Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Blue
Author – B.G. Thomas
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 240
Cover – Perfect!
POV – 3rd person, dual POV
Would I read it again – YES!
Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, May-December


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine



As usual, B.G Thomas knocked it out the park.

This was a sweet May-December romance that dealt with all of the lingering issues of the characters and their story in perfect transparency. It's not a GFY. It's not the perfectly tied-with-a-bow story that some readers were expecting, from their reviews. But that's because B.G. Thomas doesn't tell stories. He writes about lives. REAL lives that have real people.

I'll admit, I was a little shocked to discover that Blue – the beautiful, lovely man from the Seasons of Love series – was homeless! I mean, that was a bolt out of the blue, but it also made sense, as we navigated his story. He's just as beautiful, innocent and a little naive as he was before, with a deep rooted need to be love and an even greater fear that anyone he loves will leave him. That makes him act recklessly sometimes, sure, but it also makes him doubt himself so much that the incident with Big Sir lingers in his mind as something he did to himself, by being reckless and stupid. He's not strong enough, emotionally, to recognise how he was used and manipulated.

That's where John comes in. Supposedly boring, his wife has just left him for that reason, and he's left floundering in uncertainty. With Blue, he finds a purpose, because no one has ever needed him as much as Blue does when they meet – when his dog, Chewie is injured – and it's that reciprocation that is so beautiful. Blue needs the attention John is giving him so willingly, while John needs to be needed the way Blue needs him.

By the 6% mark of the book, I was already in love with this story – their story – as much as I loved the Seasons of Love series. As the story begins, it's clear that they're a distraction for one another. Blue from John's separation from his wife and John from the pain and responsibility Blue feels over Chewie's uncertain health. Together, they spend a day in each other's company, before realising that there's a spark there. But seeing the situation from both sides really let us see what they were both thinking and how the same situations were viewed so differently, e.g. the way Blue thought John was sexy in a suit, while John worried that it made him 'boring' or 'stuffy'.

What I loved most was that the story took its time. It took 36% (mostly all within the same day) for them to reach anything close to a first kiss and I loved that. And, yes, it's a day. But I'm a firm believer in true love, love at first sight and there was nothing here to make me feel that this affection for each other or the inspired emotions drawn out of each other were anything but genuine. It wasn't as if they looked at each other, had a quick hook up, and were uttering “I love you” to grand dramatic music. They felt their way from attraction to sex and to love, through a variety of (yes, all in one day) events that would put anyone through the emotional wringer. I thought it was beautiful that they found solace and strength in each other, when they were adrift all alone in their separate worlds. Then continued over the next few months to do the same thing.

As the owner of a dog who is routinely sick, the whole Chewie storyline really resonated with me. The fact that it brought Hound and Bean back into the story was a real relief. Especially when we got to see all the other SOL cast members appearing, later, as well. Although what Wyatt had to say to Blue had me crying. A lot.

The only thing missing? I would have loved to have found out what happened to Indigo, but I have a feeling that we will...in time.

Overall, this is another smash. I laughed, cried, cringed and smiled the whole way through, caught up in the whirlwind of emotions that B.G. Thomas always managed to put me through. There are a million other things I could say about the story, but I don't want to give any spoilers away, and, since I marked a good two dozen quotes, I'm going to let some of them speak for me:

Favourite Quotes

““I remember you,” he whispered. There was a flash in the man's eyes, and then John was blushing, and damn, Blue loved it when a big ol' hunky man blushed.”

“And he knew that wanting Blue could be just as dangerous as actually leaping from a building.
Because John knew that if he so much as touched Blue – more than he already had, touched him in an intentional way – he would want to go on touching for the rest of his life. And he thought Blue would let him.”

“Wow. Someone who knew things. Who helped fill the empty silences. Blue wanted to cry again, but it was almost – almost – good tears.”

“With a “Good night, John,” he quickly left the room and went to be alone.
And realised he really wasn't.
Because for the first time in as long as Blue could remember, it seemed that someone was helping him with no ulterior motive at all.”