Friday, August 3, 2018

Brave for You by Crystal Lacy Blog Tour


Less than a year after moving to Hawaii, construction foreman Nate Ellison’s wife leaves him and their infant son for another man. Months into single-fatherhood, Nate meets Andrew “An” Hoang and is slowly drawn into An’s life. Through An’s friendship, he finds himself finally enjoying his new home in paradise.

An Hoang hasn’t had a real relationship in years. With his pediatrics practice and a niece to care for on his days off, he doesn’t have the headspace for more than a simple roll in the sack. But when he meets Nate—who just happens to be the gorgeous construction worker he encountered in the lobby of his apartment building—something about Nate makes it impossible for him not to care. When Nate needs An’s help with his son, An doesn’t refuse.

What happens when Nate’s past and An’s old-fashioned parents interfere just as the two men begin to fall for each other? Will they find the means to be brave and give their love a chance to flourish?

A sweet and steamy slow burn M/M romance set in Hawaii.

This story is a HEA story with NO cliffhangers. Subsequent books in the series will feature new main characters.

Add to Goodreads –


Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~




“I’ve had plenty of lovers, but they’ve mostly been one-night stands. People I meet on the internet who are well aware I don’t want anything more than a hook-up. I tried relationships once or twice, but they never got past the beginning stages. I couldn’t—” He stopped. He’d been staring at the lines on his palms and tracing them back and forth with his fingernail, until they turned pink, but now he looked up into Nate’s face. “I may as well still be in the closet. I don’t deserve to be called brave.”

“Hey,” Nate said, trying to stop his mind from fixating on An’s words, I don’t want anything more than a hook-up. He remembered the conversation from earlier. An had said he never brought guys around. “If you knew your parents would suspect any guy you were with of being involved with you, why didn’t we go somewhere else for lunch?”

It wasn’t what An was expecting to hear from him. He had that quizzical expression on his face, like he just didn’t understand. “You and Dai wanted dim sum.”

“We could’ve gone to another place even if that one was Dai’s favorite. Why’d you risk it? It worried you from the beginning, even before we left.”

A few moments of silence stretched out between them. An blinked, as if Nate’s words had surprised him. “I wanted to take you there. You and Dai. I didn’t want fear of my parents to stop me from doing that.”

Nate nodded. Pride and admiration for An welled up inside him. “That’s you being brave. I’m sorry if you don’t agree, but that’s what bravery is—having something you’re scared of and facing it head-on. You’re stronger than you think, An.” If he hadn’t grown up with Amy and with parents as understanding as his were, would Nate have been strong enough to do what An was doing every day?

“Don’t,” An said, and there was something in his voice. A soft tremor that Nate had never heard there before, which made him want to take An in his arms and— “You’re always so nice, and you shouldn’t be.”

“I’m just telling the truth. And why shouldn’t I be nice to you? You’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met.” The nicest, the bravest, the best.

An’s lips quirked into a tight smile. “Am I so very nice? It’s easy to be nice to someone like you. Nate… You don’t—you really should stop.”

Nate couldn't understand this. Not completely. But he knew it was important to resist. “No,” he said, and his heart beat faster as he spoke, “I don’t want to stop being nice. Why should I?”

An didn't answer for a moment. He had his eyes glued to the palm of his hand again and he was digging fingernails into the skin there. When his words came they were in a whisper: “If you don’t, you’ll make me fall for you.”

Nate reached over and grabbed the offending hand, held An’s fingers tight enough that An looked up at him again, startled. Nate could feel An’s pulse, frenetic beneath his skin. His own breath quickened, and his mouth was suddenly so dry he could barely get his words out. But he did anyway.

“Would it be such a bad thing if you did? Fall for me?”




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah☆☆☆☆
This is a family focused book that tells the story of the romance between a single dad and the paediatrician who lives three doors down.

I enjoyed the glimpses of Hawaiian life in this story and I really liked both Nate and Andrew. Both Nate and An have a whole lot going on in their lives. Nate suddenly finds himself as the single parent to his infant son while An struggles with his homophobic parents, his strict cultural heritage, and the responsibilities he has to his sister and niece. With both men attempting to sort their own lives out, the friendship between them is slow to develop and the romance between them is even slower.

Personally, I found this story way too domestic. I’m not a big fan of kids in romance novels and the kids are a constant focus in this one. The characters I did like – An’s work partner and Nate’s sister – feel like side notes. I liked learning about An’s Vietnamese culture and I loved Nate’s sister’s gaymer culture. There are some sweet moments between An and Nate, but I didn’t feel like the over-the-top miscommunication and angst at the end made sense between two quite chilled men.

I enjoyed parts of this story, but I think I got distracted by the Hawaii bits on the cover and missed the mention of kids in the blurb. I love a tropical romance, but I probably should have given this single dad romance a miss.




Crystal Lacy lives with her loving family in Hawaii, where it is always either drizzling or sunny and never snows—which is a shame, because she prefers being cold to being damp and hot unless it’s for Very Good Reasons. She writes queer romance, mainly M/M, but also some F/F. She has aspirations to one day write a YA novel about cats.

Crystal is a long-time fangirl and writes slash fanfiction for the Harry Potter and NBC Hannibal fandoms. She has a deep love for fandom culture, and can be frequently spotted on Twitter and Tumblr reblogging pretty fan art.

Join Crystal's readers group on Facebook for sneak peeks, bonus content, and ARC opportunities or subscribe to her newsletter for monthly book giveaways, recs, news, and more!

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Brave for You (Oahu Lovers #1) by Crystal Lacy to read and review for this tour.

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