Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: It’s All You

SERIES: Mars Fitness (Book 0.5)

AUTHOR: Linden Bell

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 103 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2024

BLURB:

When your secret admirer is hiding in plain sight.

Gavin
I’ve been in love with my childhood best friend since forever. But he’s straight and married and lives halfway across the country, so all I can do is try to get on with my life. Until he shows up on my doorstep one day, jobless and newly divorced.

Beau
My life has fallen apart and there’s only one place in the world I want to be: with my best friend. But Gavin’s being all weird and cagey and I’m suddenly feeling things I shouldn’t be feeling.

I came to him because he’s safe and familiar, and now we’re standing on the cusp of something new and terrifying. We’ll always be best friends, but do we have the courage to be more?

It’s All You is a friends to lovers, bi-awakening, low angst MM romance between a workaholic who’s harbored a secret love for years and his oblivious childhood best friend who is trying to piece his life back together. Expect couch cuddles, stumbling on ice skates, a packed subway car, and a kiss cam mishap. It’s All You is the prequel to the Mars Fitness series and can be read as a stand-alone.

It’s All You was previously published in the Candy Hearts charity anthology. No changes have been made.

REVIEW:

We finally get the scoop on Mars Fitness and how it was started by Gavin and Beau.

Beau’s life is in shambles. He’s newly divorced from his wife, lost his job at his brother-in-law’s gym where he was an elite trainer, and is now sitting on the door step of his childhood best friend. When he up and fled Georgia he wound up at Gavin’s place in NYC. But what he  didn’t expect was these new and strange feelings and reactions to his gay best friend workaholic. Gavin has been secretly in love with his best friend since high school but hid it well. What’s worse than pining over your very straight and married best friend? So avoidance works even though it’s crushing his heart and soul. But when Beau is leaning against his door, after a late night work session, he has to tread lightly. His feelings are so close to bursting out. Especially after kisses on the cheek in the KissCam, snuggles on the couch and now obvious boners present on both of them. What the heck is happening???

I was really excited to get the Mars Fitness owner’s story. And I never saw any of this coming. Watching Beau bloom and grow. Watching him figure out and embrace what he never saw or recognized before. It was so wonderful. And I get where Gavin was coming from. His very straight best friend suddenly is interested in the big D! He knew he had to protect himself and his heart from shattering completely when Beau eventually stopped and realized what he was doing. But Beau finally found what was missing in his life and that Gavin! Whether he was bisexual or gay or even Gavin-sexual, it didn’t matter what a label was. He just knew his life and his heart was right where it was suppose to be finally. And I loved that, in the end, Gavin and Beau clicked and were working towards a healthier life for both of them that worked.

There is a great (and sizzling) extra epilogue available for free to down load. I don’t usually mention these but it was pretty darn terrific and a wonderful addition to move you forward into the series. If you haven’t read this series you are in for a wonderful treat. I would recommend starting here and moving forward. You won’t be sorry.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon