REVIEW: After Ben by Con Riley (Seattle Stories #1)

- May 06, 2024

AFTER BEN

Seattle Stories - Book One

by Con Riley

Release Date: Oct 5, 2019

Review

This was a powerful story. It was both heartbreaking and absolutely gorgeous.

This story is about Theo and his life after losing his partner Ben. It shouldn’t be a shock to discover that Ben is a huge part of this story because without understanding Ben and his love for Theo, you can’t understand Theo and the effects the loss had on his life.

But the story is also about hope and new beginnings. It’s about learning to move forward and find space in your heart for another. Not to replace them but to join them.

Part of what makes it such an incredible story, isn’t just that it makes you feel the emotions of the characters, but also that it makes you sit with external emotions. Namely, there are two really great men that help Theo see a life after Ben, but only one will capture his heart. There’s no cheating or malice, but I still hurt a little for him.

Con created a stunning character-driven hurt/comfort story that truly captured my entire soul.

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Synopsis

No more kissing a ghost…

A year after the sudden death of his longtime partner, Ben, Theo Anderson is still grieving. The last thing he’s looking for is a new lover, but as Theo discovers, sometimes life has its own plans.

The strength of his attraction to fellow gym member Peter is surprising. So is how compelling he finds Morgan, a new friend he makes online. Morgan is witty and fierce on the internet forum they frequent, while Peter is physically present in a way that’s hard to ignore.

Both men bring Theo closer to acceptance: he needs to lay Ben’s memory to rest if he’s to start afresh with a new lover.

Getting honest about the reasons for his yearlong isolation means confronting why he lost Ben… only just when he’s ready to commit, Theo finds he isn't the only one haunted by the past.

Whether with Peter or with Morgan, choosing to love again—after Ben—might not be Theo’s toughest challenge.

About Con Riley

CON RILEY lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time instead. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that make them live and breathe. When not people-watching or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don’t disturb her—she’s probably thinking up new plots.

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