Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: Foolish Me

SERIES: The Light in your Eyes #2

AUTHOR: Tinnean

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 350 Pages

BLURB: The Light in your Eyes: Book Two
A Spy vs Spook Novel

Giving up a life as rent boy Sweetcheeks for his lover, William Matheson, was an easy decision for Theo Bascopolis. But years of selling his body and the lingering pain from being thrown out by his father leave Theo worried that Wills, who’s always had his family’s acceptance, can’t truly love him. Life has taught him love isn’t for rent boys, and he’s having a hard time tearing down the walls he built around his emotions and trusting that Wills sees beyond his past.

Despite Will’s reassurances, he leaves for an extended assignment with no contact, giving Theo too much time to think about the future. A message arrives, and as far as Theo is concerned, it proves him right. Maybe it’s too late to protect his heart, but he’s not going to hang around waiting for Matheson to stomp all over it. Theo runs, breaking all ties to his former lover.

When Wills returns to an empty apartment and no sign of his lover, he wonders whether Theo really wants to be found and if they are meant to be together after all. But they’ve been through too much, and Wills always gets his man.

REVIEW: I have to admit that I love Tinnean’s books.  I love the humor in her Spy vs Spook novels.   So, when Tinnean came up with the Light in your Eyes Series with Sweetcheeks/Theo and William I Matheson, I jumped on board to see what was up.  I’m so glad that I did.  I LOVED the first book and couldn’t wait to read the second one.  

We pick up where the last one left off.   Things are still going pretty great between them and yet Theo can’t quite believe that it’s going so well.  He’s been a rent boy too long for those dreams of Happily Ever After for guys in that line of work.  Theo still has some deep abandonment issues stemming from when his father kicked him out and then was tricked out from a former boyfriend at the tender age of 15.  He’s learned hard and fast that love can be used against you. 

Theo is still so very insecure regarding his relationship with Wills.  He believes that Wills can and will be taken away from him.  So, he carries these insecurities around and he tries to hide them from Wills, but he doesn’t always succeed.  Wills thinks that some of the crazy things that he does as a result of his jealousy is cute, but for Theo, it’s all too real and so scary.

Theo tries to compensate by being this wonderfully giving person.  He’s this amazing cook and he makes Wills these wonderful meals.  Theo wants his man to know how much he loves him.  Theo knows that he loves Wills, he’s just having a hard time telling him.  So, he’s showing Wills how much he means to him and that he loves him. 

Wills is trying his best to let Theo know that he loves him, even hiding something as huge as what he does for a living.  The only way that he can think of is to keep letting Theo know that he loves him and to keep coming home to him.  To show him that with time and patience, that he’s there for the long haul.  One of the biggest issues  marring their future together is Wills hiding what he does for a living.  Wills loves Theo so much and he feels so very blessed to have him in his life.

The secondary characters give such realistic reactions to our MC’s.  Vincent is just so very Vincent.  He’s giving and kind in his own way.  He gives help to those that matter to him and he is such a strong character.  He makes me laugh out loud more often than not.  Wills family give such love and support to them.  Theo’s family….well, they were who they were.  His mother and sister were loving and supportive to them.  However, Theo’s father and the rest of his extended family…not so much love and acceptance.  It was hard for Theo being around them knowing what they were told and how they treated him.  Wills grandparents and his uncle Tony…wow!!  They hurt Wills so much that he got sick.  The way that they treated him was just AWFUL, but it shows the reality of being gay that not everyone is going to accept it and will toss you out of their lives.  It’s a sad and very unfortunate truth.

I loved this story as it kept following Theo and Wills relationship as it blossomed and grew.  It was showing just how life can and often does surprise you.  That you are so very worth a lot more than you think you are. I loved how Theo came into his own in regards to his relationship with Wills and his family.  How he kept trying until he understood what being a family meant and that he was apart of one.  Wills character went through some heartbreak in this story and yet, he came out stronger for it.  For Wills family is so very important and that means something to him and he wasn’t about to let that go.  I loved watching him deal and come to terms with the reactions of his family and still move forward with living his life on his terms.

This book is a MUST READ!!  This could be read as a standalone, however, I wouldn’t recommend it.  To really get the fullest from this story, you should read the first one.  That way you are following these two very different men on the journey of their lives.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press Amazon