Love Lessons

Title:  Love Lessons

Author:  Heidi Cullinan

Publisher:  Samhain Pub

Rating:  B+

Quad Shot of Love

Blurb:  Love doesn’t come with a syllabus.

Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.

Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.

Walter Lucas doesn’t believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.

As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

Review:  Anything from Heidi Cullinan is worth buying. If you love M/M romance, at all, she should be on your auto buy list. This story is no exception. It is a beautiful, sweet college romance.

There are some fun differences that give this story more depth. Kelly Davidson is young, smart, and hoping for some action and sexual experience. He is feeling out of his depth and more than a little overwhelmed when he is assigned a small room in a dorm that does not feel safe or accepting. But at least he has an AC unit with an allergen filter. Oh, and did we forget to mention the gorgeous, snarky new roommate who isn’t helping his peace of mind, or his heart from beating out of his chest.

I adored Kelly and the way the author made his severe allergies a part of who he is without making him seem weak and unable to take care of himself. Kelly had to fight for every meal and every thing in his life, he is shown with great internal strength and was able to stand up for himself.

Walter is a beautiful, broken young man. He is charming, fun, smart, and confident to those passing by in his life. He won’t allow anyone deeper than the surface because he fears rejection by anyone he loves. He finds himself someplace he never wanted to be back again, living on campus. Walter is stuck in the dorms, but this time with someone who could use a friend, a champion, a fun instigator. Maybe this time things won’t be as bad. Kelly got under Walter’s skin fast, but the journey from roommate, to friend, to lover was a fantastic ride.

The different subplots with Walter’s mentor, his family and Kelly’s family kept the pace of the story smooth. Love Lessons, was more than a dorm room love story, it was about two young men finding their place in life and in love.

Yes, this book will establish, yet again, that Ms. Cullinan is one of my favorite go to authors. If you’re craving a fun book about young lovers and like some coming of age mixed with reaching for dreams, then pick this one up.

Reviewed by Beans