Milo: Finding Home Book 2, Lily Morton

Love gone wrong can be heartbreaking, but in Milo's case it was soul-crushing and has left him with scars of all kinds.  The one person he wouldn't want to see him in his misery is the one person who saves him.  With the generosity of friends he finds a place to heal and who he's meant to be.  But constantly seeing the man he's loved for a decade is starting to hurt more than it helps.  Except with one unguarded moment he realizes he might not be alone in his feelings.  But does Niall see him as the younger brother of his best friend and sometimes-lover who needs saving or are they just for Milo?  It's hard to hope for an equal partnership when all you ever seem to need is to be saved.

Milo was all kinds of sweet and endearing.  I ached for his situation and yearned so much for him to see himself as the man who survived, the man with a brilliant talent that was worthy of everything.  Toward the end I actually felt he was the stronger of the two men and was so proud of all his progress.  There were so many moments of tenderness from Niall that I just knew he's be the best partner for Milo.

And then we learn of Niall's true relationship with Gideon, Milo's older brother.  There was way too much time spent on that whole sordid mess that what could have been an immensely fabulous book became cheapened, side-tracked, and less-than.  Sad, really.

And here comes the rant........

(possible spoilers in the rant, so consider yourself warned)

Okay, so, seriously.  Why, oh why, Gideon, did you think it was appropriate to throw all that jealousy, bitterness, and sexual reveals on your little brother?  Did that, in any world, seem appropriate?!  AND NIALL!!!!!!!  Really?  You'd put up with that because you still love Gideon in a way and also feel bad for not properly ending things with him after he's already almost ruined your chances with the brother you really want MORE THAN ONCE?!  What about that says you're more committed to Milo than Gideon romantically?  Ugh...  Gross, inappropriate, and utterly disappointing.  Both men disgust me in those moments.

I was so crazy in love with this story until that point and honestly, it was so completely unnecessary.  It didn't move the relationship along, it put an even bigger strain on the sibling relationship, and just made things so cringe-worthy and awkward I wasn't sure if I could stomach the rest of the book.  I mean, I'm glad I did, but I'm so...so...frustrated, saddened, and...disappointed in that whole big chunk of the book.  It also makes me incredibly hesitant to read Gideon's story once it comes around.  Sure, he's most likely to reform, but I'm envisioning a world of hurt for his future partner during their story before he gets his head out of his ass.

...End of rant...

So, needless to say, I had a major issue with something included in this story, but really, overall, this was a sweet book with a few fantastic characters.  I'm in love with Silas and Oz and will definitely go read their story.  The writing is wonderful and the story itself is a great one.  Niall really does love Milo  and though his journey to get the right man was fraught with setbacks, their love was hard-won and worth the struggle (the principle of struggle, not that I liked a certain specific struggle they endured).  Milo is everything and becomes all that he should be.  He is what makes this story wonderful with the romantic resolution coming in a close second.  The very end was made of win so I was extremely happy with the bookends of the story, it was just a few chunks in the middle that I had trouble with.

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Fall in love with Oz and Silas...

Read the first story in the

Finding Home series,

Oz