Recent Release Book Review: Bright, Shiny Love (Art of Love #2) by Pat Henshaw

Martin and Ty were high school classmates.  They were pretty much opposites – physically and otherwise.  Ty was Martin’s first real crush and they had a tentative connection.  And then Ty was gone.

Fast forward years later and Martin has a day job in Oakland but is also a metal artist.  He rents space for his art from another artist (glass artist Ashton, protagonist from the first book in this series) and he’s good with his life.  He sees an article about an award for a costume design that was won by a guy with the same name as his high school crush.  So Marty decides to go to the play to see if it’s the same guy.  During the play an interesting sequence occurs with a dragon decoration on one of the costumes.  Is it magic?  Was it really talking to Marty?  Who knows.

Turns out it is Marty’s Ty!  They end up having dinner together and catching up a bit.  Ty has some family obligations though.  These obligations become intrusive and not something Marty’s willing to deal with.  Surprisingly Ty needs this push from Marty to make some changes in his life.  Once they agree on a path forward, things begin looking brighter.  For everybody.

This novella was a lovely amuse bouche!  A tasty morsel of second chances, right guy right time finally that brings Ty and Marty together.  They weren’t exactly close in HS even though they would maybe have liked to be.  Their backgrounds are so different and thus Marty’s refusal to deal with the drama of Ty’s dysfunctional family unit which has been thrust upon him by his absent yet controlling and manipulative mother.  I admired the way Ty finally stood up  for himself (with Marty’s support) and realized that he did not have to sacrifice his life, his happiness, his future for a bunch of needy and manipulative ingrate adults who just took advantage of his good and caring nature.  I see this far too many times – not just in families but in couples.  One person just acquiesces to another all the time.  Not healthy.  I loved this setting and the little touch of fantastical elements in these stories.  I hope we will get more.  For fans of  second chances later in life, a little bit of whimsy and a happy ending in a shorter page count, this story nicely fits the bill.  Recommended.