As You Wish by Isobel Starling (Shatterproof Bond 0.5)
M/M Romance Novella
October 5, 2015
Reviewed by Helyce
From Goodreads: Declan Ramsay’s brother Oliver was marrying Annabelle Aiken at a fairy tale Castle on the banks of Loch Ness in Scotland. The bride and groom decided, so that he didn’t feel left out, Annabelle’s gay younger brother Sam Should share the best man duties with Declan.
Declan had never met the kid who was to be his joint best man.
Sam Aiken was abroad, working as an interpreter and finishing his studies. He wouldn’t meet Declan until a few days before the wedding, so the best men communicated and planned their speech by email for more than a year.
But on meeting Sam Aiken, Declan is surprised to realise the kid isn’t a kid at all, but a tall, blond and athletic young man. Declan is sure he’s straight, so he’s alarmed by the ferocious attraction he feels for Sam. And as the attraction is reciprocated, the events at Dunloch Castle change everything Declan has ever believed about himself.
But is Samuel Aiken all that he appears to be?
I chose this book because the gay for you aspect intrigued me. I also liked that it took place in Scotland and I hadn’t read an MM romance in a while and thought a novella length story would ease me back into the genre. Unfortunately, this story was not for me.
The beginning introduces us to Declan and Sam in a comedy of error type situations as our heroes literally run into each other at the airport as they rush to their flight. After all that, Declan is not happy to find that the young, shaggy looking, bearded man who he’d almost run over with his luggage is sitting right next to him. Upon arrival he’s further dumbfounded to learn that the man who caused him so much stress is none other than his brother-in-law to be. As the men are whisked away in a helicopter Declan tries to connect the man he got to know via email over the last several months and the man in front of him. Sam, is mostly intrigued by Declan. He’s attracted, but knows that Declan is a straight man.
This strained animosity continues for a short time, until Declan goes to collect Sam who has chosen to participate in the bachelorette party and not the bachelor party. Miraculously all discomfort and annoyance is gone when they realize that they have a common favorite movie, The Princess Bride, I think. Declan, already kind of questioning himself and his attraction to Sam, decides to throw caution to the wind and he and Sam begin an affair.
At this point, the gay for you and insta-love quality of this story kind of take over and the story just didn’t work for me. I liked the characters and could buy the fact that their supposed comfort with each other came from them having corresponded for nearly a year prior to the wedding itself. But I think I missed going through that with them. We are told that they got along, we didn’t get to actually experience it.
The conflict that separates our lovers comes completely out of left field, but what we learn in the epilogue was so far out there with no hint whatsoever, I was ready for the story to be over. I researched a little and learned that this is a prequel to a full length book. Sam and Declan’s story will continue in Illuminate The Shadows out this month.
Grade: D
Goodreads l Author Website l Series
Leave a Reply