Review: Paint the Stars by Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn
SYNOPSIS:
Ezra Greene has made a pretty decent life for himself. He has a nice apartment and spends his days doing the one thing he’s always loved—creating art. Despite being somewhat of a grumpy recluse, he’s even made a few loyal friends. When he takes a side job painting a mural at a local holistic center, he can’t help being curious about a certain friendly and self-assured yoga instructor, even if he doesn’t buy into any of that Zen crap. His holier-than-thou family already tried fitting him inside a box, and he swore he’d never be molded into anybody’s belief system again.
For Daevonte Randall, adulthood has worked out pretty well. He’s close to his parents and lives with an awesome roommate. He’s content with weekend hookups, teaching yoga, and taking college courses. What he doesn’t expect is to be so intrigued by the brooding and reserved painter he’s been tasked to stay after hours with at the center. Something fascinates him about Ezra, even after Daevonte’s attempts at flirting gets him friend-zoned on the spot.
As weeks pass, Ezra and Dae get to know each other, and soon their friendship catches fire. But Ezra’s been burned pretty badly before so trust and intimacy has to be earned. Daevonte feels up to the task, but it proves difficult as Ezra continues to keep his emotions in check. Dae’s only willing to wait so long, and when they’re dealt a surprising blow, Ezra needs to decide if love is worth the risk, that is…if it’s not too late.
REVIEW:
This book was just okay for me. Did I enjoy seeing Ezra get a happily ever after, yes. Would I pick up the book again, no. While the story itself was enjoyable I just didn’t find myself sucked in. I was distracted and ready to move onto other books.
Ezra was a fascinating character and I really enjoy reading stories where I can learn something. This story lead me on a dive into the ACE spectrum, specifically demisexuality. While this is something I am unfamiliar with, I believe its important to educate myself and expand my knowledge and compassion. This story did just that for me. Plus the fact that Ezra was so badly burned in the past adds another layer to his jaded heart.
Dae is a ray of actual sunshine. Between him and Ezra it is literally night and day. Their contrasting personalities are completely opposite, so it does come as a surprise that they form a friendship and then something more. The story flowed smoothly and I liked that there wasn’t some big blow up or drama. There were a few tense moments and scenes that had me holding my breath but they passed quickly.
But maybe the book needed more of that because while I didn’t hate the story, I think I wanted to move on from it because I was bored. Honestly, I felt like they could have put Ezra and Dae building a friendship in book 2 and just left this as a novella. It would have been faster and the only real things stopping Dae and Ezra were Dae and Ezra. Overall, it was a slow burn that I didn’t really mesh with but glad I got to see closure for a character I liked.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“There are so many secrets hiding inside of him. I see their shadows in his eyes. Hear them in his voice and crazily, I want to know all of them.”
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
