ePistols at Dawn by Z.A. Maxfield

4.5 STARS

Again, I need that damned half star, because I want to rate this at 4.5 stars. *grumble* Anyway, I read this because Heidi Cullinan, whose opinion I respect very much, had this book classified as one of her absolute favourites. 

The characters are lovely. Kelly with all his quirks, phobias and secrets. He's so damaged and flawed, but you can't help but love him when you see him through the eyes of his BFF, Will or his love, Jae. And Jae, Jae-Sun, the 6 foot 5 Korean giant with the thick braid of hair that grows down to his ass. Oh, I loved him to bits! So assured, smart, friendly and loving, but underneath, he hurts like everyone else, he feels guilty about things that aren't really his fault, he feels responsible for everyone in his life. He cares, y'know? Cares.

And the secondary characters, Will, Shannon, Vega and even the bartender near the end of the book, all served to bring something special, something needed, and something different to the story of Jae and Kelly's romance. Not every author is able to pull this off.

I loved this book. The only things keeping it from 5 stars was that sometimes the POV changes, the scene changes were too abrupt and I'd have to go back and reread a time or two to make sure I knew what was going on. (I often wonder if this is because of the way the book is formatted for ereaders, the double spaces etc..., not being evident. I read the e-pub version.) The other thing that niggled at me was that by the end of the book, I wanted to see even more inside both Jae's and Kelly's heads as they struggled to come to terms with their inescapable feelings for each other. 

Go, read this. It's hot, it's funny, it's heart-breaking, thoughtful and sweet. And if you don't fall in love with both Jae and Kelly, I'll be surprised. :)