Title: Something Like Summer (Something Like #1)
Author: Jay Bell
Published: January, 2011 by Smashwords
Pages: 292
Rating: 
Purchase: The Book Depository
Love, like everything in the universe, cannot be destroyed. But over time it can change.
The hot Texas nights were lonely for Ben before his heart began beating to the rhythm of two words; Tim Wyman. By all appearances, Tim had the perfect body and ideal life, but when a not-so-accidental collision brings them together, Ben discovers that the truth is rarely so simple. If winning Tim’s heart was an impossible quest, keeping it would prove even harder as family, society, and emotion threaten to tear them apart.
Something Like Summer is a love story spanning a decade and beyond as two boys discover what it means to be friends, lovers, and sometimes even enemies.
Final Thoughts:
I’m shocked. This was so much more than a high school YA. It starts out like one when Ben, the out kid, with a loving mother, but a lack of a love life, basically becomes obsessed with the new guy he keeps spotting jogging through his neighbourhood, but that’s only the beginning. Spanning almost a decade, this story seems so indepth, really letting you discover these characters despite its short page count. Twisting my emotions in a bid to keep me hooked, I ended up finishing this in less than a day. I just couldn’t stop reading–well, only to update my boyfriend on what was happening with these guys, I was that invested.
The way in which Ben threw himself into Tim’s life was a little far-fetched, but by that point Jay’s writing had already gotten me as intrigued by Tim as Ben was. With these two guys spending more and more time together, I worried for Ben, seeing trouble on the horizon. Tim’s closeted state left little room for the two of them to move much further than friends with benefits, especially with Tim maintaining a girlfriend on the side. Luckily, though, it did, and I couldn’t have been happier–that is, until certain events and character flaws sent them spiralling. I thought I was instore for another Kamikaze Boys angsty second half, but no, instead it inserted a time jump to their college years with Tim nowhere to be seen, renewing my interest.
Introducing a slightly older guy with his life together in the form of, Jace, the sweet flight attendant, provided a much needed reprieve from the depressing end to part one. It was fun to hit refresh on the story, getting to see Ben with someone who could openly love and appreciate him, and in turn, someone that Ben could do the same. Tim’s resurgence later in the story irked me though, each time he popped up, my brain yelling at Ben to keep his hands off and think of his dreamboat, Jace. Infidelity just isn’t my idea of a good character trait.
Coming out the other end of the book with a few wounds and a lot of tape holding me together, I wanted to jump into the book and fix everything for them. I just became enthralled with these characters sometimes in spite of their actions, so I can’t wait to find out more about them as I dive into the next installment.