Amalgamated is the first book I’ve read by Becca Seymour and I really enjoyed it. I’m a huge fan of shorter books. At approximately 18,000 words, Amalgamated falls somewhere between a short story and a novella. This length of story is perfect for reading when I only have an hour or two and don’t want a book to carry over to another day.

Leo left his home in Australia 5 years ago, at least partly because he could no longer bear being around his father’s farm manager, Zak, and not have his feelings reciprocated. Before he left, a fit of anger and destructive behavior left him reluctant to return home, too embarrassed to face Zak and apologize for the damage he caused. When he returns and has Zak telling him that he was also partly at fault, Leo’s not sure what to think – and then Zak kisses him.

This was a touching story that focused on Leo’s return home and how Zak behaves in a way that Leo never expected. Due to the short length there was not a lot of character development but it wasn’t needed. The author tells us enough of the history for Leo and Zak so that we understand what they were to each other when Leo left home and what Zak wants now that Leo has returned.

The story includes a couple of nice steamy scenes between Leo and Zak, after they got things sorted out between them. Amalgamated was a very quick read for me and I look forward to reading more work by Becca Seymour.

While Amalgamated is book two in the Coming Home series, it is a standalone story as the books in this series do not have connected characters but are connected by the theme of “coming home.”

Reviews for Becca Seymour

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“Promise you won’t be mad.”
Groaning, I shook my head. Any request starting that way was going to result in me being pissed off. “What did you do?”
This time her glance my way had me tensing. Concern flickered in her eyes. When she focused on the road ahead, she blew out her cheeks, her lips pursed. “We’re heading to mine.”
“Okay?” I dragged out the word. I’d figured that out since we weren’t heading towards Dad and Michelle’s.
“Dad kinda got excited about you coming home.”
My stomach dipped. I just knew where she was heading with this. Slamming my eyes shut, I waited for her next words.
They came out in a rush. “Sohekindainvitedaheapofpeopleover. But…” She gasped for breath. “…it’s not technically a party, as there aren’t banners or balloons.”
My eyes sprang open, and I stared at her wide-eyed.
She glanced at me, a mix of horror and amusement on her face. “You owe me big for talking him out of that.”
“Yet you couldn’t have talked him into a small family meal?”
She shrugged. “I did try, but, Leo.” She paused, emotion swirling in her eyes, and I swallowed. This was just one of the reasons I’d stayed away. Guilt still clawed at me whenever I gave it life. “Dad was so excited you were coming home. You know he still doesn’t understand why you left. If it had just been heading to the city, that would have been a struggle, but you travelled to the other side of the world.”
My gut clenched. I still felt shit for leaving my dad, but I had my own life to live, and taking over my dad’s stud farm wasn’t what I wanted. Plus there was the major screw-up with how I destroyed any semblance of a friendship with Zak.
“There’s more.”
I flashed Jen a resigned look.
“Dad obviously invited Zak.”
My heart seized, and my gut churned. This could not be happening. While I’d anticipated seeing him, I wasn’t prepared for it to be the first night I got home. In hindsight, this was ridiculously naïve of me, considering his place was only a hundred metres or so away from the main house on the property.
“I know, I know, but best to get the whole awkwardness out of the way, right?” She reached out and gave my hand a small squeeze. After I’d run out on Zak the night I’d left, it had taken just a handful of calls from Jen for her to recognize something was wrong and for me to spill my guts. We remained close, even with the distance of the past five years, and without her in my corner, life certainly would have been trickier.
“Yeah, I suppose.” There was something to be said for ripping the Band-Aid off, but my gut clenched in anticipation.

Coming Home Series

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