Interborough

This is what happens after fairy tales end. Real life comes calling with all it's pesky details: Realestate, work, school and time. Time. Time. Time.This is a perfect companion to [b:Sunset Park 25842991 Sunset Park (Five Boroughs, #2) Santino Hassell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445081788s/25842991.jpg 45707493] in which we get to see David and Ray still struggling to settle into a life after the honeymoon phase has ended. They're still wildly in love but both are coping with insecurities. David doesn't know where he stands in Ray's life because isn't precisely out. Ray likes to keep to the Rodriguez code of not airing his business and in theory that's cool except that it hurts David and with good reason. Some people have complained that David comes off as whiny and yes he does but Raymond knew who David was when he entered a relationship with him and as David has told him being an out and proud gay man is his primary identity.Meanwhile Ray is feels bombarded from all sides: he's still working at the translating agency, working nights at the dock when he can pick up a shift and taking on the issue of the house in Queens. He's stretched too thin and in typical Rodriguez fashion doesn't want to ask for help. But if you don't bend you break and help comes from an unexpected quarter. All I'll say is that the way [a:Santino Hassell 4942228 Santino Hassell https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445991731p2/4942228.jpg] weaves prior characters into the story is seamless and perfect. There is so much good stuff here that I can't even begin to pick. Just read it and be surrounded by the extended family of 5Boroughs who are near and dear to my heart because they are my tribe. New Yorkers. Most of us are tough cookies but that doesn't mean we lack emotional and meaningful inner lives. I like how [a:Santino Hassell 4942228 Santino Hassell https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1445991731p2/4942228.jpg] doesn't skirt the real issues of life in The City for a guy like Ray and life in the world at large for a guy like David. He doesn't sugar coat but he's also not a dick. He lets Ray & David find their way through the mire and finally stand on solid ground. But what has me still giddy is the glimpses of Michael & Nunzio. Nunzio ... gah!Here's an encounter he has with Ray:“I wrenched my eyes open and found myself eye level with somebody's cotton-covered crotch. Blinking, I looked up and found Nunzio standing over me, eating an apple. There was something really judgmental about his slow, deliberate chewing. ... “Oh.” Fuck. “Look, I know you probably heard abut the shit at the party—“He held up a hand to stop me talking. “Nope. And I don't want to know.”“If you didn't hear, then how did you know I was out here?”“I didn't. I came to watch the sunrise and found you two curled up together like a couple of street urchins.” Nunzio took the last bite of his apple. “Have you sorted out your drama?”“That wasn't part of the discussion.”“Did you get some ass?”Leave it to Nunzio.“No, man.”“Well, get on top of it. That kid has been high-strung enough to snap in half.” ....“And leave Michael out of the mess.”He's funny, practical and acerbic but as always his main priority is taking care of Michael. And this all leads to one of THE BEST EPILOGUES EVER I won't say anything about it because ... it's all spoilers but I laughed & cried in public and would do it again. I would've also highlighted every line but somehow controlled myself. I love that niño so much.If you've read [b:Sunset Park 25842991 Sunset Park (Five Boroughs, #2) Santino Hassell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445081788s/25842991.jpg 45707493] you have to read [b:Interborough 30364774 Interborough (Five Boroughs, #4) Santino Hassell https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469718502s/30364774.jpg 50875338]. They're part of a whole.

I always get a little nervous when a romance novel returns to a couple, because it usually means there's going to be a lot of conflict. This one has conflict in spades but it also handles relationship issues in a meaningful and - I think - realistic way. You really see how Raymond and David have taken steps forward (and backwards) in their relationship, and you also get a view on what's going on with other beloved characters from this series. And ultimately, it's a romance novel. This isn't a spoiler to say that David and Ray still get a HEA.