5 and 4 Stars for Aria (Blue Notes #3) by Shira Anthony #MM #Romance @WriterShira @Dreamspinners

Title: Aria (Blue Notes #3)
Author Name & Publisher: Shira Anthony (Dreamspinner Press)
Publication Date & Length: December 24, 2012 – 236 pgs

Five years after a prestigious scholarship jump started his opera career, Aiden Lind has it all: fame, choice roles, and Lord Cameron Sherrington to share his life with. Maintaining his façade takes effort, but under his poised, sophisticated mask, Aiden is still the insecure kid from rural Mississippi. Then he walks in on Cam with another man, and the illusion of perfection shatters.

Philadelphia attorney Sam Ryan never moved on after his partner died, though he tried. Instead of dating, he keeps himself busy with work—but when he unexpectedly runs into ex-lover Aiden while on a rare vacation in Paris, he’s inspired to give their love a second chance. First, though, he’ll have to get Aiden to forgive him. Because when Sam was still grieving five years ago, he broke Aiden’s heart.

When rekindled lust blossoms into a true romance, it seems like the start of something wonderful. But Aiden’s career has him on the road much of the time, and the physical distance between him and Sam starts translating into an emotional disconnect. If Aiden and Sam can’t learn to communicate, their separation may prove more than their love can bear.

Note: The Blue Notes Series can be read in any order. Each is a stand-alone story from the same classical music universe.

This was the first in this series that I have read.  It was enjoyable and tender at times, maddening and frustrating at others. Perhaps this is what Anthony intended, but the lack of communication in this story was a total downer for me.

Sam is grieving his lover, Nick’s death when we first meet him.  While Sam knows that it’s time to move on, he has a difficult time making that decision – even more he has a difficult time following through on that decision.

Then you have Aiden.  I felt sorry for him from the beginning, due to his terrible relationship that he had with Cameron.  While I wanted to shake Cameron, I also wanted to shake my head at Aiden.  Love does tricky things to people – even allows you rose colored glasses.  I am so happy those glasses splintered.

When Aiden and Sam begin their journey, there is little to no actual communication about how their relationship will work.  It seems that there are hopes and dreams of what each imagine their relationship as, but without communicating, these two mess up time and time again.  And, in the end, I was so upset with Sam – but even more so with Aiden.  I felt that he slid right back to letting people walk over him again, just like when he was with Cam.  I wanted him to stand up for himself – with Sam’s family, with Sam.

So, despite my giving this book 4 stars, that was my main sticking point – lack of communication made for a longer book than probably was needed.

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Aiden has it all.. He is a famous Opera singer and the perfect person to share his life with or that is what he thought until he finds out how much his partner had been playing around behind his back.
Sam is a attorney who meets Aiden one night at a friends party and they both have a instant attraction to one another. But with Sam living far away from where Aiden lives and Aiden always traveling they both have a hard time making it work.

I thought this book was so sweet! Yes they have their up and downs but the way they work through everything together was just so sweet. Then there was the way you could feel how much they really cared for each other.

Loved the way this author wrote these characters and this story! The sweet and steam mixed in with some angst grabbed me from the beginning of this book and did not let me go until the end.

All together I really loved this story and would recommend this book!

~Kara

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Shira Anthony is a complete sucker for a happily-ever-after, and rarely reads or writes a story without one. Never a fan of instalove, Shira likes to write stories about real men with real issues making real relationships work.

In her last incarnation, Shira was a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as “Tosca,” “Pagliacci,” and “La Traviata,” among others. Her Blue Notes Series is loosely based upon her own experiences as a professional musician.

Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs and when she’s not writing, she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 36’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle.

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