"4.5"

J.M. Snyder has a beautiful way with words, and weaving emotions into an amazing tapestry that just sticks in your mind for a long time after you read the last word.

The gravitation between Ian and Corey is immediate and catching. Corey leaves his bed in the middle of the night because one of his flings is still there - the first time he's forgotten to throw her out - and he finds himself curling into bed with Ian, who invites him there only after it becomes obvious that he refuses to return to his own room.

They don't just jump into sex. It takes Corey a good 20 pages or more to realize that Ian is what he wants [Ian has known for a while that Corey is the one that *he* wants:], and from there it's a push-and-pull, give-and-shove. Ian pushes Corey away because he doesn't want to get hurt. Then Corey pushes Ian away, then Ian, then Corey.

I've never really understood the whole 'I'm pushing you away for your own good' theme and normally it kind of ticks me off. The only reason I didn't mark this one down to a "3.5" star because of it [because yes, predictably it did grate on my nerves:] is because Snyder did such a good job at getting the reader tied into their emotions it was easily understood/overlooked.

But on the downside, because of the integration and creativity of most of the novel, the actual full-on sex scene ends up being a bit anticlimactic in my opinion.

[Although the scene in the shower kind of had me giggling - it's that ridiculous, only-could-happen-in-real-life type picture ... and I was captivated by the imagery of their hands pressed together, one on each side of the shower curtain:]