Reviewed by Marieke
TITLE: The Second Door
AUTHOR: T.C. Blue
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 50,554 words
BLURB:
When Mitch’s relationship with his boyfriend implodes on Christmas Eve, it’s up to his best friend, Sam, to comfort him. It’s not like Sam has a choice. He cares deeply for Mitch. He even refrains from saying “I told you so.”
That one night of chaste comfort is all it takes to start Sam thinking about Mitch in ways he really shouldn’t. A spontaneous kiss that should have helped sort things out just makes everything more complicated, because Sam is terrified sex will ruin their friendship. Mitch is afraid that pushing Sam for more will drive a wedge between them, but he’s even more afraid of never trying for happiness with Sam at all.
REVIEW:
This is the book I picked for Flashback week. It’s a golden oldie!
The book started out very funny with Mitch getting into a bit of a mess while wrapping Christmas presents. Sam’s always there to save the day though––after taking pictures of the embarrassing moment, which made me laugh.
Mitch is a klutz, always getting into some sort of mess, but he’s a good guy. The only thing I didn’t love about the guy, was that he was always looking for a relationship. I have a thing with people who can’t be their own person. If you can’t love yourself for who you are alone, the how do you expect other to love you?
Other than that, Mitch is funny, sweet and caring. He’s a fact checker for a magazine, and has just been promoted. In other words, he has a steady job, and is a responsible human being. He’s good looking enough, so why he’s constantly attracting the wrong kind of guys is beyond me.
Sam is his upstairs neighbor and best friend since he moved there. Sam has had a pretty bad relationship before, so Mitch thinks that’s why he hasn’t really dated after that. Sam is a teacher, a good one. He’s also very funny and cares for Mitch more than he even realized. When Mitch’s boyfriend dumps him at Christmas, Sam comforts him and stays over that night. That’s when he’s starting to notice his true feelings.
We get to read his reactions on Mitch dating several other men. How Mitch never sees how much Sam likes him, is baffling, but also very amusing. Then there is the kiss, the one that makes Mitch realize how much he likes Sam, and makes Sam run.
Sam’s reaction is a bit extreme. He was already going to stay at his mother’s for a month, but not saying goodbye and ignoring his best friend for that entire month is a tad hurtful to Mitch, in my opinion.
Of course they have their happy ending, and it’s a big ol’ sappy one, just the way I like it. Overall this book was very funny, romantic and sweet. The downsides were Sam’s long resistance and his big disappearing act. Mitch’s choice of dates was a bit unbelievable after a couple of times. I took of a star for those things, but it was still a wonderful book.
RATING: 
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