Tart and Sweet
Candy Man Book 4
M/M Romance
Dreamspinner Press
September 5, 2016
233
In the Army, Robbie Chambers turned on his lover out of fear—and he hasn’t been able to live with himself since. Now he’s out of the Army but still trapped in the closet that brought on his most cowardly moment, and he starts to think he’ll never be able to fight his way free.
Until he sees Cy McVeigh. Beautiful and uninhibited, Cy is dancing on the boardwalk at Old Sac for no other reason than the moment called for it. Robbie not only joins in the dance but is smitten from the very beginning.
However, Robbie still has old business to clear up, and when he helps out a kid in need and comes face-to-face with the man he betrayed, he’s forced to come clean with himself. He can’t redeem his mistake if he’s still locked into his old patterns, and he won’t ever be worthy of Cy if he can’t earn Adam’s forgiveness. He’s going to need all the help he can get from the people at Candy Heaven in order to make things right with his past so he can have a future with Cy.
Review by Gloria Lakritz
Senior Reviewer and Review Chair for the Paranormal Romance Guild
I have waited for this story and had been filled with deep trepidation. If you are a fan of this author, and following this series from the first as I had, you would know Ms. Lane has the ability to destroy a reader with the amount of angst this one could bring. Those of us just remembering Selfie, shuddered when it was Robbie’s book for the Candy Man series.
So let’s start from the beginning. The first book featured Adam, penniless and on his last chance, entering Darrin’s Candy Heaven looking for work. He was staying at his cousin’s place, to take care of the apartment and the pets. We learned from the magical pixie stix that this is where Adam was to be, although no one thought Darrin was all there muttering about.
We learned Adam was in the Army overseas half with the Gay Rights Don’t Tell Laws half not. But in his Division, it was a gay man’s dream when the straights got bored and were looking for an itch to be scratched… Everyone wandered behind the Humvees for relief. But Adam fell in love with Robbie, they took holidays together….made plans together to muster out and were to put their papers in to start a life together. Until Adam looked to him, and in front of the whole troop, Robbie called him a faggot and walked away. Life in the service was dangerous for Adam until he was out….Now he has met and fallen in love with sweet Finn and it is two years later. Robbie left the service shortly after Adam, has his own apartment, working at a warehouse, dating a girl his family loves. Yes, he is still in the closet, but the shame of what he did to Adam has not been erased.
So on a magical night, Felicity and he are meeting his parents for dinner on the boardwalk near Sac State, and a young man on a delivery bike is hit by a car and Robbie runs to his aid. Such a small world no? Robbie gets help for Finn and their paths have crossed. Got goose bumps? I did.
On the boardwalk as well, a musician is playing and a young sensuous black male dancer entertains, his movements’ fluid, grabbing Felicity and Robbie into his spell…I did say magical night didn’t I?
Cyril McVeigh and Robbie Chambers….and the story of love, lust, friendship, bigotry, redemption, forgiveness and a host of wonderful things both loving and sad were meshed into this story….it was Robbie who has been living with this horrible burden of guilt that is suffocating him. He has been this way for so long that it has prevented him from warmth of even friends.
Cy is out and proud, flamboyant and sexy, working at a dance studio teaching by day, a busser at a club by night. He is a player, is known by his friends not wanting any relationship BUT that all changes when he meets the guy on the boardwalk who loves to dance and wants to snuggle.
Amy, you told a story with a wonderful moral. Making mistakes in life is a given, but it depends what you do about it that makes a difference. Truly an inspiring read, loved the gang all together for the holidays…..Loved Clopper and Jake and also the ‘cameo’ of the two who will remain nameless… Fabulous read…..