Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: California Dreaming
AUTHOR: Shawn Lane
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 90 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 1, 2018
BLURB: You can never go home again. But Mick Lawler is doing just that after ten years. Mick left California when his first love, Joe, chose his twin sister, Raine, over him. Joe and Raine married and a broken-hearted Mick left behind everything he’d ever known.
Settling first in Chicago, Mick met his fellow lawyer, Zach Covington. When Zach left Chicago for sunny Florida, Mick went along. Life is great. He has a good job, a nice apartment, and Zach close by. Sure, Mick is in love with seemingly unobtainable, Zach, but just having Zach in his life is enough.
When Raine calls to tell him Joe is dead, Mick agrees to return but not alone. Zach insists on going. Once there, Mick has to deal with his grieving twin, his estranged parents, and his newfound, sudden sexual relationship with Zach. But his family want their prodigal son to move back home. Sounds great. But there’s Zach and Florida. His new idea of home.
REVIEW:
Mick is a lawyer who has long been estranged from his family after his first boyfriend broke up with him and married his twin sister. AWKWARD! So he’s left California and made his own life. Along the way he’s picked up his BFF, Zach. The thing is, he has long been in love with Zach, but he doesn’t want to ruin their friendship and he makes do with watching Zach play the field from the sidelines. Having him as a best friend is better than not having him at all, right?
But when Mick gets the call that his first love is dead and his sister begs him to come help her, he can’t resist. Zach insists on coming along for moral support, but when they get to Mick’s sister’s house, everyone assumes he’s the boyfriend. Given everything else that is going on and the stress everyone is under, Mick and Zach play along. But then things take a turn and Zach is changing the dynamic of their relationship entirely. It’s under the guise of making Mick feel better and relieve tensions, etc., but what if it’s more? Mick is conflicted though – about this new aspect of their relationship as well as a lot of other things, including his family now wanting him to come back to California. Zach has a few things to say about this too. In the end, Mick has to decide what is right for him and how that will affect everyone.
In the beginning, I was a little apprehensive about where this story was going and what Zach’s motivation was. It seemed like he was being a supportive friend, but then when he put the moves on Mick, I wasn’t sure if he really was just trying to be a really good friend or he was taking advantage. At first glance he just seems like maybe he’s a player. Luckily Zach turns out to have some skin is this game as well 😉 That he was honest about not wanting to lose Mick made me like him a lot more. It ended up being a sweet story of friends to lovers along with the added bonus of clearing up some family misunderstandings. I have been a fan of Shawn Lane’s for some time – having read nearly 30 of her books at this point. I particularly have enjoyed the Sutter’s Bay series and this kind story is similar in setting. This is not an earth-shattering story by any means, but just a nice happy ending for a relatively short story that satisfies.
RATING: 
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