Inestimable Blessings by Amanda Young‏

Story: 8
Presentation: 8
Total: 16
ALY Books
m/m erotic contemporary
To Purchase

Blurb: Lee Calder’s life is right on track. He has a small circle of close friends, a career he loves, and a baby on the way via a surrogate. Mr. Right is nowhere to be found, but Lee isn’t about to let that little tidbit rain on his parade. He’s more than willing to thrust his other needs aside and focus on fulfilling his lifelong dream of being a father.

With his love life in the gutter, Lee turns to fantasies of his hunky neighbor, Finn Alexander. His daydreaming is merely a harmless diversion until Finn comes to Lee’s rescue on a dark and stormy night.

To Lee’s surprise, the chemistry they shared in his imagination is nothing compared to the real thing. Finn is as hot between the sheets as Lee always envisioned. Better still, they get along famously outside the bedroom. The only things standing in the way of Lee having it all are the bundle of joy due any minute and Finn’s apparent aversion to children.

Review: This story has it all. Sexy men, good friends, great buildup, hot sex, a bit of insecurity and a happily ever after. But the happily ever after doesn’t come easy and that’s what made this story such a pleasure to read.

I’m usually a bit leery of kids in erotic romance but this title perfectly blends Lee’s need for family with his desire to find Mr. Right. Tired of waiting on one, he makes a solution for the second via a surrogate. The baby factor was such a fabulous foundation on which Ms. Young built a story that goes to the heart of who we are as people. Lee wants to be a dad. He wants love…or at least sex before his life becomes complicated with nighttime feedings and diaper changes. Enter Finn, the hot neighbor feeding his lustful fantasies—and mine too. The relationship develops gradually but neither is being completely honest. Lee’s is cautious. Hot sex doesn’t equal relationship. And Finn has a bit of baggage. He was hurt by his ex and his ex hasn’t exactly moved on.

All the pieces of this story come together like a puzzle. As truths are revealed, the picture of possibilities between these two men becomes clearer. The sex is hot yet emotional. Just when it seems that Lee will have love and family, Finn struggles to accept all that a relationship with Lee would entail and Lee questions whether Finn is really the man he can trust and believe in. Ms. Young has created relatable characters, with real life problems. Inestimable Blessings is a poignant story that was a pleasure to read.