Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Ache
AUTHOR: Marley Valentine
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH:
RELEASE DATE: June 22, 2021
BLURB:
I couldn’t tell you when I fell in love with Gael Herrera, but I wish I knew how to make it stop.
Falling in love with a straight man is a rookie mistake. But falling in love with my soon-to-be-married-to-a-woman best friend is nothing but heartache.
Through all the years, and all the men I’ve fooled around with, he’s always been at the back of my mind. An unrequited crush I wish I could shake. A dream that was never going to come true.
When I whisk him off to a surprise bachelor party weekend in Vegas, I surrender to the idea that this is an opportunity for me to finally let go of my feelings for him and say goodbye.
But after a heated exchange and an even hotter kiss, everything I thought I knew about our friendship changed.
Maybe I had it wrong. Maybe, after all this time, we were more than best friends. Maybe, just maybe, he felt it too.
REVIEW:
Ache is a poignant love story between life-long friends who aren’t able to recognize the love they have for each other, and are too afraid of pain and rejection to act on those feelings. Now they find themselves in a love triangle that’s breaking Jordan’s heart.
Jordan and Gael have been best friends since kindergarten. When Jordan came out as gay at seventeen, he was kicked out by his parents and Gael’s family took him in as one of their own. Now at thirty-one, Gael is engaged to be married – to a woman. While he’s happy for his buddy, Jordan is despondent over losing Gael for good. And worse, he’s irrevocably losing the only man he’s ever loved. He decides to host a four-day Las Vegas bachelor party getaway for Gael, his two brothers-in-law, and two friends. Jordan knows the time is upon him to let go of his incessant longing for Gael, the ever-present ache to be something more than friends. It’s time to discard his dream for a husband, a home, and a family with Gael.
This is a story of crossed signals: Gael knows Jordan is in love with him, but Jordan is too afraid of losing Gael to tell him; Gael’s been attracted to Jordan for years but doesn’t tell him because Jordan once rejected him after a kiss they shared. Not a day goes by that Gael doesn’t think about that kiss. Jordan sees signs of Gael’s attraction, but he won’t allow himself to believe Gael loves him. Did you catch all that? Bottom line – they are in love with each other but mum’s the word.
“That fear of losing him is so much greater than the joy of having him, so I hold on to that reasoning like a lifeline, to save myself from the heartache I know I’ll never recover from.” – Jordan
If things go south, Jordan worries that not only will he lose his childhood friend, he’ll be deprived of the only family he has, one that opened their hearts and home to him without hesitation, one that he loves so deeply.
Ironically, others clearly see the mutual attraction between the men; some actually make bets on them being together. Even Gael’s fiancé sees the magnetic pull.
Ms. Valentine used a familiar trope (that I won’t spoil) to up the angst. You may or may not see the twist coming. It hit me like being clubbed upside the head with a baseball bat. Oh, the pain! Not my head, my heart. The story takes a sharp turn from celebratory to agonizing. This could’ve been drawn out into a substantially more painful book. Part of me is relieved it wasn’t, while another part – some undiscovered masochistic side, apparently – wishes the angst and torment would’ve stretched longer and pulled me through the wringer mercilessly. As is, it’s definitely bearable.
If you’ve read Ms. Valentine’s Without You, you’ll recognize its leading men, Julian and Deacon, who make an appearance here. Julian and Gael are teachers at the same high school and have become close friends. They attend the bachelor party trip to Vegas, where Julian acts as a much-needed confidant and lends his unconditional support to Gael. It was great to catch up with these previous characters.
At the time of this review, the book’s length hadn’t been stated so I don’t know how long it is, but it’s well-paced and reads quickly. Character development is solid. Jordan and Gael are lovable characters whom I was rooting for throughout. They are exceedingly passionate in Vegas where the sexy times are off the charts steamy. Other characters, including Gael’s family and friends, add to the richness of the narrative.
Ms. Valentine has certainly cemented herself in the annuals of angst with her recent novels, Ache included. If you like a tearjerker with a sweet happy ending (with a one year epilogue), give this wonderful book a try.
RATING: 
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