Review: Love's Medicine by Ashley John

Justin White didn't expect to fall in love with his best friend, Sammie Cooper, but he couldn't stop himself. Since their teen years, they've been inseparable, but as each year passes, it becomes harder and harder for shy Justin to confess his true feelings to his charismatic and promiscuous best friend. Keeping secrets has become second nature to Justin, as his love for Sammie isn't the only thing he's concealing from the world. In the shadows of his home, his mother is slowly dying, and despite stealing painkillers from the hospital, there's nothing he can do to save her.

Sammie Cooper never thought his casual and sexual relationship with his boss at the nightclub would ever turn into anything serious, but when Finley offers him a briefcase stuffed with money to follow him to England, he doesn't know if he can resist the lure of the cold, hard cash. Sammie is faced with a decision that he never thought he'd have to make, and things only get more complicated when he makes a shocking discovery about Justin's life.

Can Justin start telling the truth to keep hold of the only man he'll ever love? Can Sammie turn down life changing money to risk it all on the unknown?

One is scared of love and the other is scared of commitment. Justin and Sammie thought they could make it through anything together, but their crumbling lives threaten to rip them apart. Both are faced with difficult decisions, but will they make the right ones? 

Ashley John is an author I look forward to reading now. The Surf Bay books are a series of, easy to read, devour in a sitting, stories. Each of the characters are unique, as is each love story. When I open up one of these books I know to a certain extent what I am going to get - but that is part of the charm. I know there will be one lovable MC with stuff going wrong in his life. I know there will be a 'bad boy' MC who we get to uncover and grow to love. I know there will be angst but ultimately an HEA/HFN. I like that I know this. I read different books for different reasons and depending on my mood at the time, and sometimes I just know I need to read this kind of book. Hard, but not brutal. I know I'll fall for the MC's along the way and wish them their happily ever after. 

So what is unique about each book? Well, though they follow a certain format they do all bring different characters to the table...or the town of Surf Bay and I really appreciate this. In this book Justin is the good guy making some super tough decisions. Hiding a secret from everyone, including his best friend Sammie, he is coping the best he can in a crappy situation. He's trying to keep himself together but is barely succeeding. On top of the personal issues he's dealing with the love of his life, best friend Sammie (friends to lovers - YAYAYAYAYA!!) has no idea how Justin feels about him, and Sammie's casual attitude to sex and his own self worth eat away at Justin more and more.

Sammie is getting himself in some hot water. Shagging his boss to keep him sweet and rolling in expensive gifts it seems that Sammie may suddenly be out of his depth. Caught between friendship and an uncertain future that may involve love, or a guaranteed 'high-life' rolling in riches, playboy to his boss, Sammie suddenly doesn't know which way to turn. He thought he knew what it was he wanted out of life but now he's questioning decisions he makes and then questioning them again.

It would be easy to write Sammie off as a bit of an arsehole - in truth he really can be, but I always got the feeling that he was more a confused little boy who really didn't know up-from-down. Yes, at times, his treatment of Justin SUCKED. He was a miserable BFF and the phrase 'who needs enemies...' sprung to mind. When I peeled beneath the surface though I think he was way more scared and unable to cope with life than Justin, however they would outwardly appear. He was screwed up and made screwed up decisions, but I think he started to learn from them and at the end of the day he made the right choices (eventually). Even if he did cut it fine.

Fans of this series will like this book and I would recommend Surf Bay for those looking for a comfort read, the population there is pretty cool!

A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review.

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