was blacklisted by a fellow chef at his former job. Cal would do anything to make Rhys happy, so it was a no brainer for him when the opportunity to open a restaurant for Rhys in Reading MA presented itself to them. Rhys, however, wasn’t nearly as enthralled with the idea of pulling up roots and leaving their family and friends behind.
What was supposed to be a fresh start for them, starting a new life and a new joint business venture winds up being more of a curse than a blessing. Cal has to devote a lot of time to remodelling and working on getting the restaurant ready to open, while Rhys is left home, alone. The relationship suffers as a result. Cal has to admit to himself that he has in fact been a little bit selfish, uprooting their lives and relocating them here all in an effort to make life better for Rhys, only making life harder with the separation. Rhys has to realize that sometimes in life you have to make changes and sacrifices to reach a larger goal.
This was just a sugary sweet, sexy read about sacrifice, change and moving forward, together. Cal not only has to contend with his own self-doubt that is only squashed by his need to get the restaurant open and ready. He loves Rhys more than anything. But, he’s so focused on the big picture, he misses a few little portraits along the way. And Rhys doesn’t adjust well, going from a life full of friends and family in New York where he and Cal spent a lot of quality time together to the loneliness he feels everyday in Boston. He lashes out at the only person there to listen, Cal.
It was interesting to see the way they balanced things in their relationship. In the beginning, it was almost as if they fought just so they could have make up sex, but that was the jest of their time together. The story was a little repetitive at times, with Cal having to constantly repeat his intentions, but overall it was a fun read. And the ending left a huge smile on my face.
If you are looking for something fun and romantic with lots of steamy sex and a very happy ending, this is definitely the short story for you!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *