Ally Blue - Willow Bend

Can two men from different worlds cut the ties binding them to heartaches past and present, and make a life together? For Paul Gordon, the little town of Willow Bend, South Carolina is the perfect place to start over. A place where he can move on after his lover's death, alone and anonymous. Cory Saunders is just trying to survive. Between working two jobs and caring for his ailing mother, it's all he can do to keep his head above water. When Paul and Cory meet, their mutual attraction is undeniable. When the intense physical attraction starts to blossom into something deeper, neither wants to admit to what's happening. Cory doesn't have time for a relationship, and Paul isn't sure he's ready for one. But sometimes, what you thought you couldn't have turns out to be exactly what you need.

Comment: This is another of the books by the author I've had left to read. I remember seeing once that it would be sad and I guess I've been delaying reading it mostly because of that.

This is the story of Paul and Cory. Paul is just recovering from a big loss in his life and after a year he moves to a house in a smaller place where he can rest and where the memories are far away. He meets Cory at the town's restaurant and he feels very attracted to him. The attraction is mutual and Cory thinks he might have found someone special, But he has a lot to do and most important is his ill mother and Cory wants to do his best for her. Can these two go by their issues to reach happiness?

I liked this book a lot more than what I imagined. I specially liked Cory. He was young and he had a lot on his hands but his character, his attitude were things I appreciated seeing. I liked how, despite being poor and not having money or time to frivolous things, he still kept a smile on his face, he was joyful to those around him and he even had the courage to try a relationship when so many things around him weren't that sunny. I liked how he seemed to go through so many challenges but he didn0t take things for grated and he didn't want others to have pity on him. He worked and he hoped and I liked him for it. I felt really bad, cried a lot actually, when some bad things happened but the tone of this novel wasn't as overpowering as that, it has sad things but it was a good thing to read.
Paul had his own problems, he lost the love of his life and still feels it like it happened yesterday, but of course I still liked Cory best. It doesn't mean Paul's issues weren't serious or something to feel compassion for, but between the two, Cory was more to my liking in terms of personality.

The two guys found each other and their relationship was relatively easy to develop. The author didn't add up prejudice to this already emotional story, but I think despite everything, it's still something really sad to read, even though, like I mentioned before, one can read it well.

The focus is on the couple and their struggles with sadness and loss, but there's still plenty of air time for their feelings and I didn't find those parts badly done, it seems sometimes the best remedy to sadness is someone supporting you and being around.

In the end, it was a good story, very emotional, but following the style the author had us used to, so nothing new there. It's not my favorite by her, but it's definitely one of the best, for me.

Ally Blue - Forgotten Song

You don’t expect the love of your life to literally fall at your feet. Ben Carson sure as hell didn’t. But when a mysterious stranger passes out cold at Ben’s feet after a street fight, Ben knows right away that this could be something special, that this man isn’t like anyone else he’s ever known.
Eric Green intrigues Ben from the first. The heat between them is fierce and immediate. But it's more than a physical attraction. Ben is drawn to the sorrow and vulnerability that lie behind Eric’s hot temper and suspicious nature. Generous, open, and trusting, Ben vows to help Eric put the violence and abuse of his past behind him and heal the damage it did to him.
As Ben tears down the walls Eric has built around himself and Eric learns to trust again, the powerful attraction between them grows and deepens into a love that could last a lifetime. But the past isn’t always so easily pushed aside…

Comment: I had this book to read for a long time but like most things in my TBR list, I've never had the time to read it. It was finally its turn.
The story focuses on Eric and Ben. They meet after Ben helps Etic out of a fight and he "rescues" him and brings him to this house because Eric doesn't have any place to go.
With time, Eric starts trusting Ben but Ben wants Eric and doesn't want to betray that building trust so he never says anyhting until it's just so obvious.
Eric starts feeling the same but he has an awful past, he's afraid and recoils from intimacy which makes him less confidant in his life because he thinks he's not good enough for Ben.
The things that stand out in this story is msotly Eric's fears. I liekd the fact he didn't "heal" overnight, he felt something for Ben, he tried but it wasn't let's have sex now, because when someone has a troubled past, one one fears something, it's not believable that things work out right away. In this the author was ok, although it might seem Eric is just being whiny.
Chapter after chapter the relationship between the grows but we also start seeing that Eric's past isn't as basic as we might thing, things were even worse that waht we imagined. I felt sorry for him too, but I liked seeing him fall in love with Ben and that they tried to trust each other even after a small fight.
Some people whose reviews I read or whose comments I checked said this book made them cry. Well, to be honest, I didn't and it's something usually easy for me to do when it's a sad story like this one. I was sad yes, but strangely not enough to cry, I'm not sure why..of course it's not a requisit but I guess I was expecting to be touched more intensely. Still, the fun in reading is the different reactions it provokes...I still recommend it.