Review: Letters from Cupid by Ari McKay

After breaking up with his partner, English professor Dr. Derek Chandler feels like a failure who will never win at romance. His aloof colleague, Dr. Macon Pinney, disagrees and pens an anonymous note of encouragement to Derek, which he signs “Cupid.” Thus begins an exchange of correspondence, a courtship through words where the two men find out they have a great deal in common. Meanwhile, Derek reaches out to Macon, not knowing Macon is his anonymous pen pal. Derek reveals through his letters that someone close by has piqued his interest. Could he mean Macon—or has Macon missed his opportunity and lost Derek to another man?

Perhaps the time has come for Cupid to put in an appearance, and when better to do so than Valentine’s Day?

Letters from Cupid is one of the sweetest, more purely old-fashioned romantic stories I’ve read. This was read #3 and it’s become my Valentine’s go-to because it gets the feel of love and what Valentine’s Day is about just right for me and my normally cold dead heart. It’s also refreshing to read a story set in a college about the professors with nary a frat party to be found.

Professors Macon and Derek are uber-Academics and reading the letters between Cupid and Eros give you a big clue why Macon’s not getting laid on the regular but also why they are so perfect for each other. Not everyone gets off on poetry recitation as dirty talk, but if you can find the one other person who does, yay you!

Macon is a loner in his department and his colleagues just go with the assumption he is aloof and uptight when in reality, he’s an introvert who’s more comfortable with his stories than with casual conversation. He’s a prolific writer of Southern Gothic stories and his flair for the purple prose translates well when he assumed the role of Cupid for Derek. Derek and his douchebag of a boyfriend have split and Derek is in the pity party phase of relationship recovery.

Macon has always had a crush on Derek and writing to him as Cupid gives him a level an anonymity that allows him to be more courageous in his words than he would be as himself. Derek eats up the words like a starving man and writes back to Cupid as Eros. At the same time he and Macon, due to meet-cute circumstances, get to know one another so it was almost like getting two romances in one. 

It was sweet to read Derek’s impression of Macon as he got to know him better. Macon doesn’t have a high level of self-esteem and he’s very pragmatic about who he is. But, Derek’s appreciation was open and honest so Macon was able to be the Gothic hero wordsmith he was meant to be for the man he loved.

The two were just opposite enough to get why they would appreciate one another so much and similar enough to believe in an HEA for them from the beginning. Letters from Cupid is nerd love done right and while the communication between the MC’s may be a smidge OTT for realistic academics, it works for the characters the authors created and I’ll read it again come Valentine’s Day. Also, this one would make a fun audiobook *hint* *hint*.

**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**