The Gift

​Synopsis

Daniel

I suck at relationships and don’t trust anyone, but there are reasons for that. For one thing, every person I’ve ever cared about has let me down. The only recent exception: O’Leary’s town veterinarian...my new best friend.

I came to O’Leary for a fresh start. To pare things down to essentials. To forget about the failures in my past. The last thing I need is complications, and most definitely

Not.

A.

Boyfriend.

Julian

I’ve lived in O’Leary my entire life and learned to fly under the radar a long time ago. I do what’s expected, say what’s expected, and keep to myself as much as possible. It’s a hell of a lot simpler spending my time working with animals than trying to interact with actual people. The one unlikely exception: the gorgeous guy who moved to a cabin just outside of town and somehow became my best friend.

But friendships are complicated, and one morning I find myself accidentally telling the whole town the biggest lie of my life. Which is how Daniel Michaelson, my very straight, very hot best friend becomes my fake boyfriend, even though he’s most definitely

Not.

My.

Lover.

love in O'leary #2 writer May Archer series Love in O'Leary 2 published 04-01-2019 main character(s) Julian Ross & Daniel Michaelson location O'Leary, New York Goodreads: ★★★★☆ 4.23/5 3557 ratings Personal rating: ★★★☆☆

​Even though I didn't review the first book of the O'Leary series [only recently getting back into it], I liked it well enough. May Archer's writing is airy and light, quick to read. Setting a nice easy pace away from my life. The gift moves on in the same way. Overlapping with the timeline of the fall. Daniel is a loner, fleeing his life and family and keeping mostly to himself, making him not well-loved in the small town. Not that he cares, which I love. I've always been more drawn to the silent characters in books and Daniel doesn't disappoint. I like his point of view of just being honest. The connection between him and Jullian feels authentic and flows pretty nicely. However, I was a little confused in the beginning, with the back and forward of the timeline, But it got better during the story. I do actually like both main characters and the way they connect feels like a normal way of events. I've always rolled my eyes at those stories where the main characters hate each other and then all of a sudden fall madly in love. Yeah right. Thankfully, May Archer seems to stay away from that sort of story. We get to see Daniel slowly interact more and more with the O'Learies and Julian's family. Sometimes however it does feel like there could be a little more depth to the characters. Especially with Daniel and his father/family, it would've been nice to get a glimpse of how his trip to reconnect went. And the arguments he and Julian have sometimes feel like a sort of afterthought, insert drama, it feels so random, nothing two adults wouldn't just talk about. Overall I enjoyed the story and looking forward to reading the third book in the series. May Archer is certainly an author I will keep an eye on in the future.