Dawn Sister - See You Smile

Jake is forty five and has lived alone for some time. He's happy. He's not really in the market for any kind of romance, so why has his new neighbour set his heart racing and his stomach churning with butterflies?
Jake has watched this neighbour with interest over the last few weeks, telling himself that writing down this guy's every move in a special note book whilst observing him from behind his ivy on his deck is perfectly normal, but he is actually beginning to think he's turning into a creep. He can't help himself though. He's addicted. This new neighbour is quite simply the most beautiful creature Jake has ever set eyes on. He is also young enough to be Jake's son.
How is Jake ever going to get to know this guy without everyone, including the neighbour, thinking he is just a dirty old man? And how is he ever going to reconcile the fact that he is at least twenty years older?
The age gap is the least of his problems though, because this guy is elusive to say the least. Jake has a plan, but even the best laid plans go astray. After some disastrous attempts to meet his enigmatic neighbour something happens to bring them together and then Jake faces the possibility that he may have fallen for this guy, but how is someone young enough to be his son going to look at him as anything other than a friend?

Comment: This book was recommended to me years ago. Quite sad that only now I decided to pick it up...

Jake is a 45 year old writer who has a pretty stable life, although sometimes sad since his partner of years has died some years ago too. Things change when a new neighbor starts living next door and Jake can't help but feel funny just looking at him. The neighbor seems to like surfing and is very young and fit. He probably would never be interested in Jake anyway but that doesn't stop Jake from kind of stalking him, but this proves helpful when, one day, he sees the neighbor forgets his wallet and decides to finally meet him having a good excuse. Things don't go as smoothly as he imagined, for the neighbor Cal is deaf, which explains a lot of failed chances but after some time they became friends. But will Cal ever see Jake as more than friends considering their age gap?

This story is told exclusively from Jake's POV and, of course, as I repeat ad nauseam, that can be quite the limitation. Jake is likable and funny for a man who suffered the loss he did, but there were parts where his attitude was just a little too breezy and others where I really missed Cal's POV.

The story is very simple. Jake has his life organized and he had a great passion but his partner was ill and died. Jake isn't looking for someone new but sometimes heart and brain clash and his new neighbor fascinates Jake, even if it seems it's all bout his looks. I think this is a good enough starting point but we learn that Jake is actually more vulnerable than what he claims, and the fun part of the story is to see how Jake behaves when around Cal. I used the word "stalker" but that isn't the best word, or one should think of it as a joke if possible. Jake is always proper and correct when dealing with Cal.

The relationship starts as a friendship because that is what Cal needs. Cal is deaf but is living a quiet life which means he doesn't need any coddling. He has family, though, who decides to harass him for money issues - his parents died and left him in a good financial situation - and this also means they try to prove his inability to be alone. Of course, Cal being friends with Jake and many other people who know Jake in their small community means he has all the support he might require.

The plot is quite simple because the book isn't very big either, but this means some details might seem rather superficial. I, personally, would have liked more depth to the protagonists and more meaningful scenes between them. Since we only have Jake's POV, this is achieved by secondary guessing, but noticing the clues Cal offers in their interactions but Jake is a bit more vulnerable than one would think for someone who keeps claiming he could be Cal's father.

The age gap didn't feel much of a big deal but it's easier to say this than it would be to really live it, so I could respect Jake's thoughts on this. The author did enough about Jake to give me the impression of someone who went though his challenges but he is still worthy of a HEA. I think the bare minimum was done in regards to Cal but, truly, in a romance where two people go on at the supposedly same sped towards a relationship of some kind, we should have his POV too. In the end, no matter how positive I think the book to be, Cal still reads as too vague.

Close to the end, they guys finally hit if off, after some obvious scenes though, and Cal's intrusive uncle showing up set the stage for them to realize they were more than friends. I cannot really say if their romance would be as strong as it needed for them to last based on this novel, though. The tone was, sometimes, a bit too lazy and cute and I prefer a bit more of tension or some angst for the romances to feel more validated somehow... still, the guys ended up happy and that can be enough.

This wasn't life changing, but it was good to read, yes.

Grade: 7/10