I did not like Jake at all. Maybe it was because the book started out with Stephen's POV and I got into the angst he was dishing out, but I really didn't feel any sympathy toward Jake at all. He was a little annoying and I didn't feel like he deserved Stephen. Bro even tried to have kids with another guy that he wasn't even in love with! I don't know about you guys, but if I were Stephen and I had spent all those years wondering about my "mate," to find out that he had tried to start a family with someone else, I would be feeling pretty heartbroken and resentful. (Side note-- maybe I'm just being petty, but I also don't really like it when the MCs in a romance are still really close with their ex-partners. In this case, Jake is still close with Brad, the guy he had two miscarriages with.)
I was confused on how they both viewed their relationship 11 years ago: Stephen says they were mates, but Jake refers to him as an ex-boyfriend. Those are two very different levels of partnership, and the separate labels made it seem like they weren't on the same page. I stopped reading after Jake tells Stephen about why he left him 11 years ago without saying anything, so I don't know if Stephen ever reveals if he's been with anyone since Jake. So between that and the mate-vs.-boyfriend thing, I'm coming out on Stephen's side since it looks like he took their relationship more seriously than Jake did.
I'm wondering if the book started with Jake's POV, if I would have felt differently. He just seemed to spit everything out without really convincing me that he was sorry. I definitely felt how hurt and betrayed Stephen was, but I didn't feel anything for Jake when he revealed his miscarriages. I usually do feel sympathy for characters that go through it. I've read books with very detailed, emotional miscarriages and for a few days after, my stomach felt tender and sensitive with these weird sympathy pains. Maybe because Jake's miscarriage happens off-page and I never even connected with his character in the first place, I didn't feel anything for him. (And this is a lighter book, so there's not going to be any details on his miscarriages; I get that.)
Anyway, I thought the angst was good in the beginning, but I was not a fan of how fast Jake was forgiven for just abandoning Stephen. I was expecting a good grovel, but I found myself reading a very wordy-but-flat apology. Aside from my distaste of Jake, the writing was good, but I will not be finishing this.