Review: Four (Love by Numbers #2) by Tia Fielding

A Love by Numbers Story

When unlikely attraction blossoms between a twentysomething genderqueer tattoo artist and an older, small-town veterinarian, both are forced to face their pasts for a chance at a loving future. 

Four years ago Padraig Donovan lost his husband, the only man he’d ever been with. Now his life consists of the work he loves, a big empty house, and the possibility of a lonely future.

Kaos’s experiments with makeup landed him in the hospital at the hands of his disapproving ex. With nowhere else to turn, he flees to Acker, Wisconsin… and runs into a sexy widower and the kindest man he’s ever met.

Padraig and Kaos know there’s something worth exploring between them, and as they raise a puppy and deal with the ups and downs of their respective jobs, they fit into each other’s lives in ways they never expected. Being with Kaos—who is so different than the guys he’s always been attracted to—opens up an exciting new world for Padraig. But can he convince Kaos to trust another man with his body… let alone his heart?

While I enjoyed reading Four and getting to know Kaos and Padraig very much I will say that the book is really not a standalone and I would say you should read book one first to get the full layout of character dynamics. I didn’t read book one first and that’s my bad. There was enough info to be able to get a good gist of what was going on when characters would refer to their histories, but I know I was missing chunks of material that would have made the story more fully fleshed out for me. 

Individually I liked Kaos and Padraig a lot and as they spent more time together I liked reading about their impending couple-hood. They were an unlikely paid and those couplings are usually my favorite. The differences have a tendency to bring out hidden treasures in each character and reading about them exploring and being true to themselves is a treat. That was especially true for these guys. Kaos is escaping an abusive relationship and struggling to honor his true self. Padraig is coping with grief and that almost always leads to feelings of guilt. So, these two had a lot to work on both separately and together.

The thing that threw me off a bit was the secondary characters. I’m going to chalk some of that up to not reading book one, but even if I had backstory, I think the supporting characters were just, a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Everything felt incredibly dramatic and over the top and it’s slightly shitty of me to say that considering basically EVERYONE has some serious trauma but honestly it became exhausting. The distractions of meltdowns would drag me out of the burgeoning relationship between Kaos and Padraig so I felt like was losing their momentum more than once.

An HEA was inevitable, but man, they had to earn it. Both Kaos and Padraig got in their own way of their happiness multiple times and I believe that there was just too much for one story to be able to resolve it all organically and with enough balance so that I could really feel the happy ending. I totally bought into it, don’t get me wrong, I was just hoping it would feel more satisfying when it finally came around.

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

Blog Tour: Ten by Tia Fielding

Author Tia Fielding came by to celebrate the recent Dreamspinner Press release of Ten and is talking about postcrossing! Don't know what postcrossing is? Read on and find out.

Hey, everyone!

I didn’t have a clear picture of what I wanted to write about on this guest post. I struggle a lot with writing these things with each book, but somehow I get through them just fine in the end, go figure.

So I didn’t have an idea, until I realized one of the cards in my postcard wall had fallen to the floor during the night and I had to reattach it. That’s when I realized that people don’t know lot about postcrossing and what a great hobby it can be.

Today, I’m here to tell you about postcrossing. :) There’s a website, postcrossing.com where you create a profile for yourself. For example, mine has general information about who I am and what I do, and then the sentence “If you want to find a card I'd specifically like, well....” after which I list things I would love to see on postcards people send me. My favorites are, for example, words and meanings, writing inspiration and quotes, tattoos, pin-ups, coffee/tea, books, flowers (especially red poppies and a few others) and so on and so forth.

After you register and make your profile, you can choose to send a card. That’s when the fun begins. The website gives you a code, a profile, and the address of the person in that profile. You will then figure out a card you want to send to them, whether based on what you have at hand, what you like, or maybe what that person says they like in their profile (some have no information like that, so you kind of fly blind in those cases), write the card, add the code, and mail it.

Once your recipient gets the card, they register the code on the website, and the system enters your profile to the draw. Soon, you should be getting a card form someone random, somewhere in the world.

Now, I don’t postcross consistently. Just the stamp for an international postcard costs around $2 here in Finland these days. If you want to send five cards a month, that’s already $10 plus the card costs, which can be high because I like to send people things that might make their day when they get them.

I have, however, sent 149 postcards and received 153 in my time postcrossing over the years. In times when you don’t get “snail mail” anymore, receiving postcards can be so much fun!

Last year I finally made my postcard wall out of some of the cards I’d received. I’m going to attach a photo for you, so you can see the variety and how it reflects my profile.

It’s a relatively cheap hobby if you have the money, and you end up getting cards from all over the world. I’m in Finland, so getting a card from Brazil, or Singapore, or Thailand, or Macao, or even Canada feels exciting to me. The countries I’ve gotten most cards from are Germany, Russia, Netherlands, and USA. The ones I’ve sent most cards to are Germany, USA, and Russia, in that order.

So now you know a bit about postcrossing. I hope you check it out if it’s something that sounds interesting to you! It’s the perfect hobby for a writer who doesn’t leave home much, and for anyone who is interested in other cultures and countries.

Blurb:

Can two broken men build one life?

Ten years.

That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there.

Ten days.

That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him.

Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future—and a relationship—that both had thought impossible.

Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know….

Buy link: 

DSP

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Author Bio:

Tia Fielding is a Finnish LGBTQ+ romance author. She lives in a small middle-of-nowhere town surrounded by nature and silence, just like she prefers. Tia identifies as genderqueer, but isn’t fussy about pronouns, because her native language doesn’t have gender-specific ones. She’s a lover of caffeine, sarcasm, peppermint, cats and dogs, sleeping and witty people.

Review: Ten by Tia Fielding

A Love by Numbers Story

Can two broken men build one life?

Ten years.

That’s what Makai lost for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s been exonerated, but the abuse he suffered in prison isn’t so easy to leave behind. He heads to the one place he remembers being happy: Acker, Wisconsin, where he spent summers with his grandpa. Unfortunately, not everyone wants Makai there.

Ten days.

That’s how long Emil, now twenty-one, was held prisoner as a teenager. The mental and physical injuries he suffered at the hands of a drug trafficking ring still haunt him.

Nightmares, anxiety, and PTSD challenge the connection forming between Makai and Emil, though together, they might find a way to move beyond their pain and into a future—and a relationship—that both had thought impossible.

Now they just have to convince Emil’s father, the town sheriff. It won’t be easy with danger closer than they know….

In a word, boring. I admit I was anticipating angst and/or emotionality given the blurb. I was looking to be gutted, but that didn't come to pass. What did come to pass was an extensive amount of mundane daily activities and a whole lot of naps.

Makai is new to town having been recently exonerated of a crime he didn't commit. Ten years and an untold number of traumas survived, he's surprisingly well adjusted and not at all bitter. He meets Emil who was once kidnapped and tortured and is skittish as a colt. Emil continues to struggle with his disorder mightily.

Thanks to a precocious gender fluid child named Joie the two cross paths a few times and shortly thereafter begin one of the most ordinary and prosaic relationships I've ever read. Their days are filled with running errands to the closest major city, shopping, Netflix, playing with the kittens, working on the various buildings on Makai's property, going for walks, lunching at the local deli, going to the grocery store, making and eating meals and visiting with the locals.

Then napping. Extensive napping. I'm not sure either one of these guys can go ten minutes of semi-strenuous activity without napping shortly thereafter.

Truth be told, I'm more than a little jealous of their lifestyle. Must be nice being independently wealthy or, in Emil's case, having a boyfriend that is.

Despite the monotonous nature of their relationship I didn't hate this book. It's not memorable in any way but it is a low angst read that features a quiet sort of romance between two men. The character development is sorely lacking but the relationship development was fair. The problem is, I saw them as friends rather than partners. There's no chemistry between them but they are refreshingly frank with each other.

Even though their relationship develops over several months I still had trouble reconciling Emil's seeming mental health transformation within the context of their relationship. Seemed a little too easy  to me.

I did like the cat, Joie and the fact that the author chose the slow burn trope for them considering their respective backgrounds which isn't delved into too deeply, if that's a drawback, more automaton recalling events that happened to someone else. However, it's a well known fact that I heart the angst and pain, so YMMV.

An ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Where We Belong (States of Love) by Tia Fielding

It all starts at a concert at the Red Rock Amphitheater in 2004. Blake just finished high school, Dusty is a college sophomore, and as soon as they meet, they know—they belong together. With Blake living in Nebraska and Dusty in Colorado, distance does its best to keep them apart.

For two years, it succeeds.

Then Blake flees his bigoted—and even dangerous—hometown.

Two years later, Blake and Dusty are getting their lives off the ground, with Blake trying to grow his computer repair business and Dusty working with kindergarteners. Dusty thinks there’s room in their hearts and their lives for their family to grow… he just has to figure out how to express that to Blake.


States of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the United States.

This was an adorable low angst read about a long term romance of two boys who learn how to become each other’s family.

Told in the dual POV of Dusty and Blake in two year increments, we meet the boys as they accompany the important women in their lives to an Incubus concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2004. Let me get this out right here and right now – I am a HUGE Incubus fan with a perpetual crush on Brandon Boyd. The fact that the author chose the band to represent not only the boys meeting but other important milestones in their lives was like a hug to me. I connected with the story immediately because of it and couldn’t wait to get to know Dusty and Blake better.

So, as I said, the boys meet as Dusty is there with his BFF Holly and Blake has come with his mom. Blake has just graduated high school and Dusty is a sophomore in college. When they boys have an adorable meet cute where they literally cause a scene, they bond immediately and leave the girls to their fangirling of all things Incubus while they get acquainted. I really liked how Dusty caught on to Blake’s issues with crowds, I mean, If you’ve never seen Red Rocks it can be overwhelming to just stand there with it empty but filled with people? It’s intense but oh so gorgeous.

 

(Actual shot from Alive at Red Rocks, Incubus, 2004)

The boys decide that they are invested enough in one another to try a long distance relationship but keep in contact while Dusty stays in school in Colorado and Blake goes back to Nebraska with his mom. Blake has plans to be at Dusty’s graduation so over the next two years, they see each other three times and always in Colorado. Blake’s small town in Nebraska isn’t tolerant at all and though he’s come out to his mom, she has asked him to live in Narnia for the time being. It broke my heart to know the lengths Blake has to go through to keep his sexuality hidden to the point of deleting all texts from Dusty that he could re-read when he needs comfort but he and his mom are terrified of anyone finding out. When Blake’s mom comes home one night and tells him of the “good old boys” who are “taking care” of the minorities in town, she begs him to leave a few days early for Dusty’s graduation and never come back. It was heartbreaking to witness that scene and know how scared Julia was for her son. Now, it may seem odd that Blake would leave his home the way he did and that his mother would be so frightened that she would beg him to leave but honestly, in the current times, I could see a group of good old boys with ties to law enforcement deciding who was welcome in their town and how they would handle it. It was chilling to read what they had done and I get the decision both Julia and Blake made.

So, Blake leaves that night and drives the four hours to Dusty and surprises him bright and early with not only his presence but a car full of his stuff. When Dusty gets the wrong idea of why Blake is there, Dusty and Holly who is now his housemate, decide Blake is staying. This begins the tale of the now established couple and how they will navigate the next ten years together.

He’d never, ever thought that he would meet his soulmate that way. To him, finding that person wasn’t about the fireworks, but the deep feeling of belonging.

I adored the way the story was told. We really get to see both Blake and Dusty go from boys to men, two years at a time, while creating this life with one another. The men were so in love that though things moved a bit fast, I never doubted that it was what they wanted or that they could handle it. Not only do they grow in their professional lives but the men create a family, a rainbow family that includes Holly in a kick ass way and become a support for other rainbow families in their community. The end was swoony and just perfect for them as a couple and the whole “fudge” for “fuck” made me laugh because even at times like that, you don’t always stop being a parent.

Where We Belong was the first story I’ve read in the States of Love series and I loved it. It again, was low angst and just really adorable even though it had some tough issues in it. The tough issues for me were handled well and never took away from the story.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!