Hello lovely reader, and welcome to my review of Morningstar Ashley’s Letting Go, her debut work and her first book in the Love by Design series.
The release blitz post I posted before contains an excerpt and a giveaway. So be sure that you don’t miss this post, too. 😉
But for now: happy reading with my review. 😉
Letting Go by Morningstar Ashley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*
New authors are always a great opportunity to also extend my horizon and when I first heard about the book I was intrigued. I already “knew” who Morningstar Ashley was, saw her as an avid reader and participant in several groups in the gay romance community. When I had the chance to read the book I was really – pleasantly and positive – surprised by the good job she did with writing this book. Not only that it has a capturing story, it has a light writing but dealing with a heavy topic, which isn’t easy to read neither to write.
Morningstar did an amazing job and the way she displayed her character was really great. I had an instand sympathy for Alex and my heart bled for Evie, the little sister of Alex. Sometimes, I admit, I wanted to shake Alex because he came along very hesitant and sometimes seemed a bit “cold”. It’s understandable why he is keeping people at a distance but sometimes an unwanted rage came over me. xD Besides this Alex was a really believable character and his loss is so great, it’s astonishing he is keeping his head up so high and is able to “live” on.
We go the way along with him, the book is writting in the third person, it gaves also an insight of Kelley.
Kelley is a character who gives Alex the time he need but is also not hesitant to shove Alex out of his comfort zone and confront him. It’s a dealbreaker at some moments and the twist and turns are really good. What I really loved about Kelley is is maturity, not only because he is older than Alex which gives the story a bit spice. It’s his personality and his natural calmness. But he has a stealthy side behind a friendly, sympathic and really caring soul. The way that he is dealing also super charming with Evie and isn’t parenting her or tries to be a “fatherfigure” when he isn’t that asked for shows also his maturity.
The parts of heavy, emotional stuff and the events which not only shake Alex but Evie are great mixed with the funny parts, the scenes are sometimes full of laughter and lightness. It’s really touching and the HEA is adorable.
5 out of 5 stars for this marvelous book. 🙂
REVIEW + RELEASE BLITZ
Title: Letting Go
Series: Love by Design # 1
Author: Morningstar Ashley
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: July 14, 2017
Publisher: Selfpublished
Cover Design: : Jay Aheer/Simply Defined Art
Lenght: 315 pages
Add to you bookshelf:
(click the button or this link)
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blurb
Years ago, before tragedy struck, Alex made a child’s promise to always protect and care for his little sister, Evie. Then piece by piece, all the good in his life was taken away until Alex was left alone as guardian to his much younger sister. Suffering and loss scarred Alex, causing him to withdraw from the world. Struggling with anxiety and trust issues, Alex attempts to help Evie heal from their shared traumatic past, but each day is harder than the last. To make matters worse, Alex’s best friend, Ben, is pushing him to get out of his rut, confronting him with the fact that what Alex thinks is contentment is just stagnation and fear. The last thing he needs is for an old acquaintance to reappear in his life, making him feel things he hadn’t dealt with in years.
The executive of the marketing department at graphic design firm Vivid, Kelley has his life together. While not perfect, he’s happy with his career and his three best friends. A chance encounter with Alex, the guy he was once attracted to, is icing on the cake. Fighting through Alex’s defenses to find the breathtaking man underneath will be hard, but Kelley is up to the challenge. Kelley believes that the things most worth fighting for never come easy.
To accept all that Kelley is offering means Alex must drop his barriers. Kelley will need to keep trying and prove that Alex can trust him, even when grief and anxiety try to pull him back.
Author bio – Morningstar Ashley
Morningstar Ashley is a transplant from the Yankee-controlled territory of New York, and now finds herself in the heartland of cowboys and longhorns—Texas. Armed with her imagination, wit, and trusty sidekicks in the form of her two crazy kids, devoted dorky husband, big lap dog, and rambunctious cats, Morningstar spends her time reading the books she loves, crafting her own characters, and arguing the merits of hot chocolate over the bitter brew known as coffee (Hot chocolate wins, FYI.).
Morningstar loves graphic design, so much so she returned to school for a degree and regularly tromps her exams and maintains a stellar GPA that occasionally leaves her confounded and pleased. She can while away the hours on new designs, and perfection isn’t too much to hope for when it comes to her art.
Her ideal career would be full-time artist and author, and so far, she hasn’t come up against anything to stop her on her journey. A fierce and devoted friend, Morningstar tries her best to always be kind, always be learning, and always improving. Giving up isn’t an option, and her greatest talent may be in her ability to convince others not to give up, either. After a lifetime of trying to get people to realize her first name wasn’t Ashley, Morningstar decided the best way to settle the debate was to put her name on a book cover. An avid reader and fiction reviewer for the blog and site Diverse Reader, Morningstar harbored a dream to one day join the ranks of her heroes, and she sweeps into the contemporary gay romance genre with her debut novel, LETTING GO. With plans to conquer gay, lesbian and LGBTQA+ romance, Morningstar has her gaze set on the horizon, her determination her own guiding star.
Author links / get in contact
Facebook Private Profile
Twitter
Blogtour and release blitz hosted by Michelle Slagan.
Mikku-chan 
3 thoughts on “Blog Tour + Review: Letting Go”