Review: It Takes a Village by C.R. Guiliano

Title: It Takes a Village by C.R. Guiliano
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, M/F, M/M
Length: 214 pages/ Word Count: 43489
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher

Summary:

Too much alcohol results in a pregnancy between Skylar and her gay best friend, Jonah. But Jonah’s passions belong to another man, and Skylar flees with her secret. Tensions rise as the relationships grow more complicated and hearts intertwine.

To Skylar, Jonah’s the most perfect man in the world–sexy, sweet, and funny. But there’s one problem–he’s gay. After too much alcohol is consumed one night, her dreams come true, and she finds herself in his arms.

The closer Jonah gets to Triston, the more he believes this is the man of his dreams. However, Triston holds some resentment against Jonah’s best friend, which Jonah believes led to Skylar’s sudden and inexplicable disappearance. Burying the ache he feels at her loss, Jonah plunges headfirst into his relationship and gives his heart to Triston.

Aaron finally locates his estranged cousin, Jonah, and briefly meeting the shattered Skylar has turned Aaron upside down. Her disappearance is flaying Aaron as well as Jonah, but a chance meeting draws the threads of all three men’s lives back to one point–Skylar.

The Review:

C.R. Guiliano’s It Takes a Village is a very emotional, slightly melodramatic romance that is quite enjoyable. It is a complicated story about an unexpected pregnancy, unrequited love and new beginnings.

Skylar Taylor and Jonah Winters are childhood friends who are also BFFs and roommates. Skylar has been in love with Jonah forever although she knows he is gay. One drunken night later, Skylar discovers she is pregnant and now that Jonah is in a serious relationship with Triston Gallant, she decides to keep her news to herself and moves out. To make things even more confusing, Skylar is attracted to Jonah’s cousin, Aaron, who bears a striking resemblance to Jonah. Aaron is instantly drawn to Skylar, but any chance he has of pursuing a relationship with her ends with her disappearance. Until a chance meeting turns all four lives upside down….

Jonah is crushed and bewildered by Skylar’s disappearance, but since she refuses to see him, he concentrates his attention on his burgeoning relationship with Triston and rebuilding his relationship with Aaron. The relationship between Jonah and Triston is realistic and it grows slowly over several months. They are at a critical juncture when Skylar comes back into their lives and throws them into a tailspin. Given Triston’s background, his reaction to the situation is credible but it is his stubborn refusal to listen to Jonah that moves the story into an overly dramatic direction.

While I completely believed there were real emotions between Jonah and Triston, I cannot say the same about Skylar and Aaron. Aaron’s close resemblance to Jonah casts serious doubt about Skylar’s attraction to him and their romance progresses extremely fast. Their part of the storyline was very rushed and their romance had an insta-love quality to it. I was never quite sure if Skylar truly loved Aaron for who he is rather than who he resembled. Maybe if more time had been devoted to their relationship, I would have had an easier time accepting that she truly loved him.

Despite a few flaws, It Takes a Village is a unique story that I found quite engrossing. The characters are well-developed and three-dimensional. C.R. Guiliano’s epilogue brings the whole story together and I greatly enjoyed seeing how these four people found a way to make their relationship work for all of them. The happily ever after is unconventional but quite heartwarming.