Book Review: How To Save A Life by Andria Large

Blurb:

How do you save someone’s life?

There’s the obvious way of physically saving them from a tragic end.

Then there’s the more subtle way of saving someone who doesn’t know they need to be saved. Someone who is drowning emotionally and has no idea that they are slowly dying.

Ezra Whitmore is one of those people. After tragically losing his wife, he’s still going through the motions, but not really living. All he has now is his son, Spencer, and his career as a dentist. The life he thought he was going to have has been torn apart. The things he had once enjoyed no longer feel the same without the person he had shared everything with.

That is, until Ferris Jenkins crashes into his life. Not only does the lifeguard save his son from literally drowning in the ocean, but he also slowly starts to bring Ezra back to life.

As soon as Ferris lays eyes on Ezra, he can’t get the gorgeous dentist out of his head. He knows nothing will ever happen between them because…well, Ezra is straight and he’s gay. You can imagine Ferris’ surprise when Ezra gets drunk one night, kisses him, and admits that he’s always been attracted to guys. This gives Ferris hope that maybe, just maybe, he can land the man of his dreams.

Todd's rating:

Awww, that was pretty cute and just what I was looking for. Light and fluffy, with only moderate angst.

I really liked both Ezra and Ferris, and completely adored 14 y.o. Spencer and his friend (?) Jesse.

There was enough humor to keep me chuckling, but not enough to make me cringe, and blessedly zero 'dad jokes.'

Both men had fairly intolerant families, but I was glad to see that change over time. The family drama was there, but wasn't too over-the-top, which I appreciated.


Another aspect of the book that I appreciated was the fact that, although Ezra was a widower, this was not a "dead wife" story.  Ezra had sufficiently grieved and knew that it was time that he forced himself to actually live again, instead of only going through the motions for his son's sake.


The book did have a bit of hypocrisy, with both MC's preaching to Spencer about always playing safe, even as they didn't. (Yes, the steamy bits were fairly hot.)

The one thing of which I wasn't a fan was The Big Awful Thing that happened to Ferris toward the end. The story had mostly wrapped up by that point, so that part *did* feel a wee bit 'dramtical' (and far reaching) for my tastes.

The story ended with a solid HEA and an epilogue that I felt added to the stability of their relationship, without getting sickeningly sweet.

Overall, I'd rate this one at around 4.25 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good read.

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