Reviewed by Ro

TITLE:  Never Too Late

AUTHOR:  H.L. Day

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 230 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 24, 2025

BLURB:

Sometimes the only way to protect your heart is to break it before they can.

Finn met the perfect man six months ago. Cillian King is handsome, filth y rich, and has an Irish accent that makes him go weak at the knees. Of late, though, Finn’s remembering that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Because while he’s in it for the long haul, Cillian is more interested in work—and Finn deserves better than to play second fiddle to an advertising agency.

When the opportunity to relocate to Paris lands in his lap, it’s a chance for Finn to move on with his life.

New job. New city. New start.

Cillian was supposed to be relieved. He wasn’t supposed to turn up on Finn’s doorstep with words of regret and promises of doing better if Finn will give him another chance. It’s too late for that. Isn’t it?

Can a leopard really change its spots? If he can’t, Finn doesn’t know if he’ll be strong enough to walk away twice.

But maybe… just maybe, Cillian’s the perfect man, after all.

_Never Too Late is an MM second chances dual POV novel featuring ‘first’ dates in Paris, two men who are meant to know each other, but really don’t, cyber sex, a doomed phone, an adopted cat, and a slow burn relationship (this time) that finally gets steamy._

REVIEW:

So despite knowing Cillian and Finn break up and separate (hence the second chances), I was surprised that the book actually starts with the break up. They are in Cillian’s office, post sex, and Finn is realizing that his feelings of being nowhere close to first in importance for Cillian. “Cillian was never stingy with compliments. That’s what made the rest so difficult. Words were nothing without actions to back them up.”  Finn has been talking to his friends about his qualms with Cillian, and they all suggest he tell Cillian how he feels. The problem is, Cillian puts his business, calls, meetings, events, before Finn and so talking is difficult. But Finn knows there’s a problem. “It had started off as a niggle, something easy to ignore. But then it had grown, pushing itself to the forefront of my mind and demanding to know why I was letting someone treat me the way he did.”  Even though right then we don’t know about their relationship before this, the pain of Finn shows through clearly. He isn’t a selfish man, but when he can’t think of a single time that he was put first, he can see the problem, and when his attempt to get Cillian to see the problem ends up as usual, he knows its time to go.

So the job offer in Paris comes at the right time. Knowing he might cave, because despite Cillian treating him like an afterthought, Finn loves him, Finn stays with a friend so Cillian can’t find him and blocks his number before leaving for Paris. Here he meets Laurent, who is the loveliest of lovely friends. He’s so there for Finn, and I adored him. He “…offers himself up for sacrifice”  for his friend but also looks out for Finn’s best interests, which I appreciated.

It was interesting that when Cillian does show up in Paris (second chance, remember?) I was disappointed it would be him. And I was astonished when Cillian is shocked that Finn isn’t overjoyed to see him. “And then will you go away?” Cillian reared back like I’d struck him. It was clear he’d expected a warmer reception, which was crazy.” And when he falls back into old habits right away, I was done. Except then he goes about getting Finley back in a sweet way and he started to thaw my frozen heart.

What comes next is a man who realizes what he took for granted and is finding a way to get that back. And if I am completely honest, not all of it was Cillian’s fault in the beginning (though most of it was). Finn didn’t talk at the end about the important things but it also seems he let smaller things, like restaurants he hates, slide. So can’t fault Cillian there.  Cillian’s “grand gesture” made me laugh, as did some of his internal ramblings, “When I broke from the rather strange analogy of comparing Finn to something I might take on The Antiques Roadshow…”.

There are some funny lines in here and Quasimodo’s part made me laugh. “The cat trotted in obediently like it understood every word, which was ridiculous when he was a French cat and I’d spoken English.”

There’s not a big misunderstanding, which I liked. What we get is Cillian trying to show he can be what Finn needs. Amitra, Cillian’s incredibly awesome PA, has a talk with Finn that makes him see things a little differently. There is an issue with Laurent, and wow, do I want his book!

This is a lovely second chance story where people actually take responsibility for the mistakes they made and act like adults!

RATING:

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