Monday Mentions: Feb. 1, 2016

February - the month for love. Or so they say. Is it, or is it just that we are reminded to think of it? Or the lack of it?

This week the Banter chooses to think of it and brings you two new releases that touch on the realities and complications of love and relationships in the real world.

Things are not always roses and chocolates and love that you fight for is truly the sweetest.

BLURB: Jules Burns is a lonely baker mourning the loss of his husband, Andy. Teddy Flores is a numbed-to-the-world accountant who accidentally stumbles into his bakery and, with the help of a mouthy baker’s assistant, some good pastry and Jules himself, rediscovers his deep connections to pleasure, to the world and to his own heart.

Sweet is also the story of how we tell stories—of what we expect and need from a love story. The narrator is on to you, Reader, and wants to give you a love story that doesn’t always fit the bill. There are ghosts to exorcise, and jobs and money to worry about. Sweet is a love story, yes, but a story that reminds us that love is never quite what we expect, nor quite as blissfully easy as we hope.

BLURB:

Roses are red, violets are blue. They tied the knot, what kind of crazy will ensue? Ryan Keller and Brandon Ford have promised to be Tied Together forever. Seven years later, life is moving along according to their plan. Ryan gave up his job as a television producer to be a stay at home dad to their son, while Brandon works long hours as an OBGYN at the hospital. With baby number two on the way, life's about to get bumpy when someone from Brandon's abusive past reappears. Fearing Ryan won't understand his feelings, Brandon confides in the handsome male nurse who's always had a thing for the doctor. When Ryan discovers the truth, he's hurt, betrayed, and uncertain if their family is as strong as he believed. When a crisis arises with the surrogate carrying their second child, can Brandon and Ryan untangle to knots in their marriage to prove they can overcome anything that stands in their way?