First of all kudos to Paul Richmond for yet another memorable cover, with shades of Mucha plus a welcome variation on the ‘naked guys getting close’ theme seen on so many M/M romance covers. Good art with implications of sweetness and light, very appropriate.
Secondly, I’ve been asked by the author to make it absolutely clear that this book is a standalone novel. It is the first in the Season of Love series but the books are only loosely linked, much as Ben’s other books are linked by characters who live in the Oscar Wilde apartment block who may appear in subsequent titles. The linking is a little more formal in this case, being the about romantic relationships of a group of friends, but I’m assured that every book will be able to be read independently of the others. There also isn’t too long to wait if you are a B G Thomas completist. The next book will be published in July, with Autumn written and Winter well on the way.
Here are the details:
Blurb: Sloan McKenna is going through a tough time. His beloved mother has recently passed away, leaving him her house and beautiful garden. But should he keep the house? Sell it? To make matters worse, he’s in love with one of his best friends, Asher, a man who can’t (or won’t) love him back.
Sloan’s neighbor, Max Turner, is married to an ambitious woman with far-reaching dreams, including moving the family to France. But Max is happy teaching at the local college and living in their nice, quiet town. Then he discovers his fourteen-year-old son is not only gay, but out and proud as well. That throws him into complete disarray, for more than one reason….
When Max’s wife leaves on a two-month business trip to Paris, circumstances throw the two men together. As they become friends, Sloan finds himself falling in love with Max, who is completely unavailable… just like Asher. As for Max, he is discovering that both his son’s coming out and his new friendship with Sloan are stirring up feelings he thought buried long ago. Spring is a time for rebirth—Is there any way the two men can find happiness and a new beginning?
Excerpt:
Sloan was lucky to have all of the dear friends who had gathered here with him tonight, especially after the last month. Month? Hell! Six months. His shoulders sagged, and he felt the tears almost prick at the corners of his eyes. Almost. But it wasn’t happening. And that was a good thing. He didn’t want his friends to see him crying. Not tonight. Even though he could. Even though it would be fine. He wanted to be brave tonight. Impress the hell out of them.
Were they talking about him now, or were they delving into a discussion of whether John the Baptist was real or not? At least Scott wasn’t going on and on about one of his online romances—men he fell madly in love with and rarely met in real life. And when he did? Disaster every time. The last time Scott had actually flown to Chicago and checked into The Four Seasons, a very expensive hotel, so he could meet the man he just knew was Mr. Right. The two of them were supposed to share the costs of not only the room, but the plane tickets as well. That didn’t happen. Scott and his romance du jour met, fucked, wound up having a huge ugly fight, and it was over. Scott had been devastated. For a couple of weeks. Maybe a month. Then Scott was right back online.
Scott, Wyatt, and Asher. They were the best friends a man could have, despite their eccentricities.
Scott was always there for him at an instant’s notice, no matter what. He had actually been the first one Sloan had called on the worst day of his life, not more than a month ago. Scott had had a plan already set and instantly took over so Sloan could just throw himself on the couch and, well, not cry. That hadn’t happened yet. He’d been too afraid to let the tears go until the funeral was over—he had wanted, needed, to maintain a sense of decorum until then. He could cry later.
Except he hadn’t yet. Not really.
Elin Gregory 
Ooooh! Love the premise, and the artwork, as usual when we’re talking about Paul Richmond’s work, is fantastic. 🙂