Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Sunshine & Shadows
AUTHOR: K.C. Wells
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 202 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 10, 2020
BLURB:
From kids to adults. From BFFs to lovers. Except life is never that simple.
Jamie:
Oh My God, Stephen Taylor grew up to be gorgeous.
He called me feather-brain like he did when we were kids, and it was like he’d never left.
Except back then I wasn’t in a wheelchair.
Come on, Stephen. I haven’t changed. I’m still that glass-half-full kid you remember, honest.
Please, be different? See past the freaking chair?
Of course, what would make it goddamn perfect would be if you turned out to be gay, as well as tall and beautiful.
Hey, a guy can dream, right?
Stephen:
Oh my God, he hasn’t changed.
He’s still full of sunshine like he was as a kid.
He wants to know what life was like in California, but there’s only so much I can share.
I’m not going to tell him what I’ve been through. He doesn’t need to know I have lousy taste in men.
Why couldn’t just one of them have been like you, Jamie?
Because I could so fall in love with a guy like you.
Only one thing wrong with that – you wouldn’t want a guy like me.
REVIEW:
Sunshine & Shadows is a sweet, no angst story between two lonely men who reunite and strike up not only a renewed friendship, but a romance as well. Jamie and Stephen were childhood best friends until the age of thirteen when Stephen’s family moved from Boston to San Diego and they lost touch. Thirteen years later, Stephen and his parents have relocated back to the Boston area, and by great coincidence, Stephen runs into Jamie in a park they liked to frequent as kids. Stephen is shocked by the change in Jamie, namely that he’s now a paraplegic confined to a wheelchair. Or as Jamie would likely say, he’s a man who happens to not have the use of his legs, otherwise he’s the same old Jamie.
This is a best friends–to–lovers story with Stephen having to set aside his initial, closed-mindedness toward Jamie’s restrictions, and learn to view it as all that Jamie is capable of, not handicapped by. K.C. Wells does a nice job showing that Jamie is differently-abled but very capable and he won’t allow himself to be restricted from functioning as he wants in everyday living, in a relationship, in sex, and in any number of extreme activities even able-bodied individuals would shy away from. As the book progressed, I would have enjoyed less focus on Jamie being in a wheelchair. As it is, he’s fairly one dimensional, being primarily defined by his disability.
The side characters are all family members. Jamie’s parents and sister are completely supportive of him and his new relationship, while Stephen’s are more cautious. Their reactions to Jamie are at times cringe-worthy, but probably realistic.
I found Jamie and Stephen to both be likable characters and I rooted for them and their future. The plot was enjoyable and the pace steady. I do feel, however, that Ms. Wells could’ve added greater depth to the story by expounding upon Stephen’s relationship history in California. His backstory is just barely touched upon; I kept thinking a more in depth conversation with Jamie was coming up but it never did. Stephen claims that Jamie wouldn’t want a man like him, but it’s not adequately explained why. Likewise, a more detailed discussion of Jamie’s accident and recovery could’ve created greater intimacy between the men.
A friend vibe is strong throughout the novel, with lots of joking and kidding of each other. The move from friends to lovers felt clunky to me; for example, the drawing scene seemed unlikely between friends. I never felt great passion between Stephen and Jamie.
Overall, Sunshine & Shadows was an enjoyable and stress-free read that I found interesting because of the relationship involving a disabled character. Besides, I’m always a sucker for a good friends-to-lovers trope. I hope you emjoy!
RATING: 
BUY LINK: