4.5Often with sequels to books that I adored I fear that furthering the story will lessen my love of the first book and characters. A strange fear I know so I went into this book on tenderhooks. I loved it. It was the Simon, Declan and gang that I knew and loved from Tigers and Devils the same but different. Not static characters here but definite growth over time. I loved how secure Simon and Declan were in their relationship. A real change from the honeymoon phase we saw in the first book and a welcome change here as they made real effort to communicate with each other. Simon is the best character, his narration is peppered with pop culture references that had me laughing again and again. He may not be mature but he's definitely grown up and trying his hardest to make adult decisions. It was just so lovely to read it. No matter this new layer to him he is still has the snark that I love, love loved from the first book. We really worked for me in this book were the struggles that Fran and Roger were experiencing. It felt real and heartfelt. The story for Lisa and Abe worked less for me, it seemed more like manufactured angst and I never did come to understand what pulled those characters apart and what drew them back together. Still it was great to see the gang all back. Simon and Declan are in a great place with each other. Like the first book there are forces that try to pull them apart, in this case, it's Declan previous lover, Greg Heyward. Heyward was also a football player and decides to come out as he's retiring. This causes problems for our dynamic duo as Heyward begins telling tales about his and Declan's previous romantic relationship. This throws Simon and Declan back into an unforgiving public eye but they've weathered that storm before and face this as a stronger couple. I love Declan, don't get me wrong, but he made a few decisions here that frustrated me. Mostly because he's a good guy and didn't want to lower himself to Heyward's level. I can't fault him for that but I really wanted him to blast Heyward's lies. This was a wonderful sequel. One that really gave me more story to these characters that I missed. It's so well written and fun but gave real depth and new layers to these two men who fought so hard to be together in the first book. This is not a standalone. You really need to read the first in the series to know these characters and appreciate how they got where they are now. Highly recommended!
