Sunshine and Happiness: Book One
Life is a thread connecting us. One pull and it all unravels.
Cole Gannon arrives in the seaside town of Ocean Vista to work as a bartender and finally find a place to belong. Determined to make a home for himself, Cole lives happily with his four colorful roommates, whom he considers brothers. The only problem is Cole’s attraction to Ian Stark—a guy all wrong … Stark—a guy all wrong for him. He wishes he didn’t keep running into the sexy lawyer.
Ian knows Cole is attracted to him, but the younger man keeps him at arm’s length. It only makes Ian more determined to be with Cole and learn all his secrets. But while Ian has built a successful law practice, he hasn’t done too well with relationships.
When a sudden and devastating tragedy occurs, it shatters Cole’s world and throws Cole and Ian together in unexpected ways. In an instant, everything between them changes forever.
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Overall it was a very enjoyable book about everyday hardships and healing after a tragic loss. The pull between the characters was undeniable, but Cole sure made it difficult for himself.
I liked that the emotions and turmoil in this book felt genuine. The pacing of the story felt off in places and I must admit I had some difficulty connecting with Ian as a character, but it was a good read! Good enough to make me want to read the rest, because the secondary characters totally felt like they have interesting stories to tell.
I enjoyed this first volume of the series and am intrigued enough by all these roommates to continue on in future volumes and see who gets together, how that happens and learn more about all the characters. If the initial book in a series does that for me then I’m satisfied it’s done its job. This book did more than that, however. Cole had some real problems he needed to deal with before the incidents of this book so he can be a really frustrating character at times. Emotionally, he’s all over the map. I loved the character of Ian, unreservedly. He turns out to be just the steadfast rock Cole needs to lean on and their relationship was one I was caught up in and wanted to see play out.
Woah!
There was a lot going on in here. The start of a series has to lay the groundwork for the rest when it comes to those that are connected as tightly as these in this series are. We are just getting to know Cole and a little about the others when tragedy strikes. From reading Cole and Ian’s journey in the aftermath I can see we will be getting a emotionally filled story with each one. Everyone goes through pain in their own way. Each of the guys you meet here is just trying to find a place to belong and sometimes foundations get rocked too hard to stay standing without help. Cole and Ian both had to find the courage to grab on and not let go. I have to say though I hated not getting to know one of them and seeing a different outcome. That was a bit hard on me. Sure wish there was a paranormal addition for me to find out.
The book is incredible, however it has some triggers that made some parts really difficult to read, so I recommend to review the warnings before reading it. The emotions are intense, there are many sad moments and I spent half the book crying but the happy and sweet moments were so good that helped to balance out the story and at the end even with all the tears you’ll discover you’ll need to know what happens next. An amazing start of the series! I can’t wait to read book 2.
I was given a free arc copy from the author for review.
M/M
Friends to lovers
Hurt/comfort
All the feels
4.5 stars
Ian secretly loves Cole. Cole secretly want him too but so does his best friend. Out of respect he keeps his feelings to himself. Then tragedy strikes and all they have is each other to survive.
I really enjoyed this story. The first half was sad and hard to read especially for anyone that has lost someone they love. Both characters were well developed and great characters and they made a beautiful couple. I didn’t find it angsty even though it’s a tough subject matter. There is plenty of heat but later in the story. I loved the plot. I did take some breaks from it cause it’s just so sad but it is a beautiful story. If I had any complaint it would be the very beginning all the characters are introduced on one page and I found it a bit overwhelming. It would of been nice just to learn those details later on. It was hard keeping people straight til it got further into the story. Also, there is so drama near the end that I thought was kinda unnecessary and extreme but people do weird things when they are grieving. I love all the other characters as well and am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I debated whether to rate this 4 or 5 stars and in the end settled on 4.5 simply because even though I loved it, I don’t think it’s one that I would read repeatedly compared to other books that I love and read all the time. However I would definitely recommend it. This was my first time reading this author but I will definitely check out their other books.
I honestly struggled with the beginning of this one. I knew something bad was coming from the blurb. It took me a while to get into it. I felt so may emotions at one point, I could feel every emotion that Cole felt. It was heart wrenching. Ian seemed kind of cold at times. I loved how he wasn’t giving up on Cole. Overall I liked the story. The secondary characters were great. I’m voluntarily leaving a review form an advanced copy that I received.
I so loved Ian and Cole. Though there was a super rough patch they had to go through a the beginning, they found their HEA. From the beginning you could feel the connection between them both. I was rooting for Cole, his background of trauma just made you want him to get his HEA. The thing with Brendan really had the whole has of brothers messed up. It seemed like everyone was falling apart and barely hanging on. Cole was the big brother of the house and goodness falling down on his duties for sure. None the less, when he decided to give Ian a chance, all things began to change for him. You find even in tragedy, when you find love, you hold on to it; you fight for it as Ian did. He became the rock that Cole needed and along with that Cole began to let go of past issues. These guys were so good together. This book can be a bit of a downer at times, but the ups and healing that came along, well worth it.
I received an ARC and voluntarily read it for an honest review.
For this slight Age Gap – Opposites Attract book we have Ian the Older Conservative Lawyer and we have Cole the younger free spirited bit of a player Bartender. Cole has a fantastic group of Roommates – Marc, Tomas, Brendan & River who get to known in this story as part of the world building. Ian is Brendan’s Boss and he gushes about Ian all the time so Cole thinks Brendan is into Ian so he avoiding Ian’s advances despite the burning attraction and spark he feels between them. Ian keeps slowing trying to win Cole over. I do not want to give too much away but a tragedy then starts things in motion and from there a relationship begins! It is a bit of an angsty book, but I recommend for people who love to read about two great but very different guys supporting each other and falling in love! This is going to be a great series! I cannot wait for hopefully River and the others to get stories!
Cole and Ian story is very emotional, I cry like crazy but I enjoy the journey between these two. Although there this big event for Cole I like that he seeks Ian to helping mourn, I also like that cole could bring forward another side of Ian these two really complement each other perfectly. I’m looking forward to read the next books, I hope each member of the household heal and find happiness.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It had all the pieces I like in a book, some angst, heartbreak, hot connections, but for some reason, it didnt work for me. To start, there was so much exposition at the beginning of the book, it felt like a massive data dump. I get we need to establish who all of Cole’s housemates are, but the manner in which it was done make figuring out which person was Marc and which was Tomas hard to keep straight. Then there was the massive amount of internal dialogue. How someone could possibly have such long winded conversations with oneself while standing in front of someone and not actually speaking would make the other person wonder if he’s slipped into a catatonic state. I like Ian and Cole just fine, and enjoyed them together, but their big fight seemed totally unnecessary. Most of the characters seemed pretty immature for their age, and while I understand they’ve all had difficult pasts and whatnot, it seems like someone would have gone to seek professional help at some point. Since I enjoy this author, I intend to give book 2 a shot.
From one angsty situation to the next, I wanted to smack both Cole and Ian and say get on with it!!!!!! They frustrated me so much that I felt tense and anxious reading this with all its angst, and I gave myself heartburn!! Less angst please. The story was too long and drawn out and had me losing interest. It would have been better condensed down instead of rambling on. I loved Cole and Ian and would like more of them. The tragedy was very sad and colored the rest of the book characters and storyline. Too much sadness for me.
i adore this book and series. such great characters and when there’s a plot twist!!! wow. this book is soo good.