Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Late Bloomer
SERIES: Second Impressions
AUTHOR: Silvan Ash
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 276 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 20, 2022
BLURB:
Is a year and a half enough to turn friendship into love?
Davey Bloom – twenty-five, newly single, and awkward as a cow on a crutch – has something to prove to himself and his family. When he accepts a job secondment to move halfway across England for eighteen months, no one, not even he himself, is convinced that he’ll manage on his own for that long.
Enter his new flatmate Rob, who is steady, funny, dependable and pretty much perfect – whose life just isn’t in the right place for a relationship just now. Suddenly a year and a half in Liverpool just isn’t enough.
Is Davey’s attraction for Rob all one-sided, or is there the potential for something more? And what does this mean for his resolution to be his own person, and stop to relying so much on others?
Is there enough time for something to bloom between them? Or are those feelings destined to wither on the vine?
REVIEW:
Davey is a young pharmacist who has just broken up with his boyfriend and is moving to Liverpool to make a break from his family/friends. His partner kept wanting him to “grown up and be a functional adult” and this has really messed with Davey. He’s got really low self-esteem and seems to have a great deal of trouble focusing on anything (gets lost in his own head literally ALL the time, loses the thread of conversations, etc.) and is a bit of a klutz. He seems to walk around with his head not really in the clouds, because he’s definitely not happy, but he’s not in the moment at all.
His living situation when he first gets to his flat at the hospital in Liverpool is less than ideal. So he looks for a new accommodation. He finds it with artist Rob. They get along really well. Rob is patient and understanding with Davey. He’s returned to Liverpool to care for his aging aunt. He wasn’t always an artist as it turns out. He also sees a side of Davey that apparently nobody else has appreciated before. They enter into a bit of a FWB arrangement. As Davey’s time goes by with this posting though, what will happen when the 18 months is up? There are things that Davey still has to work through with Rob’s help.
I’m giving this one a recommendation with a few reservations. I had a great deal of trouble – and this is a me thing – with reconciling the “professional” Davey from the personal Davey. Maybe it’s because I know waaaaaaay too many pharmacists and what it takes to get through pharmacy school – at least here in the States – would be extremely difficult for someone who has Davey’s mindset. Also to have a hospital or research job seems like one would have to have a better self-awareness and self-esteem. But as I say, this is a me thing, so may not be an issue for anyone else. I struggles with the first person POV of Davey and all his negative self-talk. As the story is told from his POV, this is a constant thing and it really really slowed down the story for me. I did really enjoy Davey’s friends in Liverpool – particularly Drug Lord Pri 😉 I do love British stories and humor, so that worked well for me. Davey’s cousin Drew is also in his corner and quite entertaining. I really did like Rob and I kind of wished we got his POV at some point. He’s a very good egg and he really helps Davey quite a bit 🙂 Dot, Rob’s aunt is a hoot and I really loved her. In the end I did enjoy the character arc of Davey moving on with his life and realizing a few things about his perspective. I just wish that part could have happened more quickly.
RATING: 
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