Never Let You Go by Andrew Grey (Forever Yours book 2) Tams Release day Review, Excerpt & #giveaway

Sequel to Can’t Live Without You

Forever Yours: Book Two

Friends since they met in school, Ashton and Brighton soon become much more. Ash and his aunt are Brighton’s haven away from his mess of a family, and when Ash enlists in the Army, Brighton learns to endure his long absences and eagerly awaits his return from missions.

Until one day Ash doesn’t come back, and Brighton thinks his greatest fear has come true.

Months pass and Brighton grieves for Ash, not knowing that a terrible misunderstanding sent Ash running, unable to cope when he thought Brighton had betrayed him. Even after an emotional reunion, their relationship isn’t the same—Brighton is now responsible for his young niece, and he’s having a hard time rediscovering the trust he once had in Ash. Ash must still tend to his mental health, but before he can, he’ll have to deal with a past secret that puts all their lives at risk. With so many forces determined to tear them apart, can Brighton and Ash hold on to each other and never let go?

Buy links: Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK

Tams gives this one 4.5 Stars...

Ashton and Brighton have always been the one constant in each others otherwise frantic lives. Their promise to each other while unspoken was one meant to be forever. But war and miscommunication threaten to derail the destiny they both so desperately need. 

Brighton anxiously awaits Ash's return home from the war, but the reunion he expects is not the one he gets. Instead, he's left heartbroken. And then an accident leaves him the guardian of his young niece, which in a way is a twisted sort of blessing because caring for a little girl takes his mind off the loss that pains him... well, some of the time at least. 

Ash doesn't receive the warm homecoming he was expecting. Instead, the dream of happy ever after with Brighton, the dream that kept him alive for months is ripped right out from underneath his unsteady feet. His aging Aunt needs him now more than ever and that will just have to be enough... yeah, not so much. 

Reconnecting with the person that you've loved since you learned the meaning of the word should be easy enough. But for these two men that have already lost so much, it's a long, hard, dangerous road. 

The afore mentioned miscommunication is normally a secondary character I can't stomach in a book with seemingly grown ass men. Surprisingly though, it not only worked for this book, it enhanced the story in a way. Both men have lost something very near and dear to them and the only way they survived those tragedies was to grasp their promise. Forever isn't all it's cracked up to be, something they have to learn the hard way. 

My only issue with the story was the underlying threat that presents itself toward the end. I felt like that could have actually been fueled and fleshed out more thoroughly. But overall, this is another win for Andrew Grey. He continues to reinvent himself and bring something new to each story he delivers.If you are a fan of flawed, realistic characters and storylines with depth, you'll definitely enjoy this one. 

Note: this is the sequel to Can't Live Without You, but it can be read as a stand alone story. 

Excerpt...

ONE YEAR AGO

ASHTON WILLIAMS parked under one of the apple-shaped streetlights on Main Street and got out of his old gray Taurus. He leaned back down to grab his hated cane and then closed the car door. Standing still, he turned to the right and left, looking up and down the street. It hadn’t changed much at all. The place still had the same small-town feel it always had. Ash remembered bounding up the steps of the library when he was in high school so he could see if they had a copy of the latest movie or a video game he’d wanted. Books, not so much, but games and videos—he’d been all about those.

He took a step around the car, heading away from traffic and onto the sidewalk. The drugstore was just down the block, and damn it all, he wasn’t so crippled that half a block was too far to walk. Maybe he should have waited until he’d had more therapy and the doctors decided if he should have surgery on his knee. Ash had been making progress and everyone said he needed to be patient. Ash stopped, pushing those memories from his mind. That wasn’t why he was here, and those thoughts did nothing but bring him back to the brink of the gaping hole of despair he’d been thrown into for months. He needed to put that behind him, at least during the day. Nights were another matter, but during the day, he was determined to look forward to what he’d had and could have once again.

Ash’s heart beat a little faster as he walked closer to the store where Brighton worked. He was so properly named; at least Ash had always thought so. One look from his stunning blue eyes could push away the heaviest clouds. Even recalling them in his mind’s eye allowed him to get through months of confinement in rooms and holes where he could barely move, stomach empty, throat parched, wishing he could die but knowing Brighton was out there, waiting for him. Ash had stored the sunshine in those eyes in his mind, holding them precious, letting those eyes framed by flowing blond curls carry him through hell and out the other side. The photograph he’d had was long gone. It had fallen apart months ago. Ash had worn it out, but he carried the image with him where no one could get to it.

He’d called the telephone number he had for Brighton three times, each with the same response that the number was no longer in service, and when he checked the internet, it pointed him to the number he already had. That only added to his need to get here and see if he could find Brighton in case something had happened to him.

He moved on, getting closer now. Ash knew Brighton’s schedule at work, at least the one he’d been working before he’d left. Ash hadn’t wanted to leave, but he’d had no choice, and saying goodbye to Brighton had been the hardest, most heartbreaking thing he’d ever had to do. It was supposed to be his last assignment, two weeks and then he’d be able to use up his remaining leave and he’d be done, free, out… and his life would be his own once again. And now it was, at least what was left of it. He’d been discharged, sure enough, but he was left a shell of a man, and not just his injured body. His insides were hollow, and Ash wasn’t even sure who he was any longer. All he knew was that he needed to get back to Brighton, so as soon as he’d been released and his debriefings were completed, he’d taken off, against the doctor’s wishes. Everything inside him pulled him to Brighton.

Now he was back in his hometown, where he and Brighton had first met in middle school, though it was years later that they’d reconnected and something had clicked between them. Ash still couldn’t believe it had been at a church social his aunt—Petunia to everyone else, but Aunt Petey to him—and only remaining family member had asked him to attend. He’d expected an evening of old ladies and helping Aunt Petey with whatever she needed.

Ash raised his eyes to the sky, letting the heat from the sun warm his face and dry the tears that threatened. He’d already been to see her in the nursing home and was determined to get her the hell out of there.

Andrew Grey is the author of nearly 100 works of Contemporary Gay Romantic fiction. After 27 years in corporate America, he has now settled down in Central Pennsylvania with his husband Dominic and his laptop. An interesting ménage. 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 now writes full time. 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.

• Andrew Grey: http://www.andrewgreybooks.com

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