Very sweet, low key yet hot romance. I absolutely loved the two MCs - Joshua/Julien and Chris. I understood Chris' struggle with what he had been taught about God and religion and how intolerant that religion is when it comes to his life. What a strong person! It's hard to deal with the alienation of your family whose beliefs refuse to let them just simply love their son. I think the religion aspect of the book adds a layer of emotion and feelings that you don't often see in romance novels let along mm romances. Well done! Julien was one hot Frenchman - o la la.. And as always, Witt and Voinov bring us some lovely heat to the table. The uniform scene - whew, my Kindle was smoking. Love these two authors. Solid snappy writing, depth of emotion, sexiness and humor - all rolled into one yummy mm package. Final Scuttlbutt review for today.Yet another first, as far as I am aware this is the first co authored book that I’ve read (that I’m aware of). While I really like Aleks Voinov’s writing a great deal I’ve never read anything before by Lori Gallagher and although I wasn’t really sure what to expect from them, I wasn’t expecting this.I’m going to try and review this without spoilers, but can’t guarantee it.Chris and Joshua were best friends, double dated on their prom, and the night before they went on their missions had sex. While Chris is on his South Korea mission Joshua is reported as dead. A combination of the death of his best friend and Chris’ being ‘different’ lead to him leaving the Mormon faith and becoming disenfranchised from his parents, for a while he goes off the rails, drinking and shagging, but finally starts getting it together and going to college while working at Wildes bar.Five years later, via Joshua’s sister , Deb, we discover that not only did Joshua not die, he enrolled in the French foreign legion, his name is now Julien, and he’s coming back to Seattle to see his father who is dying.What I respect about the AV books I have read is the level of research that goes into them, and this trend was here as well. That Joshua changes his name, something that was compulsory for legionnaires in their first year of service, signed on in mainland France (the only place that it’s possible to do so )to the Legion for five years (the minimum term permissible) added credibility to the story. Chris decides that Julien can sleep on his couch while he waits to see his parents and decide what to do next, sign on for another five years in the Legion, stay in Seattle or go somewhere else….This is a romance, and as Chris and Julien begin to know each other again their strong attraction is rekindled, and the chemistry is off the charts, there is a scene where Julien wears his Legionaries uniform which I read on the train to work, and almost missed my stop!I read that we all really only have about three real friends, those that we bear out souls to and take us unconditionally, this is the friendship that Chris and Julien have. After the initial OMG moments Chris embraces (yes literally as well) Julien and he accepts him for the person he has become. It takes Julien a little longer to come to terms with what he needs, as his family starts to put pressure on him to return to the Mormon fold.The dilemma that Julien faces with his family and their faith versus Chris and the life they both want is beautifully realised, this and the unconditional friendship element really are the crux of the book for me.So, in the end, this was about friendship and love. The quality of the writing raised it above the average, recommended.
Do You like book No Distance Left To Run (2014)?
with the wedding as an epilogue, I would have given it a 5.
—maddy
