This was the sweetest book. I loved how Josh and Christian met. How they slowly became friends and then how it went from friendship to love. Josh was so patient and just such a sweet guy. And Christian didn't realize how lonely he truly was until he got to know Josh. I also loved Josh's friends they were too cool.

Christian Hernandez has holed himself in his apartment away from the world after an accident 8 years ago left him not wanting to be seen. And that has worked well for him until his landlord decided that his apartment will be getting a full-scale renovation that will require someone spending days working in his living space. The man assigned to do the work, Josh, has heard the rumors about the reclusive resident who no one ever sees, but he's not worried about working in a space with someone he assumes is more misunderstood than anything else. When, despite Christian's best efforts, the two end up interacting face-to-face, both men find their world opened up in ways they never expected. I was a bit worried this was going to be a "I'm going to rescue you and suddenly your life is perfect" type of story--but it's not. It's written sensitively, and there are elements of growth for both characters as they work to navigate a potential relationship and the world around them.

4.5 stars

*sigh* the love and the cuteness and the tenderness in this book!
Grab your copy and read it immediately!!
Great story!

really needed something low angst since i've been on the edge for some time now ugh.

4.5/5
I feel like this could have been longer. There was a missed opportunity to delve deeper into their familial relationships, Christian's reunion with his and his meeting Josh's mother. Also I would love to see what's going on between Josh's friends Nate and Dylan. And of course I'd love to hear more about the sights and sounds of Boston.

Overall this was a nice/sweet read.

Re-read update: No change to rating, but I feel should add that Nat/Dylan do have their own story now: [b:Bromantically Yours|38047457|Bromantically Yours|K.C. Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516172530l/38047457._SY75_.jpg|59739178].

Timing. It’s all about timing. Meeting that one person, at that one pivotal point in time, when you realize status quo isn’t working anymore, and start to long for that elusive “more” your life might become.

If you are looking for the hard core BDSM themes of some of the other books KC Wells is known for, keep looking. This book is a nod to her softer side; it’s a romance about two men who need each other in unlikely ways, and the path to wholeness they take together. KC Wells understands wounded men and the journey back from the darkness in their lives. There is a metaphor in the book of one man being sunshine, smelling like the wind and sun, and one man living in the darkness of his house and in his own mind. This, in and of itself, Wells has definitely written before, but Out of the Shadows takes a higher, lighter road to redemption than some of her other works. This addition to the Dreamspun Desires series is high on romance, connection, friendship and steam. It’s low on the erotic meter, with hardly any sex at all between the MCs until the last half of the book. This is a story about beauty being more than skin deep, and a person’s worth and inner character being what we ultimately fall in love with in our soulmates.

Christian suffered a horrible and disfiguring accident, and essentially cut himself off from the world. He does talk about his therapy, which made me feel marginally better for how the story progresses. It’s been eight years for him, hiding away in his house, away from human contact. But lately, he’s started to wonder, to hope that his life could change, that he could be more like the amazing guy he watches gardening outside his windows. When his apartment leasing company sends him a note saying his flat is on a list for kitchen and bathroom upgrades, Christian finally comes face to face with the man of his dreams.

Josh is the perfect foil for Christian. Patient. Understanding. Compassionate. He is the light to Christian’s dark. When Josh meets Christian, he is determined that even if the man doesn’t want him for a boyfriend he will still endeavor to bring a bit of normal to Christian’s world, and teach him that the patio outside his house isn’t all that scary with someone beside you. The care with which Josh plans the outings he takes Christian on, the empathy he shows toward Christian, all combine to push Christian out of his comfort zone and back into life.

This book is written as a steady, light romance between two young men. Even Christian’s scars are treated with a minimal amount of angst; they are told of more as facts not feelings. It’s all about timing. If we had met Christian earlier, he would have had a different story to tell. This book is about that moment of stepping back into the light and falling in love as you learn to accept yourself inside and out. Will this book be for everyone? No, especially if you are looking for the gritty, meaty stories in some of Wells’ other series. But there is something to be said for two guys falling in love, and Wells knows how to write that hands down. Christian had a path of rediscovery to follow, and he had to learn to accept himself first before he could accept Josh’s love. That is what this book is all about. Yes, I recommend this story for a light, feel good romance!

Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach

Originally posted over at Just Love Reviews: https://justlovereviews.com/2017/08/16/out-of-the-shadows-kc-wells/


This book was a well written, slow burn romance with realistic relationship pacing and interesting characters. This is probably not for you if you want a steamy, fast moving book. This was a sweeter, more emotionally involved, and slower moving book.

The book was built around the premise that Christian didn’t leave the house because… reasons (no spoilers!!). But it would not have made sense if he started dating someone he just met right off the bat, and got super steamy with them. The way Wells wrote Josh coming in and getting to know Christian, coaxing him out of his shell a little bit, made this story a believable romance. Sometimes I roll my eyes at romances where they are immediately like, “I love you!” / “You’re the one for me!” and it’s been 50 pages. Totally cool if that’s your thing but I like a realistic build-up.

I also liked how Wells balanced Christian’s insecurities by also having him push himself to go out more. Josh gave him confidence in a believable way, not forced. Part of why I enjoy romances is seeing how the author has people grow together. To me that’s what a healthy relationship (romantic or platonic) is all about, so I really like when an author writes it well.

Something else I liked was that Christian wasn’t depressed, just scared to go out (I don’t want to spoil the reveal, so I’m being vague with this!). This made the story more upbeat, despite the fact that it had a recluse in it, and also made it believable that Christian would agree to go outside his house despite not doing so in years.

There were also a group of supportive, well-developed secondary characters that added depth to the story. Josh’s friends gave Josh a way to work through his feelings without it being an internal monologue. It added depth to the story by making it not about two people in a bubble. That’s not really realistic to me, and while it can make a story low drama, it also makes it kind of flat and two dimensional.

This book was a good romance that was focused on the emotional connection between the two MCs. There’s a lot of relationship-building before they even get together, which I really enjoyed, and this made their relationship more believable since Christian needed more coaxing than someone else would have. It made sense to have a slow burn relationship instead of them just jumping into it.

A sappy and sweet 3.5 for me. I will forever love books that give a nod to other books I love and I will be forever suckered into reading any book that had anything to do with Beauty and the Beast, so they got me two for two there. Even though this feels more like gay-men-for-straight-women, then again that's probably true of 3/4 of the m/m romance out, I still enjoyed my read.