Love in the Clouds by Sarah Hadley Brook Blog Tour

Rafael Patino has a great life in Rain Valley. He’s a teacher at the high school, has a great group of friends, and enjoys the occasional baseball game. Other than the sporadic call from his drunken mother, he’s pretty content.

He’s also been in love with his best friend Dustin for nearly a decade. Years of keeping those feelings under control are put to the test when they begin a summer project together.

Dustin Vance builds furniture for a living, has just earned his pilot’s license, and has an amazing best friend. When he buys a 1976 Cessna Skyhawk, he asks Rafael to help restore it, then travel with him to Wisconsin for the largest aviation convention in the world.

As they spend their days working on the plane, they begin to spend their nights together. Will they find love in the clouds, or will they stall out before they even take off?

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A cool breeze blew past him as he walked into the night. Rafael texted Dustin before he pulled out of the parking lot, letting him know he was leaving and asking about Mac’s phone number. But since Dustin was probably sound asleep, he’d likely have to get that number after sunup.

As he turned onto his street, he saw a vehicle in his drive—Dustin’s Honda. His best friend had a key, so was probably inside.

He eventually found Dustin sprawled on his sofa, sound asleep, his arm crooked over his head. Rafael felt drawn to him like a magnet, but being too damned tired to fight his urges, he let himself look. Dustin’s T-shirt had ridden up, showing a stripe of pale skin, and Rafael imagined it soft and silky. His fingers itched to slip under the hem. He stared a little too long, though, and by the time he dragged up his gaze to Dustin’s face, he found his friend staring back at him, smirking.

“You want to take a picture of… something?” he drawled teasingly.

Heat flooded Rafael’s cheeks and he forced a chuckle. “Whatever.”

Dustin rose and hugged him hard, as if just remembering what had happened. “God, I’m so sorry, Raf. Is the girl going to be okay?”

Rafael nodded, but wrapped Dustin in his arms, his head falling on the man’s shoulder. They stayed like that for a while. With anyone else, Rafael might have been embarrassed that he was fighting the urge to cry. Dustin held him tight and shared his strength. It crept into Rafael, shored him up. Helped him get past the image of Daisy huddled in that hospital bed. At least for a while.

When he finally pulled away, Dustin kept his arms around him and Rafael was too exhausted to read anything into it.

“Why are you here?”

“Because I know you, Raf. I know you care about your students—you open your heart to everyone. But I also know you’ve been particularly worried about this girl. I just didn’t want you coming home to an empty house.”

Rafael’s heart cracked more and he felt raw, open, and vulnerable. The world had reared its ugly head and shown its hideousness. He also felt lonely. Bone tired and so lonely. And he didn’t want to be lonely. At least not for the night. He swallowed hard. “Will you… stay?”

Dustin nodded, no hint of hesitation in his blue-green eyes. “Is there anything else I can do?”

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angie – ☆☆☆☆
This was a super sweet love story. Raf and Dusty have been best friends for years. Raf has loved him for years. Dusty took longer to realize he had the best of both worlds with Rusty. The chemistry was good, and I felt like I knew Raf a little more than Dusty, but that didn't bother me much. I did like how their group of close friends saw them as a couple way before they did. That's when you know they are good together. I learned wayyyyyy too much about airplanes and at one point, I was like if they go to that damn hanger one more time!!! I actually wanted to see more about their trip, but that part went fast and then the book was over. I enjoyed this book. If you want a sweet friends-to-lovers book with no angst, this is a good pick.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Love in the Clouds is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance about Rafael and Dustin, who have been best friends for 10 years. I really appreciated having a romance between two regular guys. Raf is a high school teacher and Dustin is a furniture maker who has a passion for flying. The guys spend the summer fixing up Dustin's plane. I loved the time the guys spent together, enjoying each other's company and falling in love, and the build-up to the two of them finally hitting the sheets was well done.

But I had a few issues with this book that meant I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped I would. Firstly, there is far too much show and not enough tell, which makes it hard to get emotionally connected with the story. There were a few tiny things that didn't quite gel in this book. Raf not knowing that Dustin was nerd in high school even through they've been friends for 10 years, the occasional phrase that didn't seem to fit, that sort of thing.

I did really enjoy the final scenes in the book and they had me smiling. It was easy to imagine myself in their place and to feel their joy. 3 stars from me.

Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.

Connect with Sarah

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Love in the Clouds by Sarah Hadley Brook to read and review for this tour.

Holding On by Sarah Hadley Brook Blog Tour

Eighteen-year-old Aaron Pickard is dealing with a lot: he’s falling for his straight best friend, his mother has ended up in the hospital after a violent assault by his father, and he’s trying to decide when to come out. Tack on the stress of an upcoming prom and graduation, a part-time job, and the possibility he could lose his best friend, and he’s an emotional wreck.

Aaron’s best friend Jeff Leaton provides a soft place for him to fall when his life is thrown into chaos, literally holding him each night as they fall asleep. As Jeff helps Aaron navigate through the mess that has become his new normal, Aaron’s feelings for Jeff intensify.

Aaron’s pretty sure it’s all going to end badly, but he’s holding on to hope.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Holding On straddles the line between Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA) romance. Our hero, Aaron, is 18 years old and in his final year of high school, which would have me leaning towards YA. But for a book about high school students, there is a good deal of detailed, steamy sex in this book, which tips it more into the NA category in my mind.

Aaron is dealing with a lot. He is gay and is scared to come out to his straight best friend, Jeff, who he is starting to crush on, his car is on its last legs, he is going to graduate soon and is working to save money for college, and worst of all, his home life is terrible.

When tragedy strikes Aaron's family, Jeff steps up and helps Aaron through the trauma as a good best friend would. To the reader, it is clear that Jeff would like to be more than Aaron's friend, but with his life turned upside down, Aaron can't see that.

There is a lot of heartache and angst in Holding On, but it is balanced out by the growing and changing relationship between Jeff and Aaron. This meant even with the heavy subject matter of family violence, I found this story to be a real page turner. Aaron is going through such a hard time I just wanted him to have happiness, he deserved some happy. I loved Holding On. This is the first book I've read by Sarah Hadley Brook and see she has a nice back catalogue of books that I will definitely be checking out.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 Stars

I need to preface this review by stating I'm not sure how I'd classify this novel. It's listed as YA/NA. The characters may be freshly eighteen, but they are still in high school, showing high school situations (with friends/prom/at school) under adult-supervision. That, in and of itself, would make it Young Adult.

However, the sexual content was that more of an adult novel, bordering on erotica. If anyone follows my reviews or writing, you'll probably be squinting as you read this portion of the review – I had a hard time not being skeeved out by the mature nature of the virginal couple's explicit dirty talk, having to think them much older than kids worrying about prom, Mom catching them in the act, and which college they were going to attend. I felt these two focal points had a bit of an identity crisis with young adult ages and situations and very adult sexual content.

During the last 30% of the novel, my mind glossed over the how/when/where, and pretended they were already in college.

I wouldn't recommend to actual young adults, unless they are mature for their age: 16+.

On to the review...

Aaron has a bad home life, with an alcoholic father and a mother who wouldn't leave to protect herself or her children (not judging – this was a trigger-read for me, as I was in the same position as the mother, and I had a hard time reading as this would have been my end if I hadn't left). The alcoholism, abuse of many types, and violence was beyond realistic, in my 'real life' opinion, hitting very close to home for me. It definitely gives an in-depth look from both the perspective of the mother and the children.

Jeff is Aaron's best friend – Aaron's rock. Jeff becomes Aaron's support system as Aaron navigates the devastating aftermath of his home life. The portion of the novel was evocative, gut-wrenching, and painful to read. Jeff not only comforted Aaron, but the reader as well.

Their friendship is solid, as is that of the supportive side cast. There are two main threads at play in the novel – the aftermath and a friends-to-lovers storyline.

Aaron's reluctance to see the truth, while right in his face, and every single person he comes into direct contact with tries to explain it to him, and Jeff shows it rather than says it, this was beyond frustrating, how purposefully blind the author created Aaron to be. A few times, I actually didn't like Aaron, and I couldn't write it off as behavior due to grief or due to his naive, younger age. Purposefully obtuse, baiting, bratty and punishing, ungrateful to Jeff, and this showed the darker facets of Aaron's personality. The actions/reactions/conversations between Aaron and Jeff negated Aaron's inner monologue about Jeff not wanting him. At first, I devoured the angsty nature of it, but then it became too much.

Overall, I was captivated by the novel, empathizing with Aaron and Jeff, and I recommend to mature readers who won't be triggered by alcoholism/domestic violence/parental verbal and mental abuse.

Sarah Hadley Brook lives smack-dab in the middle of the Heartland and is the mother of two wonderful young men, as well as two cats. During the day, she works in the nonprofit world, but reserves evenings for her hobby-turned-passion of writing, letting the characters she conjures in her mind take the lead and show her where the story will go. When not working or writing, she can be found reading, working on dollhouses, trying her hand at new recipes, or watching old movies and musicals. In her ideal world, Christmas would come at least twice a year, Rock Hudson and Doris Day would have costarred in more than three movies, and chocolate would be a daily necessity. She dreams of traveling to Scotland some day and visiting the places her ancestors lived. Sarah believes in “Happily Ever After” and strives to ensure her characters find their own happiness in love and life.

Connect with Sarah

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Holding On by Sarah Hadley Brook to read and review for this tour.