Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Freedom of Loving
SERIES: Matters of the Heart
AUTHOR: Abrianna Denae
PUBLISHER: self-published
RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2022
LENGTH: 145 pages
BLURB:
Jared Hartley is tired of pretending. He’s spent the past seventeen years trying to live by other people’s expectations. When his home life implodes, he turns to the only person who’s wanted nothing from him except the one thing he hasn’t been able to give—his love.
Sam Evans is lonely. He has a job he loves and familial responsibilities, but he’s also spent the past six years wanting someone who will never be his.
Jared and Sam have loved each other since they met, but Jared’s complicated home life meant the only thing they could ever be is friends. When Jared returns for his annual vacation, he has one goal in mind: show Sam how great they could be together. But matters of the heart are never easy and Sam, too afraid of getting hurt, won’t cross the boundaries set in place.
With the help of their meddling family, Jared hatches a plan to woo Sam and win the heart of the only man he’s ever loved. As the pair grow closer than ever before, they learn what love freely offered and given feels like for the first time. But Jared’s not-so-distant past comes calling, and Sam’s family life faces upheaval, putting their fledgling relationship to the test. Will love prove to be enough to survive the inevitable crash of reality, or is their soul-deep connection one of friends only?
REVIEW:
Note: This is the third book in this series and contains some spoilers for the previous books. It also has a timeline overlap with the previous book.
Sam and Jared have been in love for some time. But Jared has been stuck in a loveless marriage and is finally making the move to divorce his toxic wife after an unforgivable betrayal that rocks his whole world. He returns to what he considers his home and his real family – meaning his found family – in California and is determined to win the man he has loved for years.
Sam loves Jared. But Jared isn’t his for the taking. He will not be with a married man, no matter how much of a sham the marriage is nor hoe much he loves Jared. But when Jared shares that he is finally divorcing Gretchen, he’s still not sure if he’s ready for a change in their relationship. Jared is determined to win Sam over though. He gets lots of help from his found family – his brother from another mother, Robert, Robert’s son Garrett and his boyfriend Presley, Niall, Sam and Robert’s new boss and Robert’s new boyfriend, and of course Sam. Always Sam.
In the meantime, Sam has to deal with his selfish sister, who has spend years using him at her whim to help her with her daughter. Garrett continues to experience some pretty serious health issues which take a toll on Robert. Niall won’t be pushed away though and he cares for Robert and Garrett just as much as the rest of the family 🙂
Jared is determined to make the final break by himself. But his family is having none of that and they show up for him when he least expects it. Turns out that true family is not necessarily blood related 😀
This was a lovely follow up to the previous book, The Art of Living. There is some timeline overlap here as Niall and Robert are falling in love while Sam and Jared are redefining their best friends relationship to what they really desire. They have been in love for years, but haven’t been able to act on it. Jared has finally been pushed to make the change he should have years ago – to get out of his loveless marriage and finally be with the man he loves. Sam just can’t accept being with someone who isn’t free to love him fully, so he’s kept Jared at arms’ length, despite being hopelessly in love with him. Jared is hilarious in his attempts to woo Sam – with help from Garrett and Presley 😉 He doesn’t get everything right, including asking for help when he needs it. But he does the hard work of making the break. Sam has some soul-searching to do also as he’s let his family take advantage of him to and he has to set things to right there also. The epilogue was also sweet and wrapped up a few loose ends too – although I am dying to know if Amanda ever pulled her head out of her a$$.
The one niggle that I had is that there are literally no female characters in this book who are not selfish, completely neglectful or toxic. It would have been nice if there had been some redeemable females in the mix somewhere. Between Sam’s sister and her wife, Jared’s ex-wife, Sam’s mother, Jared’s sister, Garrett’s mother, Presley’s parents, there is LITERALLY no supportive or loving female in the mix. Seems sort of unusual. Apparently these guys really need to make more friends 😉
If you enjoyed the previous book and you are a fan of friends to lovers stories, then I think you will enjoy this story. Recommended.
RATING: 
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