New Release Review: Between the Lines by Sally Malcolm

19 December of 2018 by ButtonsMom2003

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

So wonderful, so emotional, I loved it!

Between the Lines By Sally Malcolm

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Released: December 10, 2018

Publisher: Carina Press

Synopsis

Theo Wishart has given up on finding love.

Luca Moretti doesn’t want to find it.

A handful of summer days may change their lives forever—if they’re brave enough to look between the lines.

Eyes might be windows to the soul, but for Theo Wishart they’re all shuttered. His dyspraxia makes it hard to read people. He doesn’t do relationships and he certainly doesn’t do the great outdoors. Two weeks spent “embracing beach life” while he tries to close the deal on a once great, now fading seaside hotel is a special kind of hell.

Until Luca. Gorgeous, unreachable Luca.

Luca Moretti travels light, avoiding all romantic entanglements. Estranged from his parents, he vows this will be his last trip home to New Milton. His family’s hotel is on the verge of ruin and there’s nothing Luca can do to save it. He’s given up on the Majestic, he’s given up on his family and he’s given up on his future.

Until Theo. Prickly, captivating Theo.

No mushy feelings, no expectations, and no drama—that’s the deal. A simple summer fling. And it suits them both just fine. But as the summer wanes and their feelings deepen, it’s clear to everyone around them that Theo and Luca are falling in love. What will it take for them to admit it to themselves—and to each other?

This book is approximately 73,000 words

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

So wonderful, so emotional, I loved it!

After I read Perfect Day, my first book by Sally Malcolm, I wasn’t sure the next one could live up to how much I loved the first. Not only did Between the Lines live up to Perfect Day for me but it may have tipped over the top just a bit. Both of these are wonderful love stories.

One of the MCs (main characters) in Between the Lines has a condition that I’ve never heard of before, Dyspraxia. A neurological disorder that results in life-long impaired motor, memory, judgement, processing, and other cognitive skills.– Dyspraxia Foundation USA Because I wasn’t familiar with this disorder I read up a bit on it. From the way that Ms. Malcolm writes Theo’s reaction to things and his behavior around people I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that she has personal experience with this condition.

Theo has come to New Milton to buy the hotel owned by Luca’s family. When the two of them make a connection, they agree to enjoy a two-week fling while Theo is there – no strings attached. Too bad neither of them told their hearts not to get involved.

Both Theo and Luca have serious trust issues when it comes to personal relationships. Luca thinks that getting close to someone isn’t worth the risk because they’ll always let you down. Theo doesn’t think that he’ll ever have the kind of committed loving relationship that he wants. His last relationship ended in public humiliation and he can’t risk that ever happening again.

I thought this story was so romantic. Yes, there were unpleasant things that happened and some moments that had me nearly bawling my eyes out, but it was ultimately such a wonderful story about overcoming obstacles, both business and personal.

As I said in my review for Perfect Day, if you’ve never read an M/M romance before, but have thought about it, I highly recommend Between the Lines (or Perfect Day) as a perfect one to start with. There is no explicit on-page sex, it’s just a really wonderful romance.

Sally Malcolm’s writing flows so smoothly and had me so engrossed in the story, I didn’t want to put this book down once I started it. I’m looking forward to reading more book by Ms. Malcolm.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Sally Malcolm

I cut my writing teeth on tie-in novels for the hit TV shows Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, for which I’ve written nine novels and novellas, and four audio dramas.

I branched out into romance in 2015 with my m/f historical romance The Legend of the Gypsy Hawk, but was bitten by the m/m romance bug in mid-2016 and haven’t looked back. It’s fair to say I’m obsessed with the genre, reading a couple of books a week to feed my habit. Perfect Day is my first published m/m romance, with a follow-up (Between the Lines) out later in 2018 and a dozen other ideas bubbling away on the back burner.

I live in South West London with my American husband, two lovely children, and two lazy cats.

Represented by Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency.

I’m most active on Twitter–follow me @Sally_Malcolm

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