Love on the Hudson

Thanks to Netgalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. 

This is my favorite kind of story. At the heart of it, David and Nick really care for each other and worked through their personal and family issues to make it work. Poor Nick with his bigotted father and brother. I felt bad for him and how he grew up. Him and David had a lot to work through, trust issue-wise before they could have a true second chance. But I loved how honest Nick was with his feelings even if it was tough for him to talk about.

I loved the side characters too. Anna, Jenna, Hector, Cassie, Lex, and even Doria were full and complex and a delight.

I also loved the farm and the farmer's market, and David's art scene. They felt well drawn and alive. Even with the heavy topics, this story felt sweet.

Love On The Hudson is a good old-fashioned M/M love story. Though there are tough external issues and conflicts that come in to play, the focus is really on the blossoming love and bond between two old friends (lovers) and how they come to be. Both men, Nick and David, are very well-developed characters, fully realized with great care by first time author K.D. Fisher. Both bring their own personal stories and back story that challenge them together, as a couple. Fisher has filled out this  lovely story with the beautifully written characters of Anna, Hector, Jenna and David's all-supportive father. I really loved the merging stories of art and artist and farmer and gardening told against a small town backdrop. The steamy scenes between David and Nick strike just the right balance with the overall story for its intended audience. I look forward to future tales spun by K.D. Fisher in perfect detail.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't stop reading this book - at work, in the car, everywhere.  I loved David and Nick.  Nick and David have a complicated history with each other.  Friends turned lovers during their younger years - but ultimately, Nick being very closeted about his sexuality drove them apart.  And although both moved on with their lives - in very different ways - it is clear that neither ever really got over the other.  

Overall - I think this book is as much about Nick and David coming together again as it is about accepting yourself and the changes that come with life.  Since high school, Nick has come a long way towards accepting himself as gay (even if he wasn't comfortable coming out fully to his family and friends).  For Nick, accepting himself and not needing his parents (particularly his mother's) acceptance has been a long road.  Clearly he needed David to push him over the edge into being openly gay.  For him, coming out effectively meant losing his family.  I really just wanted to give him  a hug most of the book and tell him that his Dad was an asshole.  For David, he had to come to terms with his life not being the academic, PhD life he had initially started out on.  He had to find his way as an artist without feeling like an imposter and like he wasn't successful by focusing on art instead of a more academic type of career.

I loved the story and would love to see the author write more about the other characters introduced in the book.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley - but these opinions are all my own!