Sebastian
The only decent thing my high school bully ever did for me got him sent to prison. Aidan was a jerk, but he saved me from making the worst mistake of my life, and in return, my parents ruined him. Now that he’s out, I’m determined to make amends. No matter what he needs, no matter how long it takes, I will make it all up to him. But first I’ll have to figure out how to hide my attraction to my sexy, confusing new roommate.
Aidan
Saving him cost me everything. I have nothing and no one—except Sebastian. He’s determined to make good on a debt I never asked him to repay. He’s offering me money, a place to stay, and help adjusting to life on the outside. But all I’m really wondering is … who can save Sebastian from me—the desperate, bisexual ex-con who probably wants more from him than he’s willing to give?
Comment: I've added this book to my TBR because of the premise: someone is wrongly accused of kidnapping and goes to prison but after being released becomes friends with the mistook victim. I thought this would be quite an original plot.
Aiden is a young man with no real prospects but he feels decent enough when he sees Sebastian, someone he remembers from being bullied at school for being gay, waiting alone at a bus stop and decides to help. Sebastian tells him he is waiting for someone but Aiden doesn't believe him, clearly understanding what is going to happen if Sebastian accepts a ride from an unknown man. However, by taking him to his house, he is accused of kidnapping, no matter what Sebastian says. After doing his time, Aiden is ready to start again new, but then, Sebastian is there, waiting for him and wanting to give back, to help him as Aiden tried before and they become roommates. But is Aiden ready to see Sebastian in a different way...?
I will confess I wasn't much impressed by this story, certainly not as much as I hoped for when I read the blurb. The story does have the promised content, but the writing style was a huge let down, mostly because it's told in first person, by both Sebastian and Aiden, but also because they are very one dimensional characters.
My favorite part was definitely the idea of this book. I really can't explain but plots where people go to prison wrongly accused (or not if there's a good motif), but then have to restart their life somehow make me curious to see how things happen and how the characters deal with that while dealing with others. I was looking for to see how being in prison affected Aiden and what it would mean to his relationship with others and with Sebastian, considering he is kind of the reason why he went to jail.
Sadly to me, from the start the story disappointed. The writing style is not appealing to me, the narrative feels thin and without layers, which extends to how superficial the characters also seem to be, and the development is very uninteresting. I also thought the way Aiden goes to prison to be ridiculous. Certainly there would have been better tactics of creating this situation in a more realistic portrayal? Although, I'm now concluding the point was never the process itself, only that Aiden went to prison and Sebastian welcomed him back.
Thus, Aiden did time for an unfair and seemingly avoidable situation during four years, and Sebastian now waits form him to help. The fact Sebastian has a steady life financially and all that makes things quite simple in how they can arrange to live together which happens because the goal was to bring them closer, to establish an even closer connection which would lead to romance. Well, it felt they never really talked or exchanged important information/emotions - I think it's because of the writing style- and this means I didn't buy into their becoming a couple. To me, there was no chemistry.
As things move along and a few other characters are introduced, Aiden starts to find some stability in his life. I think this did help and some of his inner thoughts about it made him seem a solid character, at least. I cannot say the same about Sebastian, whom always seemed to be a little harebrained and rather juvenile. I know that this might my own perception but the author didn't help with her choice of wording and characterization. Since no character is really that layered, I feel it wasn't necessary to invest in thinking of them differently either.
When they become a couple, things change but I failed to see improvement. The dialogues between them and the exchange of information kept on being over the top dramatic and without real emotion, in my perspective. At some point, it felt as if it was all going through the motions. The end was OK, the HEA is acceptable but the idea of this novel felt like it was misused, a wasted opportunity to present something more poignant, considering the premise and the potential for a relationship.
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