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Sweet Surrender
Shy and self-conscious Derek has spent two years of his life losing a hefty amount of weight and is about to enter graduate school to become a certified architect. Now he's determined to find love, so he places an Internet ad in search of a boyfriend. Gerry, a confident, self-made man with his own landscaping business, falls head over heels for Derek as soon as they meet. While Derek's waiting for Gerry to find something wrong with him and call the whole thing off, Gerry is hiding something from Derek, afraid of what the consequences may be when and if it's discovered. Only when they find the courage to confide in one another can they commit to love.
188 pages, ebook
First published March 1, 2010
42 people want to read
About the author
Ashleigh Walton
1 bookAshleigh Walton is in her forties and lives in northeast Ohio with her husband, their dog, and two cats. Her love of writing began when she was young, wanting to fix things she thought were wrong in movies and television shows by writing her own version. As she grew older, she wanted to write original stories that didn't need any fixing. Now, with the support of her husband and friends, she's been able to fulfill her long-held dream of getting her work published.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 8, 2010
Sweet Surrender is a cute, engaging story that reads pretty quickly with a strong happy ending. The best way to describe this story is an easy, enjoyable fluff piece of romance with some realistic characters and issues. There isn’t a lot of action and sometimes the internal musings and cautious behavior goes on for too long but this helps give a more authentic feeling to the relationship. This particular offering feels like reading about two real men that fall in love but have concerns about family, school, work, finances, and more emotional issues such as self esteem and body weight issues. In a sea of perfection, the honestly flawed but good men in Sweet Surrender may appeal to readers.
The story follows Derek as he meets and starts dating Gerry. They met on an internet dating site and both are looking for a relationship rather than a hookup. Gerry realizes Derek has some body issues and decides to take things slow between them to build a friendship foundation first. Soon the two are ready to move on and even fall in love, but not everything is easy. Gerry must deal with his beloved mother who is very religious and doesn’t understand or agree with homosexuality but loves her son very much. Derek must balance work, school, and a new relationship.
The flow is pretty good with a solid, quick pace that makes the story go by pretty easily. The action is mostly character driven with Gerry and Derek meeting, falling in love, and making their relationship work. Surprisingly there is a very low level of angst and some realistic fighting. Both men felt honest and real as they struggle with everyday issues and although this is a romance novel, they don’t fall into the whirlwind courtship and instant love trap. Instead they gradually build a relationship together that is tested and holds strong. There are a few contrived scenes such as Brendan’s insistence on the two moving in together and the health scare towards the end, but these are minor annoyances if anything.
Gerry and Derek are well crafted and shown through alternating third person perspective. Derek starts out pretty insecure with his body as he was once very overweight and has worked hard to lose weight. He still suffers from the same problems and insecurities he had when he was overweight and needs a lot of reassurance from Gerry. Slowly Derek matures and gains more confidence. Part of this is clearly Gerry’s influence but Derek is also only 22 and still has some maturing to do. On the other side Gerry is 30 and he struggles with being the sole person responsible for a busy, time consuming landscaping business and helping his mother. Gerry’s struggles are different from Derek but still engaging as he also has relatable problems. Every relationship is tested by money, work, family, and time constraints so it’s nice to see those issues offered here in a muted way that shows their impact while still depicting a strong couple.
Sweet Surrender offers an honest look at men that are cautious when beginning a relationship and want to take things slow. They don’t want to move in and get married immediately but are open and careful about their progress forward. The men are also not perfect but they love each other and try hard to be together. If you’re looking for a perfect easy spring read about some likable and authentic men and the realistic problems their relationship faces, check this out.
The story follows Derek as he meets and starts dating Gerry. They met on an internet dating site and both are looking for a relationship rather than a hookup. Gerry realizes Derek has some body issues and decides to take things slow between them to build a friendship foundation first. Soon the two are ready to move on and even fall in love, but not everything is easy. Gerry must deal with his beloved mother who is very religious and doesn’t understand or agree with homosexuality but loves her son very much. Derek must balance work, school, and a new relationship.
The flow is pretty good with a solid, quick pace that makes the story go by pretty easily. The action is mostly character driven with Gerry and Derek meeting, falling in love, and making their relationship work. Surprisingly there is a very low level of angst and some realistic fighting. Both men felt honest and real as they struggle with everyday issues and although this is a romance novel, they don’t fall into the whirlwind courtship and instant love trap. Instead they gradually build a relationship together that is tested and holds strong. There are a few contrived scenes such as Brendan’s insistence on the two moving in together and the health scare towards the end, but these are minor annoyances if anything.
Gerry and Derek are well crafted and shown through alternating third person perspective. Derek starts out pretty insecure with his body as he was once very overweight and has worked hard to lose weight. He still suffers from the same problems and insecurities he had when he was overweight and needs a lot of reassurance from Gerry. Slowly Derek matures and gains more confidence. Part of this is clearly Gerry’s influence but Derek is also only 22 and still has some maturing to do. On the other side Gerry is 30 and he struggles with being the sole person responsible for a busy, time consuming landscaping business and helping his mother. Gerry’s struggles are different from Derek but still engaging as he also has relatable problems. Every relationship is tested by money, work, family, and time constraints so it’s nice to see those issues offered here in a muted way that shows their impact while still depicting a strong couple.
Sweet Surrender offers an honest look at men that are cautious when beginning a relationship and want to take things slow. They don’t want to move in and get married immediately but are open and careful about their progress forward. The men are also not perfect but they love each other and try hard to be together. If you’re looking for a perfect easy spring read about some likable and authentic men and the realistic problems their relationship faces, check this out.
March 28, 2010
3.75 out of 5 stars
Twenty-two year old Derek Weston is ready to start a new phase in his life. He's about to graduate from college and start an internship at a prestigious architectural firm and after more than two years of working hard he's lost his excess weight. Excited and nervous, he's on his way to meet Gerry Connelly, the man he's been exchanging emails with after Gerry responded to his personal ad. They get along really well at dinner and the night ends with a sweet kiss and the promise of getting in touch after Derek's graduation.
A few days later they get together when Derek offers to help Gerry in his landscaping business. Soon they're spending more and more time together although their romance develops slowly as Gerry doesn't want to rush things. When they do finally have sex it's hot and sweet and really fits who these guys are.
I really enjoyed reading this mostly sweet romance. Derek and Gerry are both well drawn and likable guys although each has an issue that they need to work through. Derek is insecure about himself due to his years of being the 'fat kid' and finds it hard to believe that Gerry won't grow tired of him and end things. Gerry, eight years older and the owner of his own small business, is almost leading a double life as he keeps his very religious and disapproving mother out of his everyday life and gives her the impression that he's no longer a 'practicing homosexual' and at the same time he's wanting to settle into a relationship with Derek. Things come to a head when Derek can't accept Gerry's choices and their relationship, so new and wonderful, is threatened.
However, a health scare shows Gerry who and what is really important in life and soon the men are once again happy. Now Gerry has to take control of his life and slowly help his mother learn to deal with and accept his sexuality and his commitment to Derek. Out of the cast of characters in this book Mrs. Connelly is the least likable yet at the same time it's not so hard to understand her views since she has been a devout Irish Catholic all her life and is heavily influenced by the church's stance on homosexuality. The other secondary characters, including Derek's parents, are all portrayed as nice people and supportive of both Derek and Gerry. I especially liked Derek's younger brother Brenden and his girlfriend Shana.
As I stated previously I did enjoy this book. The writing is solid and the characters are for the most part likable and believable. The story is written using alternating POV's between Derek and Gerry and so we get a good feel for them both which makes it easy to care for them and their developing relationship. The plot is simple but not boring and the story flows well throughout which makes this an easy read with a very nice ending. Recommended for those that enjoy reading sweet romantic stories about nice men falling in love.
Twenty-two year old Derek Weston is ready to start a new phase in his life. He's about to graduate from college and start an internship at a prestigious architectural firm and after more than two years of working hard he's lost his excess weight. Excited and nervous, he's on his way to meet Gerry Connelly, the man he's been exchanging emails with after Gerry responded to his personal ad. They get along really well at dinner and the night ends with a sweet kiss and the promise of getting in touch after Derek's graduation.
A few days later they get together when Derek offers to help Gerry in his landscaping business. Soon they're spending more and more time together although their romance develops slowly as Gerry doesn't want to rush things. When they do finally have sex it's hot and sweet and really fits who these guys are.
I really enjoyed reading this mostly sweet romance. Derek and Gerry are both well drawn and likable guys although each has an issue that they need to work through. Derek is insecure about himself due to his years of being the 'fat kid' and finds it hard to believe that Gerry won't grow tired of him and end things. Gerry, eight years older and the owner of his own small business, is almost leading a double life as he keeps his very religious and disapproving mother out of his everyday life and gives her the impression that he's no longer a 'practicing homosexual' and at the same time he's wanting to settle into a relationship with Derek. Things come to a head when Derek can't accept Gerry's choices and their relationship, so new and wonderful, is threatened.
However, a health scare shows Gerry who and what is really important in life and soon the men are once again happy. Now Gerry has to take control of his life and slowly help his mother learn to deal with and accept his sexuality and his commitment to Derek. Out of the cast of characters in this book Mrs. Connelly is the least likable yet at the same time it's not so hard to understand her views since she has been a devout Irish Catholic all her life and is heavily influenced by the church's stance on homosexuality. The other secondary characters, including Derek's parents, are all portrayed as nice people and supportive of both Derek and Gerry. I especially liked Derek's younger brother Brenden and his girlfriend Shana.
As I stated previously I did enjoy this book. The writing is solid and the characters are for the most part likable and believable. The story is written using alternating POV's between Derek and Gerry and so we get a good feel for them both which makes it easy to care for them and their developing relationship. The plot is simple but not boring and the story flows well throughout which makes this an easy read with a very nice ending. Recommended for those that enjoy reading sweet romantic stories about nice men falling in love.
June 27, 2010
So-so, but very sweet, m/m romance about an architecture student who starts dating a guy with his own landscaping business. A bit too syrupy for my taste.
August 19, 2010
A nice story but a little bit too sweet for my taste. I need a bit more pizazz. Every time there could have been a bit of conflict--even mild--the author ran away from it. Also, the story suffered from too much telling and not enough showing (and I don't mean just sex, either). Gerry and Derek are nice guys and there probably guys like this in real life, but in fiction I want a bit more spice to the story.
June 16, 2012
Really a DNF, since I ended up skimming the second half of the book. And kinda wondering why I was bothering, even as I did so. Not sure why, just never got into the story. Felt like more telling than showing, I guess.
May 28, 2010
3.5 stars.
June 14, 2010
3,5 stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews