Reviewed by Danielle & Sid
TITLE: Anything Could Happen
AUTHOR: B. G. Thomas
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 244 pages
BLURB: Moving to Kansas City could be the best thing Austin Shelbourne has ever done. For a start, he can stop living a lie and finally come out of the closet. And there’s a chance, though slim, that he might be able to locate the love of his life, Todd Burton. It had seemed like a good idea when he seduced his friend, but Todd freaked out and vanished. Austin hopes to find Todd, make things right between them, and win his love. But when he meets actor Guy Campbell, things get even more confusing.
The moment Guy sets eyes on Austin, he knows Austin is The One. But Austin makes it clear he feels a responsibility to Todd, and Guy has some dark secrets of his own. He’s found redemption in acting and directing, but worries that if Austin learns the truth, he might not be able bear it. And what if Todd accepts Austin’s apology and the love Austin offers? Guy wants Austin desperately, but he also wants him to be happy. In the play of life, with the happiness of good men in the balance, anything could happen.
JOINT REVIEW:
Sid: Anything could Happen, isn’t that right, Dani?
Dani: Absolutely Sid , anything can and will happen indeed…
Sid: Wow! That was a good one, and left a nice impression on me. I absolutely loved the character of Austin!
Dani: I have to say after a slow start for me I got really into the story and I feel a great respect for Guy. What a great guy!
Sid: I totally second that. Austin was a little lost at first, but it was Guy who brought him to see what really is right for him. I like at least one of the characters to remain sane lol And Guy was the sane one 😉
Dani: You think so? In my opinion, Guy was just as lost as Austin in a way. Just because he was better in covering his tracks and progressing nicely in life, doesn’t mean he wasn’t just as lost as Austin and looking desperately for something too.
Sid: Yes, that I wouldn’t deny about Guy. He had his own inner demons to face and Austin helps him with those. In that sense, they both corrected each other, don’t you think?
Dani: Instead of corrected I would say they completed each other. They both found something significant with each other and used that to push their relationship beyond friendship to lovers.
Sid: Damn, I wanted to shake some sense into Austin when he couldn’t see how head over heels Guy was over him! But gladly, yes, they did push their relationship into something better!
Dani: I think Guy was to be complemented on how patiently he waited for Austin to see something besides Todd. I think that is why I loved Guy – I don’t think I could have been so patient and calm and supportive 🙂
Sid: Guy sure was great when it came to that. I could almost see the Prince Charming in him.. but well, Prince Charming even is not perfect himself, is he?
Dani: Thank god he isn’t 😀
Sid: I think I really was pissed at him when he did (spoiler alert!!) what he did to Austin in the later part!
Dani: Ooh Man ! i was like “WTH! Guy, what are you doing? Austin is going to be devastated by this … I even seriously doubted if they could get over this … but they got a little help from above … Gosh that broke my heart…
Sid: Yes what happens after that is heart wrenching, so sad. But to be honest, I think Guy got off way too easy on that. I can’t seem to shake off the feeling that he could do this. But well, all is well that ends well, huh.
Dani: I don’t agree to be honest, I think Austin needed to confront this to let go completely and i don’t agree with the way Guy did it and especially the keeping it a secret part. But I do think that because of the way Austin got confrontated, it made him see that it was a way of letting go.
Sid: No I mean.. it is different Daan. Guy writes Austin’s life story in a play! It is personal. I know if someone wrote about something I did, I would hate it..
Dani: I think in a way it was also a way so Austin could let go. Yes it was personal but besides Guy and Austin does anybody know? I mean, in the audience?
Sid: But I think Austin had already let go of everything when he had spent that beautiful Christmas night with Guy. Todd had totally faded away. And regarding anyone else not knowing, doesn’t really matter.. it is something like you know you did wrong and seeing it publicized makes it even more mortifying.
Dani: I totally don’t think so LOL . It was always there in a way for me as a reader he was. But I can see where you are coming from and perhaps that is the charm of the story too. I mean anything could happen didn’t we agree on that in the beginning 🙂
Sid: That is true. Speaking of which, a lot also happened with other secondary characters around and even with their brief scenes, each of them sort of won my heart! Especially, Uncle Boden – I like to think of him as a cupid in this fairytale!
Dani: Awww Boden! You have to love him,what a guy ! I think there isn’t a reader of this story who wouldn’t love Uncle Boden.
Sid: He will stay in my heart forever! 🙂
Dani: Amen to that. But you are talking about secondary characters that is where one of my biggest issues with this story lays, to be honest. From the very start I was waiting and waiting for Todd to appear but he doesn’t! Also, other than a few references to Peter, there isn’t any relation and you get warmed up because they visit places that are familiar but there is nothing right up to the very end, and then when it is there, it is … so little 🙁
What you say Sid?
Sid: I don’t feel any different. For some reason, I was always looking forward to Todd coming into picture. It was like at every moment I hoped he would come face to face and put their relationship to test. After all, Austin always thought he LOVED Todd and that he could never think of anyone else other than him. But all we get is a brief scene with them meeting and everything feels so rushed there. Also, I agree that thing about Peter – I don’t understand why there was so much mystery created around that man.
Dani: I don’t mind the mystery around Peter as it is part of the book and I wasn’t even looking for a confrontation between Austin and Todd but I really would have loved some interaction – a talk, a meeting up, something! For me, that was the big miss in this very lovely, very well written story.
Sid: Oh man! The writing – yes, I need to compliment the author on that especially. It all reads so smooth – simply flawless. By the way, I know you thought this books gets a slow start but for me, it was good enough. Why did you think it was slow?
Dani: I think particularly because I was expecting a different story. It took me a while to get into what the story was going to be like. As I explained, I was really waiting for Austin to meet Todd.
Sid: I can understand that but as per me, the beginning was perfect. What didn’t exactly go right with me was a few parts in between that were almost wordy and had me skipping to the next exciting moment that came up in the story
Dani: I didn’t have that experience, so i guess that makes a good book – with different views and interpretations 🙂 We both could see different angles and aspects in different parts of this story and I kind of like that idea.
Sid: Yes that is true! 🙂 So, how would you rate this book then?
Dani: I come to a 4 star rating summing it all up but I really need to add that I sincerely hope that B.G. Thomas will write more in this universe. I have a feeling there is so much more to tell and I, for one, am looking very much forward to that!
Sid: A sequel would definitely be a cool idea. I absolutely loved this story – the whole set was so exciting! And the character of Austin just won my heart – So I would rate this story of his at 4 stars as well 🙂
BUY LINK: Dreamspinner Press :: All Romance eBooks :: Amazon
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Danielle is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.
To read all her reviews, click the link: DANIELLE’S REVIEWS
To read all of Sid’s reviews, click the link: SID’S REVIEWS
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