~~ Ready For Love by Stella Starling

(Book #1 in the Semper Fi, The Forever Faithful series)

Jake Hansen has been crushing on Gabe Byrne for half his life, but since Gabe is a straight, self-proclaimed commitment-phobe who moved away years ago to join the Marines, that crush is strictly a fantasy-best-enjoyed-in-private. And even when Gabe starts to flirt with him like crazy, Jake still knows better than to think it means anything.

Because falling in love with your straight bestie? Not just a cliche, but a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

…right?

Growing up, Gabe never saw “Little Jakey” as anything more than the kid who always liked to tag along after him and his brothers, but somehow, being friends with Jake has become the best part of his day. And after a seven-month deployment? Seeing Jake is the one thing he’s looking forward to the most.

He just didn’t expect that hanging out in person again would be so confusing… or keep blurring the lines about how straight he is… or keep making him want things that he never thought he would.

Things that seem a lot like forever.

 

Review

I liked this book despite myself. 

I adored Jake. I loved his self awareness and fun. 

Gabe is a commitment phobe and a reactor so not my favorite character type. He also is in the I have never felt desire for any other man but you type and not a demisexual so also not my favorite. He does a lot of not self aware stuff. 

And yet it is a sweet romance and I liked Jake enough and he liked Gabe enough that I enjoyed myself. 

A nice circle of friends and family. I have already started the next book in the series which is way sweeter and I like it much more.

Ready For Love - Stella Starling This is the first book in the Semper Fi, The Forever Faithful series. Before you give this a read I recommend you go back and read this authors entire backlist. The characters are kind of all linked together. For sure, I would suggest you read at least this author’s At Last, The Beloved series ([b:Be True|33874558|Be True (At Last, The Beloved Series Book 1)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484625297s/33874558.jpg|54713396], [b:Be Mine|33985337|Be Mine (At Last, The Beloved Series, #2)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1485363120s/33985337.jpg|54978534], [b:Be Loved|34457919|Be Loved (At Last, The Beloved Series Book 3)|Stella Starling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488588418s/34457919.jpg|55554158]) books since readers meet the characters in this series in that series first. The At Last series are happening in concurrent to each other (the story unfold within the same time frame) so if you read one you should read them all and chronologically. If you read Be True (Book 1 in At Last) you should probably read All I Want (her standalone story) first. I didn’t and I felt like I ruined the story because it was alluded to in Be True how the couple, Elliot and Ash, ended up together. Of course they all can be read as standalone but work better together in my opinion.

Anyway, readers who read Be Loved (Book 3 in the At Last series) will remember Gabe Byrne, Brandon’s brother and Jake Hansen, the flight attendant that the Byrne brother’s mother had tried to set Brandon up on a blind date with (see Be Loved to read the blind date and get an intro to the Byrne family).

After the Gabe and Jake reconnect, they start hanging out with each other, just as friends. Jake has always had a crush on Gabe but Gabe is as straight as an arrow. Gabe is a hard addiction for Jake to kick and frankly he doesn’t really want to. Needless to say he does try and fails epically. Jake is talked into a night out on town with Gabe. Their time at a gay club changes things in their relationship. Before Gabe knows it he can’t stop thinking of Jake in a new light but fights it. When they start drifting Gabe knows he has to take action their relationship will be doomed.

I really enjoyed the story. I loved the chemistry and both Gabe and Jake were fun and nice characters. They were very likable. I loved seeing them go from friends to discovering what it all could be if they became more than that. I loved that they were so supportive each other and made their log distance relationship work.

An ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

this book is all about 2nd chances ..and believe me, there are a lot of it in this series. although i really like how they were written.

Tall, dark, and handsome is an understatement when it comes to John Day. With rugged good looks, his ever present plaid shirt, and a dog named Babe, John is a modern alpha male lumberjack.

After his favorite neighbor rents out her beach cabin for the winter, John finds himself playing fireman and tour guide to Diane Watson, a beautiful brunette with her own messy past and recent battle scars.

Will he be ready to fall in love? Or will he go back to his old, flirty ways?

Hold onto your heart as John Day tells his story in this male POV contemporary adult romance/romantic comedy.