Kel's Keeper

4.75Loved, loved, loved this! A true age gap story exquisitely narrated by [a:John Solo 7935034 John Solo https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Kel is 24 y.o. and he's been living truly & metaphorically under the yoke of his religiously intolerant parents. They love him but expect him to conform to the life plan they've set out for him, something that Kel is trying, albeit gingerly, to shake with varying degrees of success. When tragedy strikes Kel finds himself unable to cope and is dangerously close to losing himself until his kindly neighbor steps in. Luc is said neighbor. One who doubles Kel in age and has known him since birth. There is some level of kink in this book but not the bad-wrong type. Instead, to my eyes, it read like a honest portrayal of the development of a relationship between a confident, secure, & mature man and a perhaps younger than his years, shy & inexperienced one. I loved the how caring and mindful of Kel's needs Luc was and that he didn't take for granted that Kel would bend to his will. I liked seeing Kel bloom under Luc and figure out what he liked and that it was okay to like those things. I was so happy with how the relationship developed, Luc being a natural caregiver and Kel being so in need of guidance & reassurance that the final step into Daddy territory seemed kind of unnecessary, IMO the labeling was redundant. My other niggle (why short of a full 5 stars) was that Luc kind of disappointed me sticking to the trait that I find most annoying in Doms: when it comes to brass tacks they're the weaker part of the equation leaving the heavy lifting to the subs. He waited for Kel to speak of love first under the excuse of not wanting to pressure him but me thinks is because he didn't want to say it first and be shot down by a younger man. Coward. Rant over. The other thing I LOVED was that ridiculously gorgeous cover which I'm guessing was made to order or the reverse as the description of the characters matches the models perfectly.