Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: How to Live 

SERIES: LOVESTRONG #7

AUTHOR: Susan Hawke

PUBLISHER: self-published

LENGTH: 189 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 27, 2021

BLURB:

Take one clueless, spoiled guy with notoriously bad luck…

When Derek Leigh is diagnosed with breast cancer at twenty-four, it’s the final straw in a lifetime of bad luck. If he’s going to die, it’ll be on his terms… with one helluva party that packs a lifetime’s worth of fun into whatever time he has left. To make this happen, Derek blows up his life: dumps the long-term boyfriend in the worst way possible, borrows money he can’t repay from a loan shark, and heads to Atlantic City… where his luck unexpectedly changes, giving him fresh hope.

Add one easygoing tattoo artist with a big, open heart…

Asher Matthews has dealt with a lot in his thirty-five years: he and his twin were born addicted to heroin and abandoned at birth… until Mama Maisie added them to her brood of lost boys. ADHD and dyslexia didn’t keep him from following his dream of opening his own tattoo shop, especially with his family’s support. With all that he’s been given in life, Asher makes a point of giving back where he can.

To equal two men who instantly connect in all the best ways.

Derek is shocked to not only survive his cancer treatment, but to come to the end of it in great health. Too bad he’s blown through all his money, lost his car, and has nowhere to turn. On a whim, he goes for a free tattoo. Asher takes one look at the sexy twink who’s down on his luck and offers him a room, a job, and even better, a friend. If they have a little no-strings fun along the way, it’s fine. It’s not like anyone is looking to fall in love, right?

This 55k novel is the seventh book in the LOVESTRONG series about finding love and being yourself in a small town. Watch out for ridiculous amounts of money won and lost, a butler who takes everything in stride, and a scruffy dog you’ll want to cuddle. This is an mm romance full of all the fun, laughter, and sweet feels you’d want from a Susan Hawke book.

Possible trigger for anyone currently fighting cancer or closely related to a breast cancer patient. The book is low angst and the experience is gently handled, but the subject matter is present.

REVIEW:

This is such a good story. It hit me harder than most, because my mom is a breast cancer survivor as well. I unfortunately, was in another state at the time and couldn’t be there, but remembering everything that she had to go through and still goes through after all the chemo and radiation. That’s not stuff that’s often discussed in books or on tv and stuff. No one wants to point out the bad parts of it. So it was hard but in another sense, it was good. Because I still have my mom. She fought and won, just like Derek did in this story. Well not in the exact way, but you get the point. And so I get to celebrate that I still have my mom when so many don’t. So I appreciate the way Susan handled it all in this book.

I felt sorry for Derek in this story. For anyone, being told you have cancer is a huge deal. I remember the scare I even had. You start looking at life so much differently, like Derek did. But I felt for him because no one taught him anything. He had no clue how to really take care of himself. He had to do some major growing up and fast and he still had a lot more to learn. And then I was angry for him. For family that sheltered him instead of teaching him and for the father that needs to be throat punched for how he acted and still acts..

But I still loved him. He could have seriously given up so many times. And had planned to. But fate had different plans when he met Asher. And Asher is perfect for him. He’s so patient and kind. Willing to understand what it takes to get things, because he has a hard time himself. And it takes him a bit longer on some things then most. So it’s almost like a match made in heaven. They get each other in a way no one does. And yes, we all know it’s a fictional story and that’s the way the author wanted it to be, but this happens in day to day life sometimes too. You just never know what could be around the next corner. What life may have in store.

It could be the sun you’ve been looking for for so long, instead of the dark clouds making you feel down. Either way, this story is a hard one, but a good one. And I’m happy I got to read it.

RATING:

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