Book 961: Levi’s Love (Maine Men #7) – K.C. Wells

Finally! The culmination of six books and we have every store of the group of friends 😀 Honestly, it wasn’t that long of a wait, but you know I snapped this up the second it appeared in my inbox.*

This final installment of Wells’ Maine Men series gives us the story of the remaining two singles in the group of friends: Levi, the pining virgin abandoned by his mother and raised by Grammy who created a home and a safe space for the band of friends, and Noah, obsessed with trains who thought he was asexual (but ends up demisexual) and was oblivious to Levi’s unrequited love.

Just going to rip the band-aid off with this one, it wasn’t the story I wanted and the main love story was just fine. What I was interested in were all the side stories Wells’ introduced from Levi’s surprise half-siblings to his great uncle who was gay and in a relationship and died in Vietnam! Keeping my streak alive, I once again ended up in tears at the pool on vacation when I read the scene when they took Grammy to the Vietnam Memorial in DC.

I’m not sure why the love story was lackluster for me, but it was. Some of it was the blandness of the protagonists, I honestly kept forgetting who was who when they were talking to each other. Like I said above, there were so many other more interesting parts of the story that kept me engaged and wanting to read it so I dealt put up with the meh romance to get to the rest.

That being said, there were definitely highlights of the romance. Grammy’s scheming, the finding and reading of Liam’s journal from high school, the first steps into romance, the many firsts of Liam, and Noah’s final realization that he’s always loved Levi but didn’t know how to show it or connect it was just perfect.

‘I booked two rooms. I figured you two would be okay sharin’. Lord knows you’ve done that often enough when the guys sleep over.’
That was true, but that didn’t stop Levi’s heart from skipping a beat. As he drove the car into the parking lot, he couldn’t help thinking the situation was beginning to read like the plot of a romance novel. Forced to share a room . . .
She . . . didn’t do this on purpose, did she?
He always said Grammy was sharp. He wouldn’t put it past her. Then he reconsidered. Maybe he was wrong in assigning ulterior motives to her—she was just being practical.
What he couldn’t account for was his quickening heartbeat, the fluttering in his stomach. How many times have I shared my room with him? Why should it bother me now?
Then he stilled. She would’ve booked a double room, right? (Chapter 9)

I debated for a hot second after finishing this one if I was going to seek out the two novella/short stories that Wells’ wrote as spin-offs for the various unanswered questions (one from freakin book one, Finn’s Fantasy), but realized I wasn’t that motivated. I will probably read her next series set in Maine that she mentions in this one, but probably only if it ends up in my inbox or I stumble across it randomly like I did coming back into this series.

Recommendation: This was an okay book for me. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad either. Wells’ did a good job of wrapping up the series (and throwing another engagement into the mix), but overall it fell a little flat for me. The story I now want is Liam’s Great Uncle’s story. I want Wells to tell us about that love story and the opportunity to see Grammy as a young woman helping protect her brother and his friends at a time when being gay was most definitely not accepted.

*I received a copy of Levi’s Love via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Levi Brown tilted his head and relished the sun’s warmth on his face.”

Closing Line: “Noah beamed. ‘And an attic to fill.'” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)