Homebird

I really love the plot of this. Both men are hurting and many of the same ways but each has chosen to cope in different ways. There was a lot of angst in their relationship to see if love is enough and can each of them get what they need. It felt touch and go for awhile as there were other possibilities. I love the way things worked out as each man comes to different realizations.

I have so many feels about this book and I don't even know where to start. This is a story about home, the place to come home to when life is hard, when the world is to big and when a heart needs recharging. Home is knowing that the when the adventure is done, there is a place to soothe you. I know this. I feel this. This is also a story about love and friendship that surrounds and supports and gently guides you. Crispin had all of this with his friends and his sister, now he just needs to show Luka that he can have it as well. So much heartache and courage needed by both Crispin and Luka to find their happy, and what a painful journey it happy. But oh, so much happy at the end. Well Done!

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader

Like so, so many of you, my Christmas season just doesn't feel complete until I read an Amy Lane story. There's just something about the way she shows the spirit of the season mixed with hope and joy that just gets me in the mood to celebrate and embrace all the good cheer we're supposed to have this time of year. Homebird this year's feel good story and in quintessential Amy Lane fashion will have you smiling by the end of the first page and that smile won't go anywhere (it might get a little wobbly from time to time though ... this is an Amy Lane book after all!) until you reach the end.

And yes, while this IS a holiday book, the focus is not on Christmas itself. Rather, it's on the idea of home and that it's the people you choose to have in your life that really makes a house a home. Luka Gabriel doesn't really have a home. He travels from place to place, bringing with him the only things he can carry. On the other hand, Crispin Henry has a house but he's not a big fan of wandering too far from home. When they meet in Germany during Oktoberfest, neither could envision the whirlwind romance they have that lasts three days nor what will follow once Crispin makes his way back home.

The thing that really made this book for me (besides the endearing and just too sweet for words Crispin and Luka) was Crispin's group of friends. I make no apologies for being a HUGE--and I'm talking the hugest--fan of the bromance. There is just something about this particular dynamic that hits all of my buttons. I love them hard and in Homebird, we've got some major bromances going on and they're fabulous! I love that Crispin didn't really even realize he was in the midst of some hardcore bromancing until he got to the airport with his friends. He's been friends with this group of guys for years, but somehow didn't take the time to consider that these guys were more like family than anything.

This is a sexy story, too. There is plenty of romance and touching and kissing and whispered words full of passion and heat that will make you swoon. Homebird isn't too over the top fluffy and the angst is short lived and there is just enough emphasis on Christmas to make you really stop and think about the things that are most important this time of year (and, well, all year, but you know what I mean.) Home, family, friendship, love, joy, giving and receiving and I'm not talking about presents here either. For anyone who enjoys an Amy Lane Christmas story, or really anyone who just loves love, be sure to check this out. It'll make you feel good and leave you as warm and gooey feeling as a warm sugar cookie right out of the oven!

“That’s it? You just travel? You have no home?” A faint sadness crossed Luka’s face then, a lightly bitten lip, eyes that darted when they had been so steady. “The world is my home.” And a giant void opened up in Crispin’s chest. “The world is really big,” he said, leaning back from the emptiness at his feet. “And I am really small. I need something smaller to call home. A little corner to hide in.” A spasm of regret made his stomach clench. “A tiny life,” he finished apologetically, lifting his tankard and finding it empty.”

The fact that the author’s inspiration for this story came from her husband and his friends’ trip to Germany basically hit me right in the heart. I mean, don’t tell her or anything, but I have a wee crush on her husband after years of hearing stories about him. I’m pretty sure she knows though *grins*. I was entranced with the idea of these straight engineers with wives and kids, texting pictures to Amy and begging her to write this guy a story. It helped to remind me that wonderful, kind and caring men still exist out there in this world of chaos right now.

Crispin and Luka had me – right in the gut, in the feels – from the moment I first met them. Crispin grabbed me from the instant I realized he’d been so grateful to have these men at work befriend him that he learned about sports, drank beer, watched action movies, and saw a strip show without ever telling them he was gay for fear of losing these relationships he’d never had before. Of course, his friends had me falling in love with them (each of them) when they casually threw it out there – in the TSA line for the trip – that they knew he was gay and couldn’t care less. Crispin was their friend and that was that, although they did apologize for the strip show which had me laughing.

Crispin and Luka share some similar pain that has made them into the people they are today. Crispin’s parents died when he was young but then he was lucky enough to become the foster son (and eventual adopted son) of two amazing people who found out they were having a baby just when they took him in. A lot of people would have returned him but not the Henrys; he became their son and older brother to their daughter. They were killed in a car accident when his sister was still in high school so Crispin transferred to a college back home to care for her and keep his small family alive. Luka’s parents were travelers who loved seeing new things and taking him with until they settled in New Zealand where they died while gone on a short trip, leaving Luka alone. Now Luka travels because it’s what he knows and what he imagines they would want for him. One man holds tightly to home to give him hope and ground him. The other man relinquished home so as not to feel the pain of loneliness.

“Text me when you’re lonely,” he ordered. “Even if that means you’re texting me all day.”
“I’ll come to you,” Luka vowed, and Crispin shut his eyes. “You’d better. Even if it’s just to visit. This can’t be the end.”
“I promise very little, Crispin, but I promise that.”

Oh Amy, you gutted me with these two men. Watching Crispin work so hard not to make Luka feel like he “had” to stay with him and Luka struggling to deny that not only did he want to stay, but he could stay, he could be loved and welcomed here, and have a home. Crispin’s friends continued to amaze me and I fell harder for each of them as the book continued. ‘Homebird’ is exactly what I needed this holiday season to remind me of what it means to love and to be loved. It’s a gift, an unrivaled gift from Fate or the gods or whomever/whatever you believe in, but trust me when I say that if you’re lucky enough to find your person, regardless of how long you have him/her, revel in it for not everyone is so blessed.

“Suddenly they were completely sober. “We can travel,” Crispin promised. “We can hold hands and wander as much as you want.” “I want to come back home,” Luka said. “Every time. As long as you are there, it will be my home.”

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

“That’s it? You just travel? You have no home?” A faint sadness crossed Luka’s face then, a lightly bitten lip, eyes that darted when they had been so steady. “The world is my home.” And a giant void opened up in Crispin’s chest. “The world is really big,” he said, leaning back from the emptiness at his feet. “And I am really small. I need something smaller to call home. A little corner to hide in.” A spasm of regret made his stomach clench. “A tiny life,” he finished apologetically, lifting his tankard and finding it empty.”

The fact that the author’s inspiration for this story came from her husband and his friends’ trip to Germany basically hit me right in the heart. I mean, don’t tell her or anything, but I have a wee crush on her husband after years of hearing stories about him. I’m pretty sure she knows though *grins*. I was entranced with the idea of these straight engineers with wives and kids, texting pictures to Amy and begging her to write this guy a story. It helped to remind me that wonderful, kind and caring men still exist out there in this world of chaos right now.

Crispin and Luka had me – right in the gut, in the feels – from the moment I first met them. Crispin grabbed me from the instant I realized he’d been so grateful to have these men at work befriend him that he learned about sports, drank beer, watched action movies, and saw a strip show without ever telling them he was gay for fear of losing these relationships he’d never had before. Of course, his friends had me falling in love with them (each of them) when they casually threw it out there – in the TSA line for the trip – that they knew he was gay and couldn’t care less. Crispin was their friend and that was that, although they did apologize for the strip show which had me laughing.

Crispin and Luka share some similar pain that has made them into the people they are today. Crispin’s parents died when he was young but then he was lucky enough to become the foster son (and eventual adopted son) of two amazing people who found out they were having a baby just when they took him in. A lot of people would have returned him but not the Henrys; he became their son and older brother to their daughter. They were killed in a car accident when his sister was still in high school so Crispin transferred to a college back home to care for her and keep his small family alive. Luka’s parents were travelers who loved seeing new things and taking him with until they settled in New Zealand where they died while gone on a short trip, leaving Luka alone. Now Luka travels because it’s what he knows and what he imagines they would want for him. One man holds tightly to home to give him hope and ground him. The other man relinquished home so as not to feel the pain of loneliness.

“Text me when you’re lonely,” he ordered. “Even if that means you’re texting me all day.”
“I’ll come to you,” Luka vowed, and Crispin shut his eyes. “You’d better. Even if it’s just to visit. This can’t be the end.”
“I promise very little, Crispin, but I promise that.”

Oh Amy, you gutted me with these two men. Watching Crispin work so hard not to make Luka feel like he “had” to stay with him and Luka struggling to deny that not only did he want to stay, but he could stay, he could be loved and welcomed here, and have a home. Crispin’s friends continued to amaze me and I fell harder for each of them as the book continued. ‘Homebird’ is exactly what I needed this holiday season to remind me of what it means to love and to be loved. It’s a gift, an unrivaled gift from Fate or the gods or whomever/whatever you believe in, but trust me when I say that if you’re lucky enough to find your person, regardless of how long you have him/her, revel in it for not everyone is so blessed.

“Suddenly they were completely sober. “We can travel,” Crispin promised. “We can hold hands and wander as much as you want.” “I want to come back home,” Luka said. “Every time. As long as you are there, it will be my home.”