Nicholas Herald had one job to do for his big sister’s wedding. ONE. So of course, he forgets all about promising to book the harpist he knows for the elegant reception. With only a week to go, and his options running out fast, he resorts to asking a busker he finds performing on the city streets to step in and help save the day.
As it turns out though, this guy Fynn is pretty amazing with his guitar, and he has the most beautiful eyes – not that Nicholas is looking. But it becomes quickly apparent that finding a musician is the least of Nicholas’s problems. Between last minute cancellations, wayward family members, and a cat with a serious vendetta against happiness, he knows he’ll be lucky if they all make it to the big day intact.
He just doesn’t have time to fall in love, let alone with a boy However, like almost everything else in the week to come, he may not exactly have a choice…
A stand alone, New Adult romance with a happy ending.
D’awwwwww, this is really a sweet novel about first love, self-discovery and family. There’s a lot of story here with a good handful of arcs flowing through and it’s impressive how well the author balances all those nuances , giving them all their due while still staying focused on Nicholas.
And oh Nicholas, I really did like him so much. The book is described as NA, but it does land on the ‘beginner’ side of the NA spectrum. Nicholas is young but he’s mostly inexperienced. He’s just sweet and kinda dorky with a big empathetic heart. Which is what I found very charming about Nicholas, he doesn’t have a lot of awareness when it comes to himself, but he does notice subtleties in others. His interactions with other characters were always heartwarming. His openness and support of his future sibling in law was especially poignant.
So Nicholas cocked up the one thing he was supposed to do for his sister’s wedding. One job Nicholas. One job. He feels terrible that he forgot to book the harpist who was a sister of a friend, etc. etc. He can’t let his cousin, the maid of honor/planner/overachiever pain-in-the-ass find out or the wrath of maid-of-honorzilla will come down on his head. Bring on the meet cute! During his panic he notices a dreamy busker near the coffee shop where he has set up camp and it seems that his problems were solved. And they were and then some.
Fynn, the dreamy busker and he hit it off in a quietly flirty way. At this point, Nicholas is figuring his sexuality out and what better inspiration than a hot musician? The overall story is low angst and what is there is mostly in Nicholas’s head. There are times I wanted to throttle him and his self-doubt (in a naggy encouraging way of course), but it did read real for a young man finding his way. I mean, I can only speak on that a bit from having been a young person many moons ago, but in actuality, who am I to know what goes through a man’s head when he’s learning about his own sexuality? In that respect, this is definitely low angst and his struggles are more than legit.
Nicholas is also very romantic and some of his flowery speech and needy little bits spoke to that. The book is set during the planning of a wedding for crying out loud, it literally demands for situations to be romanticized. Nicholas and Fynn find excuses to spend more time together, grow closer and Fynn is a perfect match for Nicholas and his inexperience. He’s patient and supportive throughout, he finds Nicholas’s innocence adorable and while they were a somewhat unlikely couple, I didn’t doubt Flynn’s feelings for Nicholas.
My issues were few and one was purely me being selfish. For reals, what are the odds your first love, your first kiss, your first . . . everything are that perfect with that amazing of a person.
Realistic? Hardly.
But I like to think it’s a thing that can happen and good on Nicholas for it happening to him. Lucky bastard. It is a bit sugary overall but like I said, that’s keeping with the romantic theme, and if you’re in the mood for the sweet sauce, this is perfect book to satisfy your craving. It’s lengthy, but reads quickly. As I said in the beginning, there are a lot of arcs and sure, some of them could have been pared down but they l wouldn’t want any of them removed. They all added depth to this story that is more than just a coming of age romance. I loved all the family and the other romances going on, it‘s an all-encompassing charming love fest heavy on the sweet, low on the angst and next time I’m in the mood to get my NA/YA on, I’ll look for a Helen Juliet story.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
