Review: The Art of Loving (Arts & Hearts, #1) by Cassidy Ryan

Asa has been in love with Theo since their art school days in London, but Theo has only ever had eyes for their straight friend Oliver. Two years ago, unable to take the pain of unrequited love any longer, Asa came home to Glasgow. He hasn’t seen Theo since, nor has he stopped loving him.

When Oliver marries Charlotte, Asa can’t come up with any reasonable excuse not to attend the wedding, so he returns to London. He isn’t exactly shocked when Theo doesn’t show up, but when he learns that the reason for Theo’s no-show is a car accident that has landed him in hospital, Asa immediately rushes to be with him.

Unable to leave Theo to fend for himself while he recovers, Asa takes his friend back to Glasgow with him.

There, secrets are revealed, and Asa learns more about Theo than he ever imagined.

The Art of Loving is sweet, feel-good friends to lovers story. The MC’s are likable and from the beginning, I wanted to see them together. Asa has been in love with Theo for years and Theo has been pining for their straight friend Oliver for just as long. Oliver is getting married and Asa is looking forward to seeing Theo again at the wedding. They haven’t seen one another in a couple of years. It’s too hard for Asa to let Theo go if he sees him all the time, so he had moved back to his native Glasgow and immersed himself in the arts and Theo became a success in advertising in London.

Theo has an accident on the way to the wedding, Asa comes to his rescue and ends up taking Asa back to Glasgow with him. I have to say, I had a problem here. Theo’s injuries were a bit of BS. He crashes his car on the way to the wedding, Asa gets a call from a nurse during the wedding and Asa gets to the hospital 20 minutes later and Theo is ready to go with his broken leg and dislocated shoulder bandaged up. Basically, rescue time and hospital time are seriously accelerated in London. And being that I don’t live in London, maybe this is a thing, so my apologies if I cocked it up, but I do call BS. As well, a dislocated shoulder takes weeks to heal not days and a broken leg needs way more care than Theo got in the hospital. These are those realities that get in the way of a story sometimes and I was so busy picking it apart I wasn’t paying attention to the interaction between Theo and Asa.

Once the guys got to Glasgow, I stopped being fussy about the injuries and enjoyed the closeness the two of them were experiencing. It really was very sweet to read. I was expecting more angst considering the unrequited love angle, but I was pleasantly surprised not to experience it. The story was too short for that and the author handled the exploration and discovery of all the feels really well. The balance as the story moved from friends to lovers was just right. Theo had his reasons to put distance between himself and the chance at lifetime love and there was just enough detail to make sense without being overly dramatic considering the length of the story.

Once the segueway from friends to lovers happened the story moved pretty quickly. I believed the idea of the HEA for them, but the practicality left a little reality to be desired, but whatever, the gushy puddle of love was happening and these two were ridiculously happy. And I was happy for them.

For more information on The Art of Loving, check it out on Goodreads.

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

Review: Between Love and Obsession by Cassidy Ryan

When love crosses the line into darkness…

Ben can’t walk away from Aiden, even though Aiden seems to have no problem walking away from him, time and time again. In spite of his friend’s warnings, Ben refuses to believe that Aiden is just using him, until a devastating secret is revealed. However, Aiden isn’t the only one with something to hide.

Someone else is keeping a secret that threatens not only Ben and Aiden’s relationship, but Ben’s very life. Will they be able to keep Ben alive?

Publisher's Note: This book has previously been released elsewhere. It has been revised and re-edited for re-release with Pride Publishing.

This story had a lot going for it. Ben will not walk away from Aiden because he accepts him and his wandering ways, and even though he wants more, he will take what he is given. Until he finds out Aiden’s secret, and then things take a really bizarre turn.

The story starts on a high note…. And by high, I been sexy, and by note, I mean orgasms. The erotica in this story was yummy. Dirty talk is hot. Aiden is good at it. Their relationship seems to have evolved into something sweet and comfortable. The brief backstory is enough to give a realistic impression of the dynamics.

I was invested enough in this couple to want them to be together. The author did a great job of giving me these characters and making me like them.

The writing was good. The plot easy to follow. Until the secret. And then all bets were off. It twisted into something completely different and I felt that the author needed to write more on this for it to truly give the story justice. The plot holes were…. Significant. It really needed the fillers to make it work. The idea is great. I wanted to explore it more. I would encourage Cassidy Ryan to take this snippet and expand it into something longer with more invested in the twisty parts. I can see it turning out really well.

But for this short story, I’d say, it needs work. And by work I mean more story. Take this little piece and write a full length novel.

For those who enjoy short stories under 100 pages, with some sex, and some plot, this is a good one. For those who need more…. I can’t really recommend this because it will leave you feeling bereft.

Even though I’m disappointed in the way this unfolded, I will definitely read this author again, because like I said, the writing is good, and the idea is great. Keep going, and give us the rest of this story. I don’t mind being teased, as long as there is follow through. I hope there is follow through for this one.

Check out on Goodreads!