Berry Blue: Lessons Learned by TC Blue

Summary:

Peter Jamison has spent half his life believing he betrayed his first love, so when Dex is suddenly back in his life, he's thrilled. Sure, they have their problems. They're not the same young men they were before. They've grown and changed, been molded by their lives and circumstances into completely different people, but there's still the echo of their previous relationship. It might not be enough for some people to build a relationship on, but they're happy.

Leonard Dumfries is a lot of things. School teacher. Martial arts student. Father. He's also thirty-nine and still single. When he finds out that the super-hot hunk he met at his own birthday party is not only involved with someone but is also his friend Riley's uncle, Leonard is disappointed but still willing to be just friends with the man.

Life is pretty good for everyone, right up until it's not. When Peter's world starts to crumble around his ears, it's up to Leonard -- with a little help from friends and family -- to step in with a more-than-friendly shoulder and maybe, possibly, find his own happiness while trying to ensure Peter's, too.

Reviewer: WhiteDaisy
The story starts with Peter Jamison, who's fifty years old, jogging in the Stamford morning air and his mind turns to his lover Dex. He's come to visit Peter for couple of days. Peter was satisfied with himself and with his current life, and Peter was happy having Dex around. Peter felt relived, because he believed that he had betrayed Dex in the worst possible way. He was sure their mutual past couldn't be changed. Peter was trying to prove to Dex that he was no longer the callous, unthinking young man who'd ruined Dex's life. It had only been nine months since Dex had reentered Peter's life. This kind of a start to a story was depressing and I didn't like it.

Peter was thinking

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Dex might be broken, but Dex and I aren't. We'll make this work.

As a reader I really couldn't agree with Peter's logic in this sentence. How can he think that his new relationship with Dex was good and healthy if Dex himself was a broken man?. This showed us that Peter lived with false belief. My point was proven as soon as Peter left the house without Dex. If there is no trust, the relationship isn't a happy one, and Dex wasn't happy man.

The second chapter started with Leonard Dumfries, he was 39 years old. Leonard was a kindergarten teacher by day, part-time martial artist and office worker for the martial arts school by night. I really liked Leonard as a character. For him, relationships were sacred and even if Leonard was attracted to Peter, he wanted to be his friend. Peter and Leonard really enjoyed their mutual friendship and with time Peter started to explain his and Dex's past to Leonard. Dex was nineteen when Peter first met him. And Peter's worst crime was that he outted him to Dex's father, or so he believed. Peter's father had gotten some pictures in the mail and the pictures were intimate.

At some point Dex couldn't keep his silent feelings from Peter. He knew the best way of ending their new developed "false" relationship was to tell Peter the truth. Dex at last told Peter the truth about his hate. Because he believed Peter outted him in their youth, he hated Peter for twenty years. After Peter's father died, Dex found out the truth. But even after contacting Peter after twenty years of hating him, Dex didn't tell the him the truth. He left Peter believing he was the one who destroyed Dex's young life. I really believe it was a shitty thing to do, Dex was an ass. For two years Dex knew Peter didn't out him and kept the truth to himself, which was really a low, low thing to do. Dex really wasn't worthy of Peter.

I enjoyed Peter's and Leonard's slow pace. Their mutual relationship developed from friendship to being more then just boyfriends to each other. They became involved as a couple. Sure all the twisted emotions in this new developed relationship was really a huge part of this plotted story and I really liked that part. Peter found out how a true loving relationship with Leonard changed him and his current life. This change was the good part of this story. The end was romantic and happy and I enjoyed it. Compared to the start, which I didn't like, I truly enjoyed this romantic story. I'm giving 3.5 stars.

Publisher: Torquere Press
Review Courtesy Of: ManicReaders