All Mine: A Second Chance Gay Romance
Author: Parker Avrile
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Length: Novel, 168 pages (50,000 words)
Publication Date: Jan. 18, 2016
Heat Level: Three flames (some language and adult situations)
Blurb:
A second chance steamy gay romance about two men in a custody dispute over a happy dog who sees no reason they can't all be together.
The student Justin couldn't save is now a man.
As a first-year teacher, former basketball star Justin couldn't rescue Corey from his at-risk background. But he's determined to do something right. He signed a contract promising this abandoned Golden Retriever a forever home, and he's going to keep that promise.
When Corey's Golden is stolen by a vengeful ex, he hunts high and low to find her. But he's a day late and a dollar short. Of all the people in this town who could have adopted his dog, why did it have to be a straight arrow like Justin, the secret star of Corey's hottest man-on-man fantasies?
Justin says he's not surrendering his adopted dog, but he agrees to let Corey make supervised visits. Fine. Corey will bide his time, prove he's a responsible dog owner, and win Justin's trust long enough to steal her back.
The trouble is, the more time they spend together, the less Corey feels like grabbing the Golden and making a run for it. She thinks Justin is a good guy, and he's starting to think so too. But will their small town accept the blossoming relationship between a teacher and a former student?
This fast-moving male/male romance novel features the frank language and steamy situations you'd expect between two athletic men in their twenties. It comes complete with a Happily Ever After. There are absolutely NO cheating incidents or cliffhangers involved in the making of this sometimes sexy, sometimes sweet story of a romance between two gay men who both claim the same dog.
4 Stars!
Being an 18-year-old gay kid in Acadiana Louisiana doesn't give Corey Foret a large pool of men to choose from. His crush on his gym teacher has grown too big to hide and he needs an outlet for all the feels he has bundled up inside. Lionel seems like the best choice. Not only is he gay but he's a lot closer to Corey's age than Coach Justin. Core doesn't believe any of the rumors that have been going around about Lionel being bad news. Just because Lionel's father was convicted of drugs doesn't mean Lionel is a criminal, too. Corey's mom objects to him and Lionel dating and reaches out to the Coach. But Coach Beaumond isn't able to get through to Corey and it only seems to push Corey and Lionel further together.
Three years later, Corey is homeless, sleeping wherever he can sneak his sleeping bag. Searching for his beloved dog Spirit, he finally tracks her down in with none other than Justin Beaumond. When Justin refuses to turn his new dog back over to Corey, the two find themselves in an awkward and tough position. It takes a few exchanges before Justin agrees to allow Corey visitation but Corey jumps at the opportunity in hopes to convince Justin to return Spirit to him.
As more and more time goes by, Corey and Justin get to know one another and what was once a simple crush blossoms into something more. Too bad Corey's past seems to be threatening their future. A gay teacher dating a former student doesn't go unnoticed either and so Corey and Justin have to make some hard choices. Nothing in Corey's life can come easy, he'll need to find a way to maintain his new found happiness and love no matter what needs to be done.
I enjoyed All Mine and found it to be a quick easy read. My only complaint is that it took a long time for me to actually warm up to Justin. I felt as if his direct almost cold no-nonsense manner was a bit off-putting and borderline cruel at some points. I understand he only had the best intentions for Spirit but there were times in which the way he spoke to Corey made me doubt the man had any warmth to him. To go from that to a man who desired Corey seemed like a huge leap. I didn't even believe he liked Corey at first let alone harbored feelings for him.
I also felt so sorry for Corey because honestly the poor young man was much to easily manipulated and then he never fully grew as strong as I wished he would be. He needed a major boost to his ego and yes, he got it with Justin but I wanted more (this may be a product of his age, I'm not sure). I was glad that Corey seemed to grow up some from the beginning to the end, though.
While the plot wasn't the most realistic I've read by this author, I do have to say I still enjoyed the story. Justin and Corey seemed to have good chemistry and Spirit was a sweetheart of a dog. I loved Corey's cousin Dale and I kind of hope maybe we'll get his story, too. Overall, I'd recommend All Mine no problem!
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.***
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