Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Our First and Last
SERIES: True-blue Book 7
AUTHOR: Becca Seymour
PUBLISHER: Rainbow Tree Publishing
LENGTH: 131 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 21, 2021
BLURB:
When a cute nurse needs to be saved during his shift in the Pride kissing booth, he’s rescued by a man he least expects. Now he just needs to figure out how to achieve the future he wants, one that will lead to a happily ever after and a place he can call home.
Ian Haughton is a loveable, hardworking nurse. He’s ready for a change and wants to escape and start afresh in the small community of towns he’s grown to love—Kirkby being at the heart.
When the new annual Pride festival launches in this small-town community, Ian is happy to be involved but reluctant to be the lips needed to draw in the crowds at the kissing booth. That is until one man’s lips save him from an uncomfortable moment and end up turning his world on its head.
With miles separating Ian from the future he so desperately wants, he has no idea how he can make it all work out, especially when someone appears to be driving a wedge in his plans.
Some surprises are unexpected, while some revelations come with the sweetest of first—and last—kisses.
Our First and Last is a sweet and sexy M/M romance in Becca Seymour’s bestselling True-Blue series. It can be read as a stand-alone novella, but it’s recommended you read book four, Thinking It Over, first so you have a better understanding of the wonderful characters in this world.
REVIEW:
Becca Seymour’s Our First and Last, the seventh book in her popular True-blue series, tells the story of Ian Haughton and Frankie Harrison’s romance. This installment works pretty well as a standalone, although it is helpful if you’ve read Book 4, Thinking It Over. That book provides context on Ian and Frankie’s friendship. It also explains the connection to the couple featured in that story, Jasper and Austin, both of whom also appear in Our First and Last. ICYMI, though, Ian is Jasper’s best friend and Frankie is Austin’s brother.
Our First and Last is built around a fairly typical best friends to lovers premise. Ian doesn’t live in Kirkby but desperately wants to move there because that’s where his two best friends live. He has been diligently searching for nursing positions in town for some time. Frankie is still trying to get the whole single-dad thing down and prioritizes his son Tyler over himself.
Frankie is secretly crushing on Ian. He holds back from pursuing anything because of Ty and the daunting prospect of a long-distance relationship. Ian harbors a secret crush on Frankie. He holds back because he thinks Frankie is straight. It’s a reasonable conclusion given that Frankie has done nothing to disabuse Ian, or anyone else, of that notion.
I thought Ms. Seymour did a nice job of delving into this issue of labels that surrounds Frankie’s sexual identity and how he communicates that (or doesn’t as the case may be). Frankie has known he’s not “straight” for quite some time. Maybe he’s bisexual, maybe he’s pansexual. The point is he refuses to label himself nor make any public statement about it. After all, straight people don’t have to proclaim that they are straight. Why should he have to fit himself in some “box” and then announce his sexuality just because he’s not “straight”. That viewpoint does present some complications, though, because society generally still aligns heterosexuality with the “norm”. We see those complications play out in Frankie’s relationship with Ian. In fact, Ian, in particular, laments over time lost because Ian didn’t know Frankie was someone who might reciprocate his non-platonic feelings.
Ms. Seymour shows an authentic progression of Ian and Frankie’s relationship and it hit all the right notes. A Pride festival kissing booth provides the plot device used to finally propel Ian and Frankie into acting on their feelings for each other. The “X factor” here is the lecherous Leroy, a man who takes an unsolicited, obsessive interest in Ian and won’t take no for an answer. This leads to the major external conflict of the story which again, Ms. Seymour handled very well and in a plausible way. That is, until the resolution, which unfortunately was much too tidily and hastily done in my opinion.
Overall, Our First and Last provides an enjoyable, low-angst, sexy, heartwarming romance featuring found family and an endearing couple. The book is on the shorter side, but I thought the length fit the content well. The True-blue series has been on an upward trajectory of late, with each book improving on the last. Based on the author’s note at the end of the book, it looks like there is more to come from Kirkby. We’ll have to wait and see who will be next to find love.
RATING: 
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