The Official Description: Young gay professional Cabot MacCrae has been in love with his sexy best friend, Lloyd, since high school. They’re in perfect sync on almost everything. The only problem is that Lloyd is straight.
Cabot resigned himself long ago to pining hopelessly. Then Lloyd, a roofer, takes a bad fall and injures his collarbone. When he needs some TLC, there’s no question that Cabot will be the one to nurse his friend back to health. But Lloyd’s scantily clad presence in Cabot’s house brings out Cabot’s old longings.
But when Lloyd’s well-meaning mother and aunt fix Cabot up with a blind date, Lloyd reacts like a jealous boyfriend. Lloyd’s reaction makes Cabot wonder if those longings are as unrequited as he’s always assumed. What if Lloyd has been pining for him all these years? Has Cabot just been clueless all along?
Just the facts: M/M contemporary romance, best friends to lovers, clumsy confusion!
Cabot and Lloyd love each other as best friends, or is it more… or less… or… two confused men trying to take care of each other like they always have (or maybe differently). – Kinzie Things
My thoughts bit: I enjoyed this novel and its messy main characters. Cabot and Lloyd have been best friends for a very, very long time. Pretty much since the moment he knew that he was gay, Cabot has known that he was attracted to Lloyd but has never acted on it. After all, that’s not how you keep a best friend.
These two characters are sure a mess when it comes to one another. Cabot is hiding the way he feels about his best friend and Lloyd is giving off a lot of “wrong” messages… he’s fiercely protective of Cabot, makes teasing remarks all the time and the two of them are practically family.
What I enjoyed about these two characters was the fact that their friendship was so important to them that they weren’t willing to jeopardize it… to the point that it almost made them miss out on something very wonderful and amazing. It takes a rather nasty blind date and an attempted sexual assault to really push things to the forefront between these two confused fellows.
One of the interesting things about this book is that there are a few serious issues woven through the clumsy push and pull of Cabot and Lloyd. Cabot is set up on a blind date which results in an attempted sexual assault. Lloyd’s family is dealing with a life=threatending illness and Lloyd has had an accident that has left him unable to continue working as a roofer. All these serious – yet still every-day kinds of things are woven seamlessly into the plot. It’s like reading about someone’s real life.
I wish the novel had been longer, it was an enjoyable read and I really enjoyed the characters!
Things You May Want To Know: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) visit to the ER, attempted sexual assault after a date, discussion of life-ending illness, funeral service.
Readalikes: Other stories that are similar or give the same feel.
- Happy for You (Love and Family #3) by Anyta Sunday
- Glitterland (Glitterland #1) by Alexis Hall
- Milo (Finding Home #2) by Lily Morton
Links: Goodreads // The Publisher
I received an ARC of Clueless Cabot by André D. Michaels from NineStar Press via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 