Chasing the Sun

Seeing as how I completely and totally fell for Provincetown and the writing of Jacob Flores in book one of this series, it was no hardship to jump into 'Chasing the Sun', the second volume. The fact that this book revolves around Zach's father, Gil, and Zach's best friend from childhood, Tom, just made me more interested in reading it. I'll be honest and say that I was a little biased against Gil going into this story. He hid his homosexuality his entire life, from his wife, his children, and when the truth was revealed, it did even more damage to Zach. Since I'm mad, crazy over Zach, I wanted him to have the relationship with his dad that he so needed. But, I was willing to open my mind and give Gil a chance. Good thing I did, or I'd have missed out on another wonderful set of characters and a fabulous book.
Tom has returned to his hometown after his parents died, to run the Mexican restaurant his parents owned. Tom is struggling with his own issues back home as everyone remembers him as a little boy, as \"Tommy\", and trying to get people to see him as the man he is now is sometimes challenging. Tom has always been older and wiser than his years. He is still friends with Zach and they talk every few weeks, or so, and because of that long-standing friendship, Tom is very familiar with the home Zach grew up in, the troubles Zach had with Gil, and, of course, the \"revelation\" five years ago of Gil's hidden homosexuality. I did feel bad for Gil at the way the town turned on him after his ex-wife spread his secrets. It's a small Texas town, and gossiping is a way of life, but having to live with being the outcast and the whispers everywhere he went must've been miserable. I was happy to see Gil decide to no longer be a victim and to take control of his life again.
Yes, this is a May-December romance, with twenty plus years between Tom and Gil. More than that, though, it's Gil's story of redemption, of repairing lost relationships, and learning to put the past behind him and to reach for what he wants. Tom has been in love with Gil for a long time and has spent the past five years waiting for Gil to stop with his hookups and be ready for a lasting love. Now they just have to get past the snotty townsfolk and deal with Gil's kids’, Zach and Sami's, reactions before they can finally have the life they both deserve.
I very much enjoyed this second installment of the 'Provincetown' series and I was extra happy to get a glimpse of my Zach and Van at the end. Thank you, Jacob, for another great read and I look forward to the next book in the series.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

I struggled a little bit rating this book. I think it was because my expectations were so very, very high based on the first book, When Love Takes Over. This book was very different, enjoyable but maybe not to the level of it's predecessor.
The best thing about this story was that it involved an older man. I love to read stories of people finding love later in life and people finding love after making changes in their lives. This is the case with Gil, who comes out after years of marriage. He has two children (including Zach from the first book)and needs to face the prospect of letting them know he has a boyfriend - Zach's childhood friend Tom.
Gil hadn't felt comfortable with his old group of friends since his separation from his wife, he is concerned about his kids and he is worried about the huge age gap between him and Tom. Tom has no hesitation and knows that Gil is the man for him, after having pined for him for years and waiting for the right moment to strike up a relationship.
It's a nice story, dealing with some very real issues. I wanted Gil and Tom to be happy and liked the moments they were honest with each other and of course, the public declarations. However, I didn't really like the small presence of Zach and Van in the story. They didn't feel like the same characters from the first book so I felt slightly disappointed.
It gets a couple of extra points for romance too - I could just picture Gil and Tom dancing to Anne Murray's \"Could I Have This Dance?\"