Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Simple Things
AUTHOR: Kade Boehme
PUBLISHER: Self Publish
LENGTH: 108 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2016
BLURB:
Carter Darling’s life has been a whirlwind since his mother was elected to senate when he was a teen. From private school to joining the military, he tried to make his own path while making as few ripples as possible. But an injury forced him to figure out new goals for his life. After his parents are involved a sex scandal, he decides to go back home to Tennessee to get some distance and out of the madness.
He didn’t figure on Jeremy Beck returning at the same time.
Jeremy’s finally past the rich boy angst that made for some dramatic teenage years, but he hasn’t earned back much respect from his parents playing in an indie band. Now, his band’s on hiatus and Jeremy’s looking for space from his unhealthy non-relationship with a band-mate so returning home to figure out his next step seemed like the way to go.
Their initial reunion is awkward, Carter still hurt by their last meeting and Jeremy trying to convince himself Carter’s still just his sister’s closeted little friend. But when they open up to one another again and decide a staycation fling will be a nice distraction, they may get more than they bargain for.
For two guys who’ve had so much drama in their lives, it’s surprising to find that sometimes love is found in the simple things, simple times. Who knew?
REVIEW:
I have had the pleasure of reading quite a few of Kade Boehme’s novels and have found that I really enjoy his books. He writes solid stories with men that you love and men you want to slap the snot out of. It typically leads to an angsty read. This book had even a bit more angst I believe. It was also very current, what with all the political races currently happening and the never ending fallout from yet another faux pas by politicians trying to keep secrets just that…secrets! Being the forced-to-be closeted gay son of a US Senator and her husband, who it turns out are not so discrete swingers, makes for a very unhappy young man. It’s all about the image and Carter is sick of it! So he takes time off from college in NYC to hang with this life-long best friend on her farm back home in Tennessee. What he doesn’t know is Sarah’s big brother is back home also. Jeremy has been Carter’s secret crush for years. This is the story of how two old friends work through a horrible incident earlier in their lives and rekindle their friendship, a friendship that becomes a secret Spring Fling. I really liked Carter, I mean what’s not to like, a sweet, shy, wonderful and wholesome young man that always does the right thing. A man who has given up so much in his life to please two people that should have loved him unconditionally but were too selfish in their own needs. I really liked a lot of the secondary characters, especially the Beck household. I did have a slight problem with how the parents treated Carter a bit better than their own son. But that did seem to improve a bit by the end.
One of the things that did bother me was the editing errors. Wrong words and what seemed to be typos. A couple here and there I can usually ignore but there were more that I would expect. It doesn’t make it a bad book but it was a tad troublesome and a bit surprising.
I was thrilled with the HEA…something I need and expect in a Kade Boehme book…he never disappoints me. This is a fun little glimpse into the not always so fun life of the children of the Southern rich and famous. I know that the author sometimes graces us with a novella on what is up in our favorite guys lives and hope that it happens here too. Fun and sweet book.
RATING: 
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