Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Tell Me Our Story

AUTHOR:  Anyta Sunday

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  287 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 21, 2022

BLURB:

Icy, standoffish Jonathan Hart always turned towards that laugh. Full-throated, uninhibited, addictive.

Soft smiles encouraging him over swing bridges. Hearty chuckles dancing around a ballroom. Wobbly grins. Double-glances. Eyes that brightened the world. His world.
From the moment he met David O’Hara, Jonathan started forming a smile of his own.

And then O’Hara left. One lingering look. No last goodbye.

Seven years later, that laugh again. Full-throated, uninhibited. Addictive.

O’Hara. Still all fire and flame, still drawing Jonathan in.

And now he wants Jonathan paired with him in a seven-week social influencing challenge.

Now, he wants to finish melting his heart…

REVIEW:

Soft, crackly laughter, full-throated laughter, uninhibited, amused, ceaseless laughter – they all affect Jonathan viscerally. Whenever he hears certain laughter, he knows David O’Hara is nearby.

“That faint laughter had welcomed him. He hadn’t seen him yet, but David was close. Closer, now. His presence shivered through Jonathan like the slide of a fingertip on his clammy nape. Find me, find me. He turned towards the warm lilt.”

* * * *

Tell Me Our Story is a beautiful, enchanting love story delightfully full of some favorite tropes: second chances, friends-to-lovers, sunny and serious, forced proximity, and fated lovers. And of course, there’s Anyta Sunday’s trademark sloooow burn – gah! I love her writing for that alone. I like to get all hot and bothered waiting for that first kiss. In this case, that kiss is more than seven years in the making.

This is a fantastic book, however, I felt lost for the first few chapters, like I missed a prequel. The important history of the men unfolds slowly and it isn’t until much later in the book that their past relationship is fully understood. While that gradual discovery makes the book more beautiful in some ways, without that context, it’s more difficult to get into the early parts of the story. There’s more, though, that left me shaking my head. The characters participate in something called iCon, but it’s never explained what that is. I assume it’s a convention of conference of some sort, something to do with social media perhaps? I still don’t know. There are “social challenges” related to who knows what. Influencing, maybe? I was annoyed, but worse, I felt left out, as if I was missing an inside joke, like I wasn’t good enough for the cool kids table, those who don’t require an explanation as I clearly do. It was unsettling.

However, the beauty outshines the beginning for me. Jonathan and David have opposite personalities: the former is stoic and guarded, unwavering and resolute, while the latter is flirty, exuberant, and cheeky. Charismatic David is like a “social butterfly with no indoor voice.” They were friends since the start of high school, but several years later, David suddenly and without explanation, moved from New Zealand to Sydney to find the mother who abandoned him. That was seven years ago and Jonathan and David haven’t seen each other since, although I’m not sure why. It’s certainly plausible that David would’ve returned home to see Jonathan again.

After running into each other at iCon, they’re now paired up as a team to compete for two million dollars in twelve “social challenges” in which they post online videos representing different themes relating to love. The themes are in such topics as trust, fools in love, Eros, blinded by love, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and more. The weekly challenges are clever and it’s entertaining to see how the men approach each one. The magical part of this book is the way the love story grows parallel to the social challenges, bringing the men closer each week as they focus on a different definition of love. It tells their story. It makes the basis of their relationship so strong, and they realize their inevitability as they explore the tenants of love. Their romance slowly unfurls in the public eye on social media. It’s a wonderfully creative way to approach a story of love. Ms. Sunday’s writing style – an almost poetic prose – enhances the sense of romance.

Throughout the process, Jonathan grounds David with his steadiness, and David challenges Jonathan with the unexpected. David’s gentle teasing is adorable. I particularly liked when he found reasons to share Jonathan’s bed at night. I also loved their rowboat escapades. Notable side characters include Saavy, Jonathan’s younger sibling whom he raises, David’s much younger brother, other contestants, and David’s neighbor and friend, Nash. The strong supporting cast is rounded out by cranky Mr. Crank who teaches Jonathan and David a thing or two about love.

When I reached the end, all I could say was, wow. There’s a sweet HEA but not much of an epilogue – just a handful of sentences – but even that didn’t lessen my enjoyment. Their intertwined past gave strength to their present so that I didn’t feel the need for a check-in years down the road. I highly recommend this standalone book.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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