VIEWED by Jen B.

TITLE: Four Ever

AUTHOR: Sloane Kennedy

PUBLISHER: Sloane Kennedy

LENGTH: 357 Pages

RELEASE DATE: January 16, 2019

BLURB: 

Surrounded by a group of devoted four-footed and two-winged family members, Zak and Killian have built what should have been a dream life in their countryside farmhouse. But a cruel twist of fate and the re-emergence of old demons has frayed the edges of the men’s seven-year relationship until just one wrong move could end up severing their bond for good.

Seemingly content to walk on eggshells around one another, things come to a head when ER nurse Zak brings his work home with him… literally.

After being forced to leave their posh Southern California lives, homeless stepbrothers Liam and Noah are slowly losing themselves to the streets they can’t seem to escape. When twenty-one-year-old Liam is beaten up while protecting his younger “brother,” the pair find themselves being welcomed into a home where being a stray is considered a good thing. But Liam and nineteen-year-old Noah have learned the hard way that nothing is given for free and there’s no such thing as the kindness of strangers. Survival means only counting on and trusting in each other.

Will Zak and Killian’s offer of a no-strings-attached place to heal end up being more than any of the four men bargained for? Especially when feelings between Liam and Noah begin to crawl to the surface and the truth of what Zak and Killian’s relationship has turned into becomes harder to deny?

And what happens when lines begin to blur and needs start to change? Will Zak, Killian, Liam, and Noah end up going their separate ways?

Or will they learn that love doesn’t always come in twos?

REVIEW:

Zak and Killian have a habit of taking in strays. Ok, mostly Zak, but Killian supports him in all things, so all is good. They’ve been together for seven or so years, and although they are having some major issues, they have built a pretty unique family, complete with various dogs, a mini horse, some other livestock and some birds, including a disabled Toucan. So, this couple is limping along in their relationship when Zak brings home Noah, a young man he met at the hospital where he works. Noah doesn’t speak, and he is clearly distraught that his brother is in the hospital after being beaten up. Things get a little crazier when Noah’s brother, Liam, comes to get Noah. Realizing these two are in some kind of trouble and are on the streets, Zak and Killian give them a safe place to stay while they get on their feet.

The prevailing theme in this story is lack of communication, and it was really driving me crazy. For example, we know right off the bat that Zak and Killian are having troubles, but even though we are told repetitively that Zak forced Killian to give up his dream and Killian turned to alcohol, etc., it takes seemingly forever for us to get the whole story behind their issues. They both remind us how they just need to talk to the other, but it never really happens, and it got really frustrating. This carried on with Liam and Noah as well, in that Zak and Killian were never really open with each other about how they felt about them, nor were they open with Noah and Liam either and vice versa. Oh, and not to be left out, Liam and Noah also don’t actually communicate any of their feelings for each other. This, understandably, caused trouble and confusion which doesn’t get cleared up until the end when it is almost too late.

In the middle of all of this, what they do share together physically is a beautiful thing. And, just like they tell each other, it all just works and feels right. Everyone seems to get what they need, and they all play a critical role in the relationship. With the help of some wonderful animal characters, the brothers, who are actually stepbrothers (Noah’s mother married Liam’s father), the boys start to heal, and as they are all brought together, Zak and Killian rekindle what they almost lost. Noah and Liam find some peace and they all help Noah face his past. In the end, it was a really sweet and beautiful story with some fabulous and interesting animal characters as a bonus.

RATING: