Review by Taylor
Title: Carte Blanche
Author: Nash Summers
Series: Love’s Landscapes
Pages: 57
Publisher: M/M Romance Group @Goodreads
Photo Description:
Close-up of two men, both in monochromatic blues and high-contrast lighting. The man on the left is showing his side profile with his eyes closed, pressing his forehead to the other man’s cheek. The man on the right is looking toward the viewer with striking, blue eyes.
STORY LETTER:
Dear Author,
I’ve never needed anyone. People are a vulnerability I don’t need or want. But then there was him. I couldn’t get him out of my head, he was a distraction I didn’t need. No matter how much I pushed him away, he kept coming back. One kiss and I know I’ll never let him go.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Review:
I thought this was a really great take on a character suffering from severe social anxiety, along with his OCD. Jude’s need for cleanliness with the bleach and the fear of leaving his apartment, the hurt and shame from his father, the connection he had with his friend Amanda over the Internet, and his hope and happiness with a real person in front of him with Devin felt real, made me smile, made me relate to him, and I wanted that lil’ dude to find some happiness within himself.
Devin is a great guy, the perfect new neighbor who Jude feels in heart he’d never have a chance with – he’s too skinny from not eating, he’s too pale from lack of sun, he’s too anxious, too abrupt, too antisocial, too much of everything that he thinks is wrong about himself and he feels he’s unable to change. But Devin sees all those faults or quirks about Jude and either accepts them or wants to help Jude change to better himself. And that’s the key – he does wonderful and amazingly helpful gestures to help Jude, for Jude.
This, of course, is romance, so a lot of leeway must be given in how quickly Jude manages to change his OCD and social anxiety. As someone with several people in my life with both social anxiety and OCD or one or the other, I had a hard time buying all of these changes just coming to Jude and managing to stick in his system. But ehhh, it’s a short little love story, so feck it.
Also, I really loved the skateboard and the dinners. Devin, you sweet man. J
Rating: 
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