The Leaving Kind (Hearts & Crafts #3)
by Kelly Jensen
My Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: MM
Blurb:
Without heart, there is no art.Cameron has been running for years—from responsibility, disappointment, war, and loss. Despite his fatigue, his body and mind refuse to rest. Returning home and supporting his younger brother helped, until Nick proved he no longer needed Cam’s care. But before Cam can decide to move on again, he meets someone else who could use a little help.
Victor is done with love. He’s done with men. He’s also done, apparently, with being a brilliant, if temperamental, artist. Now he’s just temperamental and would rather watch his gorgeous handyman dig in the garden than paint. It doesn’t take long, however, before Cam’s face—replete with stories—has Victor itching to pick up a brush again. If only painting people wasn’t fraught with sad memories.
Neither plans for more than friendship, but it quickly turns to sex, and then feelings intense enough to send them both running. Only by risking their hearts and sharing the pain of the past can they turn this love into the staying kind.
This is part of the Hearts & Crafts series and can be read on its own but is best enjoyed as part of the series.
My Review
I received a free copy through GRR and voluntarily reviewed it.
This is such a great series by Kelly Jensen and I really enjoyed The Leaving Kind. The Leaving Kind follows Cam and Victor. A chance encounter when Cam is delivering some garden supplies to Victor ordered slowly leads to more, they don’t plan for anything more than friends, but they slowly grow closer.
I was excited to start this book as I really enjoyed the first 2 books in the series. Cam is the brother of Nick, who was one of the main characters in book 1, and I was excited to read his story. Despite that I struggled through the first 30% or so of this book. I thought the start was really slow and I didn’t connect as much with the characters at first or feel their connection. I even went on Goodreads to read some reviews and they all assured me it would get better and it did. Once they really start talking and their friendship starts I was hooked and the rest of the book was great.
I liked reading about Victor and Cam, they’re both such interesting characters and they felt so real with their own lives, personalities and struggles. I liked reading about Cam and how he enjoyed his work and how that developed throughout the book. Victor was such a vibrant personality, but also had moods that got him down. This book could be a bit tough to read at times as well, Cam has served in the war and has been struggled finding his place ever since, where Victor is struggling with his painting career as well as his low depressive moods. I thought their struggles made them feel real and I liked reading about them and their lives. And seeing how they interacted with the other as well as the side characters.
I really liked the romance between Cam and Victor. They become friends and then more. They don’t want to fall in love and they actually talk about that, but then they end up sleeping together and growing even closer and feelings get added in the mix. I tough their relationship was very well written and I really wanted them to make it work and see how they would figure it al out. The last few chapters were so good and I really liked the epilogue.
To summarize: I really enjoyed The Leaving Kind. It’s a great romance read with emotional depth and characters that feel real. I struggled a bit through the first 30% of the book as it felt very slow and didn’t grip me, but once their relationship starts developing I was hooked and really enjoyed the rest of the book. Both characters are great to read about and I liked how real they feel, with their own lives, personalities, jobs and struggles. I enjoyed seeing these tow grow closer and fall in love. The last few chapters and epilogue were really good and wrapped up the story well. I really enjoyed this series!
I do love being able to read earlier reviews to check in and see what I can expect from a book sometimes when I need a boost to get past initial reaction. Glad this turned out to have a strong relationship development and you really enjoyed the last two-thirds so much more.
I was very grateful there were some reviews already for this one that told me it would get better as it gave me motivation to keep reading. And the rest of the book was so good!