Eyes Only For You (Eyes of Love book 2) by @AndrewGreyBooks | Tam's Release day Review, Excerpt & #giveaway #mmromance @Dreamspinners

Sequel to Eyes Only for Me

Eyes of Love: Book Two

Marcello Bagnini has a history of falling for the wrong men, and it seems he’s done it again. Working out at the gym with his straight friend Jerry is becoming harder by the day—in more ways than one. Worse yet, Jerry isn’t the only one who notices Marcello’s wandering eyes. So instead of risking his friendship with Jerry and alienating the other guys at the gym, Marcello keeps his feelings to himself.

Real estate agent Jerry Foland has never explored his interest in other men, but there’s something different about Marcello, and Jerry’s starting to think he might like to see where his attraction could lead. However, Jerry’s controlling father makes it clear that it’s either stay on the straight and narrow or Jerry can say good-bye to his family.

As much as they try to stay away from each other, their lives overlap, both at the gym and when Jerry is contracted to sell the home of one of Marcello’s friends. Friendship grows into more, but Jerry’s father has his own agenda, and it doesn’t include having a gay son.

Buy links: Dreamspinner Press | Amazon 

Tam's gives this one 4 Stars...

Marcello and Jerry are part of a close knit group of friends that workout and hang out together a lot. Marcello doesn't hide the fact that he's gay, but he does hide his attraction to Jerry for fear of not only losing Jerry as a friend, but of alienating anyone or making it uncomfortable when they do things. But Marcello isn't good at hiding his feelings and everyone sees what he's trying not to show, so the strain is there regardless. Jerry has secrets of his own as well, a deeply buried attraction to the same sex being one of them. And even if Jerry wanted to explore something more than just simple friendship with Marcello, his over-bearing father makes Jerry feel like it's impossible. Eventually, these two can no longer fight the pull toward each other, but they have more dangerous issues to overcome than just Jerry's assanine father.

I had a few issues with this story, mostly Jerry's father and the fact that Jerry and his mother enabled this man's unacceptable behavior. I realize that there are some people out there that have to deal with such an issue, chose to rather than rock the boat or whatever you want to call it, but it bothered me so much so that it pulled me out of the story more than once. I did enjoy the tension in the relationship between Marcello and Jerry, somewhere between angst and devastation. Grey wrote them both in such a way that I couldn't help but feel their emotions while I was reading, especially Marcello. And while Jerry's father infuriated me, I could understand his hesitation to explore a relationship with Marcello, because it wasn't just daddy that concerned him. 

If you are a fan of the Author or enjoy books about figuring out who you are a little later in life then this book is a must read. There is passion, angst, a bit of suspense and uncertainty that should keep you reading from start to finish. This is the sequel to Eyes Only For Me but it's not necessary to read that story first as each book is in the same circle of friends, but the stories stand far enough apart that you don't have to read in order. 

Excerpt...

IT WAS Wednesday, and Marcello walked into the gym and scanned his card, instantly wishing he’d remembered what day it was and had decided to take today as a rest day. “Bag,” Ronnie said as he and Clay came in right behind him, and Marcello knew it was too damn late. “You going to join us?”

“I was thinking of doing cardio today,” he said and thanked the girl behind the counter as she handed back his keys with his scan card attached.

“Don’t be a pussy all your life. Come get beefcake with us.” Ronnie rattled off his phone number for the girl, who smiled at him.

“That’s enough of that,” Clay said as he smacked Ronnie on the shoulder. “We’ve talked about saying things like that. It’s derogatory.” He leaned closer to Ronnie, whispering something in his ear, and Marcello turned away when Ronnie’s olive skin took on a definite red tone. “You’ll get all the attention you could possibly want later.”

“I’m sorry, Jenn, my mouth sometimes runs away with itself.”

“It’s all right,” she said, blushing too, and mouthed a thank-you to Clay.

“So are you going to join us?” Ronnie pushed, though his language was cleaner. Marcello had first met Ronnie a while ago, and his mouth was something else, but apparently things had changed while he was using the club on the other side of town because it was convenient to the real estate office where he’d been an agent. In the meantime it seemed Ronnie and Clay had somehow gotten together, and surprise of surprises, Ronnie was gay, or bi… whatever. The shock had been when he heard that Ronnie and Clay were a couple.

“Don’t let what he says put you off,” Clay said.

“It isn’t that.” He knew he was stalling and doing a terrible job of it. “Sure. That would be great. I can do cardio another day,” Marcello said and walked with Clay and Ronnie toward the locker rooms.

“Are you coming here from now on, Bag?” Ronnie asked.

“Marcello,” he corrected. His last name was Bagnini, and for some reason Ronnie thought it cute to call him Bag. The kids in school had called him Bag to make fun of him, and it grated on Marcello something awful. To this day he ground his teeth in line at the grocery store whenever they mentioned the word.

“But I like Bag.”

“And I’d like to kick your ass into next week whenever you say that,” Marcello said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. He didn’t want to make waves or enemies.

“All right,” Ronnie said and turned to Clay. “He’s touchy.”

“And sometimes you’re an ass,” Clay told him. “Maybe if you can’t make your mouth behave, I’ll have to keep it busy some other way.”

Marcello didn’t dare look at either of the men. The sultry tone in Clay’s voice left no doubt about what he was referring to, and when Ronnie broke stride, Marcello ended up ahead of them.

“Break it up, you two. The rest of us don’t need to watch you eye-fucking each other,” Bobby said as he approached with his bag in one hand, his other in the hand of a gorgeous brunette with beautiful wide eyes and a figure to turn anyone’s head, including Marcello’s.

“Where have you been?” Ronnie asked.

“Vacation. I was in Virginia for two weeks visiting some relatives with my family, and I met an old friend, Lesya. She’s going to Messiah for some postgraduate teaching work in education.” He smiled at her like she was the center of the universe.

“Good for you.” Ronnie shook her hand. “So you’ve known this guy for a while?”

“Yes. We live next door to his aunt and uncle, so we used to play together as kids whenever he came to visit, and when he visited, we got to talking and….” She turned to Bobby, and it was obvious his feelings were returned.

“Lesya, this is Ronnie and his partner, Clay. And this is Marcello, and the guy heading this way is Jerry.”

“It’s nice to meet all of you.”

Marcello shook her hand and was surprised at the strength in it. Most women shook hands very lightly, but she had a good grip. She did the same with the others, and Bobby told her he’d see her later. Lesya went down the short hallway to the ladies’ locker room, and the guys went into theirs to change.

Marcello found an empty locker in the middle bay and set his bag on the bench in front of it. He hoped like hell that…. Marcello clamped his eyes closed and blew out a hard breath. He didn’t have to turn around to know Jerry was behind him. Marcello inhaled deeply, and there it was, that scent, the one that always drove him to distraction. It was deep, musky, earthy, with just a hint of powder, probably from the deodorant he’d used that morning, the remnants of the scent still clinging to him.

Of course Marcello had to look; there was no way in hell he couldn’t. Jerry had already pulled his shirt off but had his back to Marcello. Thank God, though his back was enough of a view. Jerry was probably five foot five or so, but that was the only thing small about him, and he made up for it with wide shoulders. Otherwise, Jerry was a compact man with corded muscle built from years of hard work, both in the gym and out. Marcello knew he couldn’t stare, but he had to take a few seconds to enjoy as Jerry put his shirt away, his back muscles flowing under tanned skin with each movement.

“Are you working out with us?” Jerry asked as he turned around.

Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation.

Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing)  He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

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