Review: When Love Takes Over by Jacob Z. Flores

Zach Kelly’s life is a shambles. His boyfriend of three years dumped him, and his writing career is going nowhere. On a whim, he heads to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to nurse his broken heart and figure out his next step. He’s expecting to find rest and relaxation on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod. Instead, Zach meets a hunky porn star during a chance encounter at a leather shop he mistakes as a place to buy a belt that is definitely not for whipping.

Van Pierce is smitten when shy and inexperienced Zach crashes through a shelf of fetish gear. Though Van’s got an insatiable appetite for men on and off the set, his porn persona, Hart Throb, hides a broken heart. He’s struggling to find the reality the porno set doesn’t offer, and Zach is fighting to find the fantasy that will set his writing on fire. The odd goofball and the suave beefcake may either find love amid Provincetown’s colorful pageantry where summer never seems to end—or more heartbreak than either can imagine.

A summer romance.  We’ve all experienced this in one fashion or another at some point in our lives.  That instant connection that you just don’t seem to find at any other time of the year.  Summer romances are filled with fun times, sharing, laughter and sometimes even love.  And when the summer is over they also always lead to heartbreak as you part ways. 

But what if…  what if there’s more?  What if you have the chance to keep going?  What if your love is so deep, so profound that it transcends the common summer romance?

Zach Kelly is lost.  He has just been dumped by his boyfriend of three years and is set adrift in the world.  He has nowhere to go.  From the pain and sorrow of his breakup he makes the snap decision to take a vacation to Provincetown, hoping it might cheer him up.

And his life is changed forever.

Once there he meets a gaggle of high-spirited and eccentric people who immediately welcome him into their inner circle.  So introverted, Zach at first balks at all the changes they seemingly force upon him but after a bit he learns to let go and ends up going hog wild.  Then, in a clumsy and hilarious encounter, he meets Van.

Van.  Oh yeah, Van.  What can I say about Van?  Van of the Golden Body.  Van of the Porn Star notoriety.  Van is beautiful, inside and out.  He brings out the best in Zach.  Zach can’t help but immediately fall in lust.  They spend 48 amazingly intimate hours together and both feel on top of the world.  But it can’t last.  It’s just a summer romance.  Right?

Zach has a decision to make.  Maybe the most important decision of his life.  But considering his past relationships with both his father and his ex and how they treated him, he is at a loss as how to make his choice and if it is the right one to make.

“He’d been living for others for so long that he simply stopped living for himself.”

I adored this book.  It made me laugh out loud and I think that scene with Dylan was one of the funniest I have read in a long time.  At first I thought this was just going to be a light and fun read but after about 75% the book turned into something more heartfelt and emotional and I got sucked right into all the feels.  The story was well paced and the words flowed beautifully.  I cannot wait to read the next in the series!


Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.