Book Review: Hard Act to Follow by K. Vale

Reviewed by Susan65

Title: Hard Act to Follow
Author: K. Vale
Series: Shooting Stars #3
Heroes: Kyrie/Greg
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 249 Pages
Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Release Date: August 18, 2014
Available at: Liquid Silver Books, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Kyrie is an actor with a physical aversion to telling lies, a one-eyed cat, and horrible taste in men. His ex-brother-in-law and best friend, Greg, harbors a secret crush he can’t shake. After denying his feelings for Kyrie for too long, Greg finally gives in to desire one drunken night. Come the morning, the facts get twisted. Kyrie pretends he doesn’t remember a thing—a lie that eats him alive—and Greg can’t stop thinking about how he screwed up the best thing in his life.

Before they can clear the air, Kyrie follows his dreams to New York City, but could he also be running away?

A mistake from Kyrie’s past detonates their silence, and Greg is forced to confront the man he loves. Is their new truth strong enough to support a relationship, or are they doomed to crumble under old fears? Their friendship could evolve into something a million times stronger, but maybe Kyrie’s act is just too hard for Greg to follow.

Review:

I fell in love with Kyrie in Double Takes, and that love was solidified here. He is truly a remarkable character, one you can’t help but adore and wish he were real. Can you imagine having your own Kyrie in your life? How much fun would that be, huh?

Greg took a little longer to love, but only because of his past relationship to Kyrie, and not because of the man himself. I had a little trouble at first accepting Greg and Kyrie as a couple, because I had trouble separating Greg from Jasmine…Kyrie’s sister and Greg’s ex-wife. That is just…ew. But, I got over it. By the end, my love affair with Kyrie transferred to Greg, as well.

Kyrie is very similar to Eli, in KA Mitchells book Bad Boyfriend, and I loved Eli. Kyrie is flamboyant by nature and is very true to himself. He doesn’t pretend to be what he’s not, and besides the initial lack of communication, he is a very open and honest person. The lack of communication is exactly what this story is about, so it was a necessary evil.

As secondary characters go, Liv, Kyrie’s best friend and roommate, is amazing. She is blunt, rude and crude, and keeps it real. She is also an incredible friend to Kyrie and has his back. The two of them together keep the reader entertained with their constant word battles. It was quite a feat to come up with different ways to use Liv’s name in a derogatory manner, but Kyrie is a master. And Liv just lets loose with whatever comes to mind, that girl had no filter and it was beautiful.

But the main storyline is straight Greg and his attraction and love for Kyrie. I would consider this a friends-to-lovers/gay-for-you story. There is the requisite angst and family drama, but it’s written very well and keeps an excellent pace. I am not sure if the series is over now or what, but I will definitely be reading the next one if there is a next one.

Overall Impression: I really liked it!

*I received a copy of this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review.*