Debra E's Never-Ending TBR

Review originally posted at Sinfully.

Christian has spent most of the last eight years hiding in his apartment. He works online, has his groceries delivered and only occasionally goes out when it’s dark. At least he has a hot handyman to watch in the garden to break up the days. When his apartment complex advises him that they will be renovating his apartment, it leaves him with no choice but to resign himself to spending the days working from his bedroom for the duration.

Josh is thrilled to be working on a new project. He’s even more interested when the first apartment he’s to work on is that of the mysterious tenant his co-workers talk about. He’s disappointed when he gets there to find a normal apartment with nobody home, until later that day when he realizes he’d been wrong about being alone.

After the first strange contact the two men make through a locked door, there are a series of exchanges that eventually lead to an unexpected face-to-face meeting under less than perfect circumstances. It’s then that Josh understands why nobody has ever seen Christian leave his apartment. But Josh isn’t shallow and isn’t going to be deterred from getting to know the sweet and sexy Christian better… it’s just going to take some creativity and some time.

This is a very low angst, character driven story. Christian’s exile is self-imposed, it’s a bit of fear and he feels it’s just easier for him not to deal with other people and their reactions when they unexpectedly see him. Josh has no trouble seeing all Christian ha to offer, but he understands and empathizes with Christian’s feelings. Josh clearly lays out how he sees Christian, why he wants to spend time with him, and what he finds appealing, but Christian has a hard time believing it. They build a bond by sharing meals, discussing books and movies and eventually take the next steps of dating. Josh has a tight group of friends who also get in on the act helping Josh to gain the trust of the man he is so clearly smitten with.

Since this is a Dreamspun Desires story, it’s high on the sugar scale and there isn’t going to be a lot of sexual content, so that leaves room for a delicious slow build as Josh slowly entices Christian to open up not just to him, but to confront his fears and begin to reclaim the life he hid away from for the past eight years. Christian has admired Josh from afar and now that he knows what’s inside is just as good as the sexy packaging, he wants to be able to enjoy their time together.

Both Josh and Christian’s characters are fun and smart. They have plenty of time to talk and tease and really get to know each other. Josh’s creativity and thoughtfulness at planning dates and making sure Christian is comfortable with each step just endeared him to me even more. Each of their firsts was made even sweeter as they were also sharing Christian’s coming back out into the light. When the two finally do get more physical it’s quite steamy – after all K.C. Wells writes some of the hottest sex I’ve read.

I’ve been picky about which of the Dreamspun Desires series I will read since they can be a bit fluffy for my taste, but if you’re one who enjoys the sweet, fairy tale feel of the series, a K.C. Wells fan, or just looking for a good old-fashioned love story, I can easily recommend Out of the Shadows.