Review: Aftermath

Aftermath by L.A. Witt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brent is a twenty-something former ice hockey player whose career was ended after a crash involving a drunk driver. Now, unable to walk without a limp and in almost permanent pain from multiple surgeries and a lifetime of hockey injuries, he's returned to his home town in Vermont and bought a mansion overlooking Lake Champlain where he sits and broods. One day his friend drags him into the local town to a wine bar/LGBTQIA+ book store called Vino & Veritas for a drink.

Jon is a bi-sexual divorced massage therapist, father to ten year old Cody who he shares custody of with his ex-wife. Twice a week Jon sings and plays guitar at Vino & Veritas, mainly sad sings he wrote about the collapse of his marriage.

When Brent catches Jon's eye (and vice versa) its insta-lust, but nothing is ever going to be easy for two such damages souls. Jon doesn't understand why his wife wanted a divorce after twenty years and Brent feels his physical scars and disabilities make him unlovable, they start of as friends with benefits but it quickly escalates.

I really enjoyed this, especially the way in which Brent's physical limitations remain constant, there's no quick miraculous fix, just good days and bad days, days of extreme pain, days of debilitating pain. Jon worries that he is so much older than Brent and he has a receding hairline. Sorry if that makes it sound depressing and boring - it really isn't (lots of smexy times in the hot tub), its just quite 'real'.

Read on my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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