What happens when one man finally sees what’s right in front of him, but the other thinks it’s safer for him to stay away?Gerald ~ All I’ve ever wanted is a love of my own. I thought I’d found someone special, but he’s confused and not ready to give us a try. After one magical night and morning, I return home to find my cousin dead in my living room, and I’m the primary suspect. I promised Duncan … and I’m the primary suspect. I promised Duncan I wouldn’t out him, and I’ll stand by my word, even though it means I have no alibi.
Duncan ~ When I find out Gerald’s been arrested, but saying he has no alibi, I realize how wrong I was. He may not be what I was expecting in my life, but he’s exactly what I was looking for.
But why was there a dead man in his house?
Ending In You is an approx 50,000 word standalone novel with too many suspects, teachers misbehaving, construction workers keeping secrets, friends who have become family pulling together, and two men getting the HEA they deserve. Intended for 18+more
A sweet story with some trouble here and there. A found family, a pstvthat never lets you completely off the hook and friendship that gets you through it all.
Sammi Cee created a great group of characters that will have you chuckle, laugh out loud, open your eyes wider than ever, and even shed a tear of five. Most importantly, you will definitely enjoy the read.
*possible spoilers*
I give this book a solid 3 stars and know there are readers who will really enjoy this, especially if you’ve read the whole series. I read it as a stand-alone; reading the previous books isn’t necessary as the author does a good job of including necessary information from the previous books, but I personally think this book would read better having read the whole series.
What I liked:
-The characters! Gerald sounds seriously hot and he’s truly a gentle giant. He tends to rub his neck whenever he gets nervous, is thinking hard, etc. and I loved that quirk. Duncan sounds like a teacher I would have loved as a kid and I appreciate that he didn’t have a prolonged crisis questioning his sexuality. Once he gets serious with Gerald, he’s committed to the relationship. The flirting at the start of the book is really sweet and their relationship feels established soon after they meet. Not insta-love but a nice little build up to feeling like being together is the most natural thing in the world. Also there is little drama in their relationship. Most of the drama comes from the outside. I did want more scenes with just the two of them and not necessarily sexual.
-The side characters! They’re a fun group of friends and they definitely added to the story. You don’t have to read the previous books to understand their personalities and how they all relate; the author does a great job working in all those details.
-I love a good size difference and Gerald is seriously hot. My one complaint? I wanted more manhandling!
-The plot is not complex and easy to follow along and predict, but that’s not a complaint. I expected this book to be a casual light read and I think it was.
-I personally hate when things drag on in a book, but everything was resolved quickly and any miscommunication was cleared up quickly as well.
-I liked the overarching message of the story – we all have pasts, good and bad (and some worse than others). This is tied in well with the murder plot. I do wish there were some more clues as to the murderer. I’m not saying it’s impossible to figure out, but it felt a bit Hitchcock with the reveal coming out of nowhere. The explanation for why they did what they did is done well and made me feel a bit less frustrated.
What I didn’t like:
-The blurb. It’s like one of those movie trailers that tells you everything that’s going to happen, so there’s not much of a surprise.
-There’s a lot going on in this book and I had to pause a few times and make sure I was following along with everything. As a result there was not enough focus on just the two main characters.
-The plot itself was just not that interesting, at least not to me. I think a big reason for this is because of my complaints about the blurb. I want to be teased and then have fun watching the story unfold. It kind of felt like “this happened and then this”, like a checklist.
-And the reason this was a 3 star for me. The author writes well. No complaints there. I just found it hard to engage with various parts of the story and found myself skimming after about 40% into the book. I did finish it and didn’t dislike it overall, I just couldn’t make myself read every sentence. I would have DNF’ed if I had.
{I received an ARC for an honest review.}
Probably better if you’ve read all the series, otherwise confusing
August 19, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 stars
I felt this MM romance began well but then the last half went off track. Gerald and Duncan are sympathetic characters with a hot bond and mature enough to recognize when they need more than a hook-up. I liked them both. The introduction of a violent death added some suspense and excitement.
But there were too many other couples involved in too many scenes. It was confusing. And chapter fifteen was so much convoluted melodrama. Actually, too much for me. So, the story quality was inconsistent, good with the two main heroes, disjointed when the crew of friends, colleagues, family are all thrown into the action at once.
I did not read the earlier two volumes in this series. If I had I probably would not have found the group scenes and references to other couples spotlighted in the two previous books so confusing and, frankly, distracting from this story.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Ending In You is the third book in the In You Series by Sammi Cee. This is a fantastic book that has a murder mystery, coming out, drama, humor, steamand sweetness. These characters are fun and interesting… the main characters, Gerald and Duncan, are great characters and I love them together.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.