Sparks fly when mutual friends introduce them, but it’s so much more than basic attraction. There’s an undeniable awareness and a sense of belonging that neither man can deny. Despite Emory’s premonition of a future with Jon, he has vowed never to love again. Jon is convinced that his tainted soul is the reason he will never have someone to call his own. What if they’re both wrong?
Maybe these broken men with their jagged edges could somehow align perfectly to form something whole and beautiful. But will that realization come too late for them?
Someone to Call My Own is the second book in the Road to Blissville series. These books can be read as standalone or as part of the series. The author first introduced these characters in the Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, but it isn’t necessary to read that series first. This book contains sexually explicit material and is intended for adults 18 and older
We met Emory and Jon back in the Curl Up and Dye series. Emory, Josh's enigmatic new neighbor who moved into the 'Murder House' and Jon, Nate's twin brother who popped up out of nowhere (literally) have had a somewhat volatile relationship since the first time they set eyes on one another.
Emory is still grieving over the loss of his husband, River, five years ago and isn't looking to ever find love again. He's a bit broken and the guilt and anguish over River's death is eating him up inside and he's living a half-life, just making it day by day. Having suffered a blow to the head in the accident that claimed his husband's life, Emory wakes up with a psychic ability that enables him to 'see' things, past, present and future. This enables him to help solve cold cases so he travels around the country, aiding the local authorities in whatever town he's been 'called' to. He ends up in Blissville after having a vision of an address on an envelope. He doesn't know why he's there but trusts in his visions so he doesn't question it.
Jon is grieving too. After finally meeting his twin brother, whom he never knew existed until his mother's death-bed confession, he only has seven wonderful months with Nate before he's violently taken away. Jon is an enigma. He has no past - at least from Gabe's viewpoint. There are no records of him even existing prior to him finding Nate. Turns out, Jon is ex-military, black ops to be specific. The things he witnessed and was a part of during his term of service have resulted in him feeling as though he is undeserving of love, or even friendship, really.
One night, Emory has a dream about a man who he at first thinks is River. The dream is erotic and explicit and Emory is horrified to find out at the end that it was not River there with him, but some mystery man. When Emory and Jon meet shortly thereafter, Emory discovers that it was Jon in the dream. He is terrified of the thought of replacing River and so pushes Jon away. The rest of the book is a cat-and-mouse game of Jon trying to first befriend Emory and then get him in his bed. Neither one of them ever expected for their journey to end at love.
This second book in the Road to Blissville series didn't quite meet my expectations. While I liked it and I was happy to be back in this world, I was a bit disappointed in the execution. The book is touted as a standalone and, yeah, I can see how it maybe could be one if you've never read the Curl Up and Dye series but, honestly, I don't recommend reading it by itself. Or, maybe I do? I dunno. It's hard to separate myself from the prior series.
This story, like the first in the series, has a lot of recap. I mean, a lot. While this may be good for first-time readers, it is really annoying to those of us who have read the previous books. I feel the author has done a disservice to herself by putting so much recap in. It moves the story at break-neck speed, causing it to feel very surface level, like we're skimming over it instead of delving deeper into the heart of things. There was a lot of telling instead of showing because of this too.
It wasn't until we got near the end that things got interesting. I think this is because we finally got to a new point in the story, where new material was written. I liked the last third of the book a lot. There were the feelings I was looking for! It was full of depth and heart and emotions and I ended the book with a schmoopy sigh. I just wish it could have been like that for the entire story.
I do plan on continuing this series as I love this town and it inhabitants. Hopefully, now that we've gotten the stories for the secondary characters from the Curl Up and Dye series out of the way, there won't be any recap in future installments. One can only hope.
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