Pierce Atwater used to think he was a knight in shining armor, but then his life fell to crap. Now he has no job, no wife, no life—and is so full of self-pity he can’t even be decent to the one family member he’s still speaking to. He heads for Florida, where he’s got a month to pull his head out of his ass before he ruins his little sister’s Christmas.
Harold Justice Lombard the Fifth is at his own crossroads—he can keep being Hal, massage therapist in training, flamboyant and irrepressible to the bones, or he can let his parents rule his life. Hal takes one look at Pierce and decides they’re fellow unicorns out to make the world a better place. Pierce can’t reject Hal’s overtures of friendship, in spite of his misgivings about being too old and too pissed off to make a good friend.
As they experience everything from existential Looney Tunes to eternal trips to Target, Pierce becomes more dependent on Hal’s optimism to get him through the day. When Hal starts getting him through the nights too, Pierce must look inside for the knight he used to be—before Christmas becomes a doomsday deadline of heartbreak instead of a celebration of love.
Karen's rating:
'Regret Me Not' started out good for me. I have to admit I totally got where Pierce was coming from...done it, seen it, been there and I remember, oh boy do I remember I was that grumpy old person, lashing out at the people who loved me and wanted to help me and then regretting the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Wanting to take back everything I'd said but not being able to. Frustrated because the things that I'd taken for granted being able to do I couldn't, knowing that some of it was temporary and some was stuff that I'd be able to do again someday when I was fully recovered but at the end of the day that didn't help a lot when dealing with my frustration...so yeah, I really got where Pierce was coming from.
Pierce takes refuge at his friend Derrick's Florida condo and on his first venture out to the pool to do some aqua therapy he finds himself being coached by an attractive young man who really seems to know his stuff when it comes to therapy. Hal's hiding out at his parent's condo...he's lonely, frustrated and just generally trying to get control of his life. He's been in school for 5 years trying to get his degree which would be a whole lot easier to accomplish if he wasn't squeezing the courses he wanted in between the ones his parents think he needs. Hal wants to be a pysio therapist...his parents want him to be a lawyer and probably not gay would be good in their eyes too.
Pierce and Hal fit together like puzzle pieces. Pierce needs help not just getting his body back in shape but getting his heart and soul in order too. Hal needs to help. He's a nurturer, helping people is in his soul, it's an integral part of who he is.
Hal thinks Pierce is a unicorn but Pierce...well, Pierce knows that the unicorn is Hal. He's bright and shiny, special and unique and Pierce is sure that he's too old and just not the good person that Hal sees in him.
I loved how well Hal and Pierce fit together, how good they were for each other and to each other. This was a sweet story about two people getting the best gifts of all for Christmas...the gifts of friendship, love and family.
Best of all a the end of the story when I thought I was going to have to have to say good-bye to this adorable pair, Ms. Lane gives the reader one last gift the promise of more...Pierce and Hal will be continuing their adventures and they'll be shared on the author's blog. I know I look forward to continuing to find out more about Hal and Pierce as they continue to go through life together sharing whatever comes their way.
*************************
An ARC of 'Regret Me Not' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Buy the book:
Reading gives us someplace to go, when we have to stay where we are. (Mason Cooley)
Buylinks are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with this book, author or booksellers listed.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Hey, thanks for reading this post. We hope you liked it. Please share your thoughts - we always enjoy hearing from readers.