Reviewed by Anabela.m
TITLE: Pretty Sweet
SERIES: Boys in Makeup Book 2
AUTHOR: Riley Hart & Christina Lee
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 298 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 17, 2020
BLURB:
Seth
Portland was supposed to be my fresh start, my chance to live for myself. Unfortunately, it’s not working out that way. I stay in the apartment Mom chose and major in finance like she wants. I let bad memories keep me from hooking up. I wouldn’t know the first thing about finding a guy who gets me, who’s okay with my need to be held and feel safe.
When I befriend a worker at the assisted living facility where I volunteer, I don’t expect to get invited to dinner, only to realize her son is Jake, a guy I met through friends last fall. Jake’s not only hot, he’s also sweet, a caretaker, and attracted to me too. Since he’s never been with a guy, and I’m a virgin, we’re setting the pace together, learning what we like, one bone-melting touch at a time.
Jake
My childhood was rocky, with an abusive father and a mother I needed to protect. The first thing I did after high school graduation was get us out of there so we could finally breathe. And start living. For me that means managing the garage I own with my best friend and enjoying the modest house I call my own.
Then Seth enters my life. Our connection is palpable. He’s shy, innocent, and sets my blood on fire. He makes it impossible to ignore my attraction to men. The trust he puts in me is more potent than any desire. I get as much from talking to or holding him as when we let our inhibitions go.
Seth and I fulfill each other’s needs—in and out of the bedroom. But our struggles aren’t easy to shake. With my urge to protect and Seth’s desire to fly, we’ll have to strike the right balance, but when we do, the results will be pretty sweet.
REVIEW:
If you’re familiar with this series and have already read Pretty Perfect, you might remember Seth as Jesse’s roommate, the fragile young man who frequently needed to cuddle with Jesse.
This story showed that he was sensitive and insecure, so hungry for affection and approval that my heart went out to him. He came from money and had everything he wanted at his disposal, yet at a standstill, caught between what his mother had already decided for his life and his own dreams. An ugly experience in the past has also left him with low self esteem and hesitant to open himself up to dating and risk heartbreak.
Jake, on the other hand, albeit with his own issues from growing up with an abusive father, was settled in his life, already owning a business with his best friend. The only thing he hadn’t really worked on, so to speak, was his attraction to men…until he met Seth and he had to revisit his previous uneasiness with his sexuality.
Once Seth and Jake started to see more of each other, there were things about the story I really liked and others that somewhat ruined it for me. I consider it would have been more enjoyable if shorter. Seth’s problems with his controlling mother, his impossibility to take a stand for his dreams, his wealthy living conditions were talked about in each and every chapter, it felt like, either in conversations or in Seth’s inner musings. It got repetitive and the story dragged, making me lose some of the pleasure of seeing how Seth and Jake connected with each other.
I liked how Seth and Jake dated and took their time to build a relationship. I appreciated the fact that Jake didn’t fight his feelings, not making a huge deal about his desire for a man and being bisexual. He was patient and caring, attentive to Seth’s needs. They took it slowly, Seth a virgin and Jake at his first experience with a man, and it was at times cute but wholly hot to see them together.
The only way I can describe this book is, like the title, pretty sweet… maybe overly so. I adored Seth and Jake, they were really good men, but…every character was a nice person, every one embraced Seth and Jake’s relationship, and even the only one that might have created a bit of difficulties, Seth’s mother, considered all the pages on how inflexible she was, she also ended up being…well, nice. Everything seemed to run too smoothly and even a conflict between Seth and Jake toward the end felt not only unnecessary but also easily resolved. I’m absolutely glad they found happiness with each other, yet, sadly, I don’t think that they will stay impressed in my memory for too long, not like other characters I’ve know in stories written by these two amazing authors.
RATING: 
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