★★★★★ Last First Kiss by Diane Adams ★★★★★

The Southern Comfort series…

• Last First Kiss (book #1)

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Last First Kiss by Diane Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The blurb…

Eighteen-year-old Gage Harris is not a part of twenty-five year old Trent Foster’s plans. He likes Gage but the intense attraction between them makes remaining just friends unlikely, and the young farmer with two small children is a complication Trent doesn’t need.

Despite all the reasons to stay away, Trent is pulled into the small family. Gage’s boys are delightful and the young man’s honesty and genuine affection impossible to resist. Trent is intrigued by a life so different from everything he’s known. As he struggles to reconcile his plans with his feelings Trent begins to suspect that his random offer of a ride in the rain might lead straight to his last first kiss.

So what did I think?

Totally fabulous – 5 stars all the way!

I was intrigued from the beginning, with it’s clever blog post, right through until the wonderful, happy ending. Stupidly (I’m a very impatient person!) I started this book when I went to bed and then found myself unable to put it down until I’d read the very last page. Who needs a lot of sleep – so overrated!

I wasn’t 100% sure what I was in for when the book started with Trent breaking up with his “We’re a couple, but club sex doesn’t count.” boyfriend. What a douche bag! But the book moves away from the club scene and instead we get a slow introduction to Trent, interspersed with chapter introductions in the form of Gage’s blog posts.

Trent is a medical administrator for a small practice in a small town – well educated, he had made decisions that will result in his career progressing. His stop in the current job and town is a temporary one to gain experience before moving on.

I found the reasoning for Trent’s focus on his career quite insightful. “The lack of gay role models in his life, the absence of anyone to teach him being gay did not mean he had to fill his life with shallow, meaningless sexual encounters had left him empty. As a result he had focused exclusively on his career, trapped by his belief he wouldn’t find purpose for his life anywhere else.” Thank goodness his world opened up and he’d discovered that gay men could have life-long meaningful relationships, something that he was hoping for.

Trent enjoys the quiet life which includes a scenic country detour that becomes his regular route to work. His drive down a country road takes him past Gage each day. Gage is a farmer who walks the miles to work on his uncle’s farm. One rainy day, Trent offers him a lift and thus starts a morning tradition. It is so gorgeous that a small thing, such as seeing Gage for a few minutes a day, can become so important in Trent’s life and make his day.

Gage is a wonderfully unique character – a father at age eighteen with two adorable sons. His situation is very unusual, life’s circumstances giving plenty of opportunity to show what a brave and honourable man he is. He made some tough decisions to support the mother of his children and give his boys the best life he could.

He seems so mature in so many ways that it is hard to remember he is only eighteen. However, he may appear strong and capable on one hand but on the other there are some lovely tender moments which show his vulnerability. His blog posts are heartbreaking at times, but so reinforcing of his mature reasoning and sense of ethics.

The success of this book for me with the gentle progression of the relationship between Trent and Gage and the struggles they both experienced in their attempt to do the right thing – the right thing by themselves, each other and the children. The children were superb – the individual characters were endearing (without being too cutesy) and the dialogue at the perfect level to capture the essence of a four year old.

A wonderful combination of plot and characters with emotion and drama – a true feel-good story.

This is an honest review of a book provided by the publisher, with no commitment for me to provide a review.

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To find out more about Diane Adams and her books visit her website.

Buy Last First Kiss from Amazon.

Buy directly from Love Lane Books.