

The Boy Next Door by G.A. Hauser
Publisher: Linden Bay Romance
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full
Other: M/M, BDSM (light bondage play)
Rating: 4.5 Cherries
Review by Chamomile
You’ll never forget your first…
Brandon Townsend and Zachary Sherman were best friends and next-door neighbors. Growing up together in a cozy suburban town in New Jersey, they were inseparable and thought nothing could tear them apart. Then one night something happened between them, something that brought them even closer together…
They didn’t anticipate that what began as youthful sexual experimentation would lead them into an affair of the heart that would rock them to the core. Nor did they expect the danger of being discovered and separated by their families. At the time, neither Brandon or Zach realized that life would give them another opportunity.
Now, ten years later, a chance meeting brings them together again. Let best-selling gay fiction author G.A. Hauser take you on an unforgettable journey. A coming of age story about faith, about courage, and about trust…you’ll never forget The Boy Next Door.
This love-will-find-a-way story spans over many years and had my rapt attention from beginning to end.
As high school seniors, Brandon is the first to recognize his attraction to his best-friend Zach and I thought that the vulnerability of that age in dealing with such a dilemma came shining through. I could understand why Brandon kept his feelings to himself, but I admired the fact that he admitted to himself that Zach was special to him. I really loved that it was Zach that made the first move because it made their first intimacy even more amazing because Brandon wondrously describes the experience through his eyes. Brandon has loving parents that accept him and I think that this gift grants him the ability to forgive.
Zach's eagerness about his relationship with Brandon is genuine, but he fears being labeled as a homosexual, so he questions whether he is or isn't gay. When everything falls apart, I really felt sorry for him. I couldn't imagine being place in such a dreadful situation and to be forced to make life changing decisions at such a young age. He doesn't handle things well, but under the circumstances, I don't really think he was given any choices. I was thrilled when he finally gets the opportunity to right old wrongs and to redeem himself.
These two boys are just adorable. Their zeal for one another is hot and almost frantic as it would be for adolescents in new discovery of their sexuality. Although they first appear at the inquisitive age of 10, the majority of the story takes place during their last year in high school and then ten years after that. The drama that unfolds due to Zach's parents' lack of acceptance is handled with sensitivity and heart-rending realism. Sex between them evolves from experimenting teens to impassioned men and it was titillating to watch their appetites mature. I thoroughly enjoyed this coming-of-age romance.