Teaching Trust: Forever in Middlebury Book 2, Brittany Cournoyer

One man keeps his heart locked away by having a revolving door of men, another keeps his heart locked away by avoiding any kind of romantic connection at all.  Both of them need something more, something deeper, but only if they can allow trust to unlock those doors.

We meet Sebastian in Teaching Tenderness as the cheating ex.  Now, that's not exactly a way to endear him to us, but we're sure there's a reason.  It takes a long time to get that reason and all along the way, outside of his care and concern and gentleness with Tyler, we have to wade through his many descriptions of sex with other men as well as his affirmations that he just couldn't help himself.  Can't say I was a fan of that.  What did open my heart to him was when he finally broke through his emotional barriers to be truly honest with his motivations and his past.  Only then did I truly start liking him.  Before that point I was tolerating him and hoping he'd redeem himself.  Underpinning all of that turmoil was the way he took care of Tyler.  There was a good man hiding underneath his abrading arrogance and philandering.

Tyler is the art teacher that helps little Jackson to bring about a completely adorable moment in Teaching Tenderness.  There's a wariness as well as a weariness surrounding Tyler that's quickly heading to a breaking point.  Only when Sebastian pushes many of Tyler's buttons, both good and bad, does he realize that his current way of living is unsustainable.  I thought his reactions to Sebastian were honest despite them also being frustrating.  It kind of took a long time for him to be truly honest with himself.  Aside from that I thought he was cute and a good balance to Sebastian's brashness.

Their evolution together took quite a while to get to a point where I actually believed they'd make it together.  By the end I was a full believer.  Sebastian found his humility and an inner peace with his past that let him completely accept happiness.  Tyler found his inner strength and self-confidence strong enough to eradicate his demons and believe in a future full of possibilities.  They were a good match and a great continuation for the series.

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