As Big as the Sky, Amy Aislin

Five stars for the fluffiest fluff to ever fluff!  I adore Sam and Bo with all my heart.  They were direct, endearing, and so very open to one another once Sam realized that he was being kind of a big jerk.  In addition to that there were the heartfelt confessions, the apology carrots, the apology primroses for the apology carrots, the genuine warmth, amusing parents, and all the animals...I don't think I have a single complaint.

Keeping the conflict on the real issues and not manufacturing drama between the men was the perfect way to go for this short romance.  The depth was there, but in a light handed way so it was more alluded to by the circumstances and side characters rather than in the descriptive dialogue or written explanations.  While Sam's individual conflict was a bit of a non-issue, it did give validation for his rather caustic myopticism that dictated his and Bo's first interaction and was suitably resolved in the same non-issue kind of way.  It was Bo's conflict that was really the focus and I was glad for the way it played out.

I almost want to take a tiny break from reading so I can let all the tender feels settle in me for just a bit longer.  There was just so much heart and honesty that it gave me the lightness I was craving.  No angst and all the feels, this short story is perfect for a literary lift when you need it.

*$2.99 on Amazon

Sam McAuley isn’t having a great start to the summer. Served with papers? Great. He’s being sued. Perfect, pristine yard overrun with chickens? What the—? Clearly, the new guy running the animal rehabilitation centre next door has no idea what he’s doing.

It’s one town to the next, one school to the next, one job to the next for Bo Novak. Everything is temporary. Even his current job—running his sister’s animal rehab centre while she’s away on a four-month leave—is temporary. And he does know what he’s doing, thank you very much. Sure, things don’t always run smoothly, but the stick-in-the-mud next door could be a little nicer about it.

One overheard conversation, an olive branch, and a baseball game might show these guys that being at odds isn’t really what they want, and that what they want might just be each other.