Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Flare
SERIES: North Star Trilogy #3
AUTHOR: Posy Roberts
PUBLISHER: Boho Press
LENGTH: 382 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2018
BLURB:
A love story and a family worth fighting for.
Hugo and Kevin strive to put their lives back together after tragedy, doing everything in their power to create a stable life. Hugo’s acting career is back on track, and Kevin hires a nanny to help with the kids as they discover their new normal. But when Erin’s parents seek full custody of Brooke and Finn, that stability is shattered.
With Hugo working in LA or New York, the distance from his new family gets to him. At home, the nanny’s hands-on approach leaves Hugo feeling pushed out, so he leaves his beloved apartment and eclectic neighborhood behind to move in with Kevin.
Hugo has a hard time fitting in with the suburbanites with Kevin’s passive-aggressive “friends” making Hugo feel anything but welcome. As the custody case heads to mediation, Brooke is bullied about having two dads, and Hugo realizes his mere presence might be doing more harm than good.
Hugo must decide to stay and fight for his family or leave and let them live in peace.
REVIEW:
What a conclusion!! Wow!! I’ve really enjoyed this series so much, but I think this one tore me up the most. It was the most real, most heartfelt, terrifying, heartbreaking, yet loving, hopeful one of them all. Which reminds me. There may be some triggers for some in here. Well, no may about it. There is bullying, harassment, nothing majorly physical, but there’s trouble. This book will pull the emotions out of you. It pulls no punches whatsoever. If anyone thought being a gay married couple, with children no less, was easy, you are greatly deluding yourselves. And even though this is a fictional book, this kind of stuff happens every single day in the real world and it’s heartbreaking. So, if I can say nothing else, my hats are off to all of you in relationships, children or no, just trying to be you. And I wish things were different. It hurts my heart so deeply to know that people can’t be free to be themselves, or be different. But anyway. It’s a wonderful book.
Hugo has had everything hit home for him lately. He’s kept a lot of things to himself, and tried to just be happy and endure, but things are getting too much. With all the trips back and forth for work, he feels he’s missing everything. And he doesn’t like it. Now things are heating up for Brooke. The bullying wasn’t too bad at first, but since they went to a premiere, the bullying has gotten worse. To the point of emails and texts. They do all they can to have it fixed, but the little brat still gets to Brooke on occasion. His own bullying is getting worse to. To the point someone spit on him, and Erin’s parents, well mother, is planting bad thoughts in the kid’s heads. Painting Hugo as a very vile, bad man. She’s also trying to get custody of the kids, and sending hate mail to Hugo. Hugo was trying to get past it all, until one of those ‘friends’ dinners Kevin wanted, where everyone wanted to demean Hugo. And it was the icing on the cake. Hugo already felt like he didn’t belong, and almost left to make things easier for everyone. This was making it all worse. And Kevin realizes it’s time to break through all that mess Hugo is holding in and get to the bottom of everything before he loses Hugo and his other reason for being.
This story with Hugo and Brooke really just broke me. Well, hell, with all of them. The bullying, trying to plant things in Finn’s head, and Kevin trying to keep it all together. It’s one of those situations where you wonder if there’s ever going to be an end, and if you all will still be together after the storm. But it’s one of those storms if you can weather it, it will make you stronger and make your relationships a whole lot stronger. It got to me even more because of the kids. That always ticks me off so bad. Adults, sometimes, can take care of themselves, but kids shouldn’t have to endure that mess. And that parents and others teach these children to hate so much, is so troubling.
Now, in this story, there is a happy ending. It is a book. And a great one at that. It has some wonderful moments to go along with all that mess. The bonds in their family do become stronger. They learn to talk and open up. Their family becomes bigger. That’s a surprise you have to read about lol. So, yes, there are some good moments. Just remember those in real life who don’t have it quite as good. And be a friend. Make a stand.
RATING: 
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