LGBT Monday: Pawsitively in Love

Author:M.J. O'Shea

Narrator: Marc Schindler

Series: Standalone

Released: July 13th 2016

Publisher: Dreamspinner

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Source: Publisher for review

Buy: Audible

What Austin Lloyd lacks in academics, he makes up for in his love of the animals who frequent his pet salon. He’s not lucky in romance, though, and his family would like him to settle down with a good man. Austin—and his golden retriever, Maggie—couldn’t agree more.

Evan Partridge isn’t good at letting people in. His messy family life and the past that’s shaped him aren’t worth bringing up. But his pug, Dexter, sure likes the pet salon owner.

Austin and Evan get off to a rough start, but being friends soon turns into something more. Unfortunately, Evan’s secretive behavior nearly does the relationship in, and the budding love affair almost crashes and burns when Evan’s troubled sister shows up on his doorstep.

Not speaking to each other is killing them both, but Evan doesn't know how to keep Austin and help his sister at the same time. He just knows he has to try. Winning back Austin’s trust back, however, is going to take a whole lot of work. 

Pawsitively in Love is a cute new romance novel by M.J. O’Shea, author of Rock Bay, one of my favorite gay romance series. Although the title would lead you to the conclusion that it’s very light and entirely angst free, the book actually has several darker moments and a lot of issues for our two heroes to deal with.

Austin is a fantastic romance hero, open and earnest, with nothing to hide. He has a lovely family and a fantastic group of friends, and if he occasionally suffers from insecurity caused by his lack of education, he deals with it in good time. Despite owning a successful pet salon and being surrounded by amazing people, Austin is often lonely. When Evan first shows up, Austin reacts a bit strangely to the first person he’s been attracted to in a while and they end up in a series of ugly misunderstandings.

Unlike Austin, Evan is closed off and solitary. He has family issues that always come in the way of his relationships, so he simply stopped trying. He gets lonely, but dating someone is too much hassle when he knows it can’t possibly last. Austin is the first person to tempt him to change his mind. But when Evan’s sister suddenly shows up in town, Evan knows he can’t have a normal relationship and take care of Della.

I really expected a super light romance after seeing the cover and the title, but the actual story was a bit darker than expected. Evan’s family struggles with some serious issues and he’s quick to lash out at anyone willing to help. No matter how much he wants it, he isn’t ready for a relationship with Austin, not until he resolves some of his problems, and it leads to a lot of heartbreak for them both.

The narrator, Marc Schindler, did an excellent job reading this light, entertaining story. Sometimes the switches between the two points of view weren’t very clear and I had to struggle to understand whose thoughts I was listening to, but that had less to do with Marc and more to do with production. There should have been a longer pause, a chapter break or something along those lines. For his part, Marc delivered the story well, with a sure and pleasant voice. If you decide to read this, audio is a good way to go.

Overall, this is an enjoyable story with some (but not too many) heart-wrenching moments. I highly recommend it for a relaxing weekend read.

A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher for review purposes. No considerations, monetary or otherwise, have influenced the opinions expressed in this review.