Release Day Review ~ September by Robert Winter

Release Day Review ~ September by Robert Winter

Title: September

Series: Pride and Joy
Author: Robert Winter
Release Date: December 9, 2016Category: Contemporary
Pages: 290

Dreamspinner   Goodreads

David James is smart, successful, handsome… and alone. After the death of his lover, Kyle, from cancer, he buried himself in his law practice and the gym. At forty-eight, he is haunted by his memories and walled off from the world. When David injures himself working out, he’s assigned to Brandon Smith for physical therapy. The vibrant young therapist is attracted to David and realizes he needs a hand to get back into dating. What begins as a practice coffee date escalates to friendship, passion, and maybe something more, as they navigate a new relationship in Washington, DC, and the gay mecca of Provincetown.

But David remains trapped behind the barrier of fear and guilt. Will he remain loyal to Kyle’s memory if he moves on? Can he and Brandon manage a twenty-two-year age gap? Brandon thinks he understands David’s concerns, and for him, the answer to those questions is yes. He wants to be with David, and he believes he can overcome David’s barriers. But Brandon fails to account for the world’s reaction to a handsome young man attached to an older, wealthy lover. David’s memories, Brandon’s pride, and an unexpected tragedy might cost them something very special.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

David is a very successful lawyer, handsome and driven, but he is very alone after his lover, Kyle, passed away from cancer two years ago. Between his work and Crossfit training he barely has time for anything else, until he hurts his shoulder during training.

Brandon's been working as a physical therapist in Washington, D.C. for about a year, but he's not sure how much more time he can keep this up. Between his student loans, car payments, rent and food, he barely has anything left to save up, since the cost of living on the east coast is definitely higher than in the small town in Texas where he comes from. He's interested in David from the moment they meet and working with him on his shoulder just makes Brandon want to get closer. It started out as helping David out to get back into dating after the loss of his partner, but the more time they spend together, the more they are attracted to each other, despite their age and monetary status differences. However good they are together, there are still many things that may harm their chances at a HEA, like David's guilt over Kyle and Brandon's pride at not being at the same level than David. 

David and Brandon are very likable characters, lovable even, if it weren't for the fact that I wanted to slap/strangle/shake them more than a few times during the book! For the most part, I think Brandon was a very mature 26-year-old, sometimes I felt he was more mature than David in some ways. He was supportive, hardworking and very prideful. He didn't want to be David's boy and had a hard time seeing that he could give David other things that couldn't be bought with money. I loved that he stood up for David when they met Brandon's friends, but I think he overreacted a bit when David couldn't do the same for Brandon with his so-called friends, and afterward, I really wanted to shake him up a bit and make him see how everything that was happening affected David, not just Brandon. David was great and I adored him, but he was so hung up on being disloyal to Kyle and their age difference, that there were a few times that I just wanted to scream. I loved how he treated Brandon, though, especially later in the book. He was caring and loving and just wanting to make things right with Brandon. 

I loved Colin and really hope that Robert Winter gives us more on him sometime soon. I also liked Joe and Terry, but especially Joe, he was made of awesome!

I stayed up until 4am this morning trying to finish this book and really, I just put it down because I was crying so hard that I had to take a break and then started bawling my eyes out this morning while reading the epilogue. Damn you, Robert, for making me cry with that letter and the epilogue! But they were so good!

Overall, September was a fantastic read! It was engaging, romantic, hot, angsty and while the writing style could be a bit wordy on some parts, I was completely enthralled with the story. While this is Robert Winter's first novel, I think he has great future and I, for one, will be waiting for his next book anxiously. 

Very recommendable! (Just be warned you'll probably need some Kleenex at some point of the book)

Rating: 4 Stars!!!