Series: Peachtree
Volume: 2/?Publisher: Two Peninsulas Press (Indie/Self-Published)
Genre/s: Contemporary M/M Romance
Length: 92 658 words
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮
Christmas is a joyful and carefree time for some, but for others it is a time of nervous preparation, uncertainty, reconciliation and rebuilding close relationships. This year, Russ and Stephen are in this latter group of people, as they spend this special time with Russ's family, who are far from perfect but work really hard to change for the better and be close to one another once again.
Meanwhile, Russ and Stephen's relationship blooms and grows stronger and stronger. Men know that they want to be together, that only when they are close they feel like being whole. There is a way to bring them even closer. But are they both ready to take the big step forward and turn from lovers into spouses?
Meanwhile, Russ and Stephen's relationship blooms and grows stronger and stronger. Men know that they want to be together, that only when they are close they feel like being whole. There is a way to bring them even closer. But are they both ready to take the big step forward and turn from lovers into spouses?
"Love in the Balance" is the second volume in "Peachtree" series by Brigham Vaughn. As in the case of the previous part, this one also consists of two novellas published for the first time a few years ago, "Family" and "Husbands", which have been enriched with new chapters filling the time gap between these installments of the series. Like "Off-Balance", "Love in the Balance" has a structure that is quite characteristic in my opinion, as it is based on the interweaving of faster, more emotional action with slower, calmer one. This makes the structure of the novel very real and it resembles the everyday life of an average person. I admit that I like it very much, because the believability of the pace of the story presented also affects the believability of the characters. I have read few novels with a similar structure, so it is unquestionably an advantage worth mentioning and keeping in mind.
The main theme of the first part of the novel is the family and I must admit that I really like the way the author presents and approaches this topic. First of all, the author emphasizes the fact that although Russ's family is not perfect and needs to be rebuilt after their past problems, it is reliable and all family members can draw strength from their bond. Moreover, the character of Russ's dad is in stark contrast to the late Stephen's father. As a result, the novel emphasizes what is good in family relationships, what is worth sticking to and what should be forgotten. It is also worth adding that in the subject of family, the author decided to surprise us with new revelations about Stephen's relatives. I believe that emotionally and mentally this is of great importance both to Stephen and to the whole story presented in "Love in the Balance".
Another topic that I want to and must mention reviewing this novel is marriage, which is the central theme of the second part of this volume. In "Love in the Balance" I really liked the fact that for the main characters, and above all for Stephen, marriage was not a goal of his life. In fact, he had been sure that he did not need it at all and only with time and thanks to the right person he discovers that this is indeed what he truly needs. While both Russ and Stephen know from the start what they want in terms of their career, emotionally they needed and still need each other to understand the desires they are not aware of. I like it very much, because this is how not only the relationship of the characters is built and strengthened, but also has a big impact on their creation. The reader can see how lost Russ and Stephen were and still are, and having each other they slowly find their way to a happy future.
In conclusion, "Love in the Balance" is a really good novel that is as addictive as the previous book about Russ and Stephen's love adventures. The reader can't put this story down, falls in love with the characters even deeper than before and definitely does not want to say goodbye to this amazing couple. "Love in the Balance" is undoubtedly a novel worth recommending.
Headcanon: Every year for the anniversary, Stephen and Russ take a trip and Russ is the one who always chooses their destination.
Fanfiction idea: Russ and Stephen are going Christmas shopping together. They get lost in a huge shopping mall and get separated. Stephen goes to the store staff to find his beloved thanks to a megaphone, like a lost child. After their little adventure, Russ is angry with him for a week because Stephen has embarrassed him.
AU idea: Stephen has an accident and loses his memory. Being in the hospital, he is visited by his family who comes with his fiancée and even by his lover. Stephen no longer knows who tells him the truth and who lies about his life before the accident. In the hospital, he meets a nurse, Russ, who helps him find his new self and with whom Stephen falls in love.
Here's some more about:
Russ Bishop and Stephen Parker are in love. They’ve settled into their relationship and are both happy. But Russ wants more than what they have now, he wants forever.
To him that means marriage, but for Stephen that has never been an option. Marriage equality still isn't recognized in Georgia so why want what he can't have?
When Stephen’s ex re-appears, they’ll have to decide once and for all if they’re ready to commit to a lifetime together.
Book Title: Love in the Balance (The Peachtree Series Book 2)
Author: Brigham Vaughn
Cover Artist: Brigham Vaughn
Release Date: August 24, 2020
Trope/s: May/December, age gap, hurt comfort, rich man poor man,
workplace romance
Themes: Marriage equality, family acceptance/homophobia,
exploring light kink, friends and chosen family, emotional baggage.
Heat Rating: 4 flames
Love isn’t always enough.
Blurb
Russ Bishop and Stephen Parker are in love. They’ve settled into their relationship and are both happy. But Russ wants more than what they have now, he wants forever.
To him that means marriage, but for Stephen that has never been an option. Marriage equality still isn't recognized in Georgia so why want what he can't have?
When Stephen’s ex re-appears, they’ll have to decide once and for all if they’re ready to commit to a lifetime together.
Excerpt
He reached out and squeezed his thigh. “Speaking of commitment, I know we’ve talked about this before, but I’d like to make an appointment with a lawyer to draw up all the power of attorney and living will paperwork soon. If something happened to you … Well, I don’t want to find myself in the position I was in with Jeremy. Alan is wonderful, so I know he wouldn’t keep me away, but we might as well have all of the legal protection in place.”
Russ nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. We should do that soon.”
They had essentially already made the commitment to each other, so why not formalize it? Even if Stephen lost every penny or became sick or injured, Russ wasn’t going anywhere, and he knew Stephen felt the same. There was no question in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Stephen. And after meeting his mom, he no longer had the smallest doubt that he was capable of serious commitment. He wasn’t her, and he never had been. He was in this relationship for the long haul with Stephen, and the law should recognize that.
It seemed so cold and soulless to go to a lawyer’s office to draw up paperwork though. It felt like too big a moment to treat that way. He knew some couples had parties after, to celebrate, but that didn’t seem right. No, what he wanted was to publicly declare his feelings for his partner and show the rest of the world how much Stephen mattered to him.
He didn’t want to sign a few sheets of paper and pretend as if it weren’t one of the biggest moments in his life. He wanted more than that. He wanted … Russ stilled as it hit him what he truly desired. He wanted marriage. He blinked, trying to absorb the enormity of that realization. For a guy who’d struggled with the idea of long-term commitment, he knew he had come a long way. Maybe it was time he showed Stephen how serious he was about their relationship. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if Stephen had wanted it for a while and had been hesitating because he was worried Russ wasn’t ready.
He glanced over at Stephen and pictured standing in front of an officiant, their friends, and family and telling all of them that he wanted to spend the rest of his life making Stephen happy. He could picture it so clearly, and it felt right.
Maybe Georgia was light-years behind other states when it came to marriage equality and all it would legally recognize was signatures on a power of attorney form. But there was no reason they couldn’t go out of state to get married. And someday, when Georgia finally recognized it, they’d be married there too.
Husband. Russ tested the word out in his head, and something about it felt so right. He felt a surge of giddy elation as he imagined sliding a ring onto Stephen’s finger as they promised to spend the rest of their lives together.
He was going to do this. He was going to ask Stephen to marry him.
About the Author
Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time author. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.
Her books range from short stories to novellas to novels. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
Author Links
Blog | Facebook Author Page | Twitter
Newsletter sign-up | Instagram | Pinterest | BookBub
No comments:
Post a Comment