~ A Surplus of Light by Chase Connor ~

 

Author: Chase Connor

Title: A Surplus of Light

Pages: 172

Release date: 2018 September

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Rating: ★★★★★

Blurb: 

"He's a psycho." That's what Mike is told when he asks who the kid is with the dark swoop of hair and eyes that look like icebergs floating in milk. 

From that moment, it becomes Mike's mission to find out everything about this kid. 

The kid who can fight better than anyone, but doesn't want to. The kid who is the greatest artist Mike's ever met. The kid who only wants to be his friend during the lightest days of summer. The kid who tells him that being his friend at school will only ruin Mike's reputation. 

Regardless of what the kid tells Mike, he doesn't realize that summer is the best time--it has the most light--and it makes it easier for Mike to see who he truly is. 

And there's no way Mike will back off once he sees this kid for who he truly is.

My review: 

First of all - I love the cover! That was the first thing that caught my attention - and now that I read the book, I'm happy to say that it's beuatiful in and out. 

"A kid who could lay an older and bigger bully out with one punch but didn’t actually want to fight. The kid who just wanted to sketch his pictures and be left alone. Ian Chambers. It might as well have been the name of a God."

The story was told in two time plane. The original one was when we got to see Ian and Mike in real time, at the end of their high school years, and the second was their memories. Those memories of four years of summers. Usually I don't like it when a story is told in two different time, but now I really enjoyed it.

Those summers, those were the best thing. I can't imagine a life when I only have a summer to love someone, than comes September and the only thing you can do is to wait until next June. 

The author plays really well with the emotions and writes really well. I love the journey of falling in love, and Ian and Mike's love story was so beautiful. But my favorite thing is that Ian wasn't that person everyone seemed to think. Ian had depths and was a really great character. I prayed for patience for him and for Mike. I prayed for endurance for Ian toward his family. But most of all I prayed for a beautiful and emotional happy ending!

"If I’m willing to get my heart broken, the least you can do is agree to be the one who breaks it.”

Mike had fallen in love so easily and it was hurting me to watch him to be desperately in love with Ian, while Ian was like a rock and said always no. But his strength wasn't endless either... :)

"And if I’m going to give the last of myself to someone—it should be you.”

It was really great to watch them grow up together when it was their time together. They did many things, and they were each other's happy place. But summer only last for three months.

“I don’t want you to give yourself to me, Ian.” Mike was in front of me now. “I want you to share yourself with me.”

Teenage love story with all the difficulities. Loved Ian and his art, loved Mike and his strength, and loved that this story wasn't one of many. Because it's unique.

"The real question is when didn’t I know I loved you?” 

“When didn’t you know?” He asked. 

“When I didn’t know you existed,” I said. “Once I knew you existed, well, there wasn’t a time I didn’t love you.”

My biggest weaknesses are perfectly and beautifully written love stories, and this book was just that. I don't need full on sex on every page, I'm happy with none at all. 

Highly recommend.