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There Is Something About Ari (L.B. Gregg)

There's Something About Ari - L.B. Gregg
3.5 stars

This is only the second L.B. Gregg's story I read. While I liked it enough, I was a bit annoyed with few things. Let me start with what I liked first.

I liked the idea of 'reunited' friends -- I'm such a sucker for 'the one who got away' trope. The prologue is STRONG. Here is Buck who have been in love with his best friend, Ari Valentine -- but Ari goes away and Buck is left to take care of his little brother. And now Ari is back and he tells Buck about his sexuality. So what a guy to do, right? It is a very delicious teaser for (what I expect to be) a heart-tugging story.

I also LOVED Buck's little brother, Charlie. I thought he stole the scenes everytime he appeared. I liked the brothers interaction -- seriously, I want more MMs with siblings (and they don't have to be gay siblings, okay!). Oh, and there was a cat!!

Unfortunately, Buck's 'woe is me' attitude was quite irritating. In fact, I could say that he was being a jackass to Ari several times over. So yes, Ari went away, and I could understand that Buck was hurt. But the way Buck reacted to Ari's reasoning and statement of Ari being gay was, well, annoying. Oh, and what the heck was the aim of Chapter 6? I mean, aside from showing another example of Buck being a bit of an ass? And for a novella, the ending was quite abrupt!!

In addition, I felt that young Ari, with his ADHD, was far more interesting than the adult Ari. There was something charming in the way young Ari barreled through Buck's shyness as a kid. I know that Ari said he was in bad times, the time where he decided to go away from Bluewater Bay. I guess I wanted to get inside Ari's head too, because the adult Ari felt different.

A novella could be awesome ... I know there are some novellas that I love so much; that the story shines despite the length. However, this one is not satisfying enough for me. It started good, it had potentials, I definitely liked some moments in it. However, I imagine that I would love it better if the story was expanded, to give time for Buck and Ari to be reunited and to let the romance bloom.