Hello everyone!
No one should be surprised. I tend to be like a bloodhound on a scent whenever Keira Andrews releases a new book!
Which was exactly what happened this week.
If you've been following this blog for a while then you'll know that I pretty much have Anderson books galore in review on here, and I'm STILL not finished, because I keep finding more that I haven't picked up yet.
However, as I was reading her latest holiday-inspired one, I was very much aware that it would lend itself very well to a sequel, which means that I was super stoked when the author actually announced one!
I mean, come on. When you have characters that seem to just pop off the page in a way that makes it impossible to ignore them, what else are you going to do but write their story, correct?
I know. Absolutely correct.
So lace up those skates and let's head on into Kiss and Cry, shall we?
There's so many Keira Andrews books on this blog now that if you just type her name into the search field you'll find a bunch, so I'm going to only link the first book in this short series down at the bottom of this page!
Kiss and Cry continues the story we sort of only get glimpses of in Only One Bed, which is of the older brother, Henry, and his arch nemesis and eternal rival, Theo.
See, Henry and Theo are both figure skaters and both are gunning for olympic gold in singles, but the thing is that they couldn't be more different if they tried. Henry has worked all his life to get where he's at in that moment and is such a perfectionist that he'll be running through his program again and again until he drops. Theo, on the other hand, was blessed with a natural talent and a really big amount of it, which means that he doesn't really have to work as hard and tends to land on his feet no matter if something goes wrong or not.
So basically, opposites attract, right? How do they end up together, you ask?
Well, Theo's current coach is diagnosed with cancer so he needs to go and train somewhere else right before the Olympics, which lands him with Henry's two coaches because that's the suggestion his own makes.
Naturally, Henry isn't pleased, because well, who wants their biggest rival to train right along with them?
But then we slowly start peeling more layers off Theo and discover he's not actually the major annoying gnat he begins the book as. For starters, Henry figures out Theo can't drive so he offers him a ride back and forth between their apartment complex and the skating rink, so he lands with the chatterbox in the passenger seat that way.
Then he figures out cooking and organizing just isn't one of Theo's strong suits and they end up cooking lunch or dinner together in Henry's apartment because, well, Henry's not the robot everyone thinks he is.
That one time Theo gets dead drunk and can't get into his hotel room when they're at a skating competition? Henry's the one who helps him (even though he does say something that's a hit below the belt if you ask me) and ends up looking after him.
But things might have still been on the braking side of things with how much brakes Henry end up putting on anything professional if not for the moment in Torino, when unfortunately news reaches them about Theo's coach passing away peacefully after chemotherapy didn't help anymore. It's Henry who follows Theo through the winding streets to make sure he's okay, Henry who holds him as he cries in the rain, and Henry who stays in the room with him to ensure he both eats and sleeps.
So, you know, is it ANY shocker that when Henry strains some muscles around his ribcage, it's Theo who ends up helping him? And they end up in a hot tub together?
Aaand it turns out the both of them are attracted to each other?
You've probably guessed where this has been going for a while now, and it definitely explodes into some VERY sexy times together after this, though it takes Henry a little before he decides he and Theo are going to kiss (very Pretty Woman style, actually), but when they do, it's definitely Henry who initiates it around Christmas, after their visit to his grandfather together.
You would think, hey, awesome! But remember, these guys are still rivals and competing for the gold, and so they agree that when they get to the Olympics, it's all business and no more play (even if they do break the rules just a tiny bit there).
But even so, the Olympics isn't the most important action that happens, because Theo has been trying to learn something about Henry's past for a while there, but while Henry has opted not to tell him, and explained he doesn't want to talk about it, curiosity does in fact kill the cat. Theo corners one of the other skaters who Henry absolutely can't stand and tends to disappear from whenever they're around, who explains what happened: that years ago he noticed Henry was attracted to a hockey player, so he dared the hockey player to have sex with the guy.
The hockey player did, and took a picture of Henry afterwards to prove he'd won the bet, humiliating the poor boy and causing him to literally emotionally shut down from everyone and any potential for romance.
Which, honestly, Theo's kind of dancing on a fraying line here because Henry overhears what's being discussed, and it's like SAYONARA, DUDE, for not respecting my privacy! Plus it's time to go for gold, and Henry's hard work pays off in the end when he wins it, only to realize that his heart is literally breaking for Theo because the guy DIDN'T win.
Especially knowing just how pretty much abusive Theo's mom has been to him all his life once they told her he could be a champion one day and all bets were off for what she would or wouldn't do (like padlocking the fridge and pantry to ensure he didn't weigh too much, emotionally bullying him into doing what she wanted AND somehow getting into the Athletes' Village at the Olympics where no one really has access).
But Theo laughs it off, saying it's not about the gold but about enjoying skating which he hasn't in a long time now, that he's retiring after these Olympics anyway, and all he really wants is Henry.
So they go into coaching together afterwards, and Henry competes in the next Olympics four years later where he wins silver, and their personal lives couldn't be better with a potential world champion under their tutelage and just the two of them being as happy as they can possibly be together after working out the last kinks and ruffles.
And really, what more can anyone ask for?
It's been a long while since any book affected me as much as this one did, but especially as more and more about Henry is revealed, my tears just came fast and hard. I wanted to give the poor man a hug and never let him go. Thank goodness he found Theo and got his HEA!
And I was RIGHT, I knew this one was going to be a hit as soon as I read through Only One Bed.
I loved peeling away the layers making Henry who he is, and I especially enjoyed seeing the contrast with Theo, who is such a lovable personality but grated on me just as much as he did on Henry to start off with. Then as the story progresses, you as a reader start to get to know Theo more and more, and the aggravation turns to admiration, and suddenly you realize you're half in love with him already!
They are very much an opposites attract kind of couple and I'm so very glad the author decided to write about them.
For me, Henry is the obvious standout. Obviously he's written as a character who feels things incredibly deeply and holds on to them, and I don't mean to say Theo is careless, because he isn't. He just deals with things on a better level, I think, than Henry does, and it helps with his personality as well.
I also have to give props to the author for how the performance part of the story is handled; I'll often watch figure skating events if there's nothing else on TV so I don't know the ins and outs of it, but it sounds absolutely brutal (like any other sport, really). I'll admit to getting a little thrill that Henry won gold in Calgary as opposed to Theo, maybe because I'm a little bit like Henry myself - I work just as hard, and it's proof positive that natural talent can only get you so far, but it's the hard work that will usually pay off in the end regardless of the losses before!
This isn't to say I didn't like Theo, I did. I still do and can see myself reaching for this book very often for re-reads. But of the pair, I definitely prefer Henry overall.
All in all, LOVED THIS! 10/10 recommend!
And I was RIGHT, I knew this one was going to be a hit as soon as I read through Only One Bed.
I loved peeling away the layers making Henry who he is, and I especially enjoyed seeing the contrast with Theo, who is such a lovable personality but grated on me just as much as he did on Henry to start off with. Then as the story progresses, you as a reader start to get to know Theo more and more, and the aggravation turns to admiration, and suddenly you realize you're half in love with him already!
They are very much an opposites attract kind of couple and I'm so very glad the author decided to write about them.
For me, Henry is the obvious standout. Obviously he's written as a character who feels things incredibly deeply and holds on to them, and I don't mean to say Theo is careless, because he isn't. He just deals with things on a better level, I think, than Henry does, and it helps with his personality as well.
I also have to give props to the author for how the performance part of the story is handled; I'll often watch figure skating events if there's nothing else on TV so I don't know the ins and outs of it, but it sounds absolutely brutal (like any other sport, really). I'll admit to getting a little thrill that Henry won gold in Calgary as opposed to Theo, maybe because I'm a little bit like Henry myself - I work just as hard, and it's proof positive that natural talent can only get you so far, but it's the hard work that will usually pay off in the end regardless of the losses before!
This isn't to say I didn't like Theo, I did. I still do and can see myself reaching for this book very often for re-reads. But of the pair, I definitely prefer Henry overall.
All in all, LOVED THIS! 10/10 recommend!
xx
*image not mine
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