[Book Review] Come What May By A.M. Arthur & Mavericks Coffee Co. Absinthe Flavored Ground Coffee

Title: Come What May
Series/Universe: All Saints #1
Author: A.M. Arthur
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication date: May 23rd 2016
Page Count: 320 pages
Age Rating: Adult (language, explicit sexual scenes, minor violence)
How I got my hot little hands on it: Received an ARC to review
Publisher’s page: Come What May

Jonas needs Tate. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Or at least, he doesn’t want to admit it. Because there is no way Jonas Ashcroft is gay. He’s a straight, carefree frat boy player, just like any good son of a conservative state senator. If only his struggle to convince everyone—especially himself—didn’t leave him so miserable. No matter how many girls or bottles he drowns himself in, Jonas can neither escape nor accept who he is.

Enter Tate. He’s smart, confident, and instantly sees right through Jonas’s surly exterior. Sure, he’s done things in life he’s not proud of, but he knows who he is and what he wants. And what he wants is Jonas. As their easy friendship intensifies into something more, Tate introduces Jonas to a life he’s never known. One filled with acceptance and sex and a love that terrifies and excites them both.

But some inner demons refuse to be shaken off so easily. When Jonas’s old life barges in, he faces a shattering choice, one that could destroy everything he and Tate have fought so hard for. Sometimes love just isn’t enough—and sometimes it’s exactly what you need.

Book One of All Saints, the brand-new series from A.M. Arthur.

My Review

A.M. Arthur is back at it again with Come What May, the first book in the new All Saints series – Arthur’s third trilogy set in a fictional version of Wilmington, Delaware. This book can be read on its own, but if you’re a fan of Arthur’s Restoration or Belonging series (set in the same fictional version of Wilmington, Delaware) you’ll recognize a few familiar faces and landmarks.

Come What May is the story of twenty-one year old Jonas Ashcraft, who’s drowning under the expectations of society in general and his father in particular, and the lifeline he finds in the arms of street smart Tate Dawson.

Jonas has lived what others might see as a charmed life as the son of a state senator. College, frat, girls – Jonas is living the American dream set out for him by his conservative father – until he messes up and gets himself temporarily expelled from school. Now Jonas is living with an aunt and uncle he’s little more than strangers with and working at their thrift store as punishment for his sins. Although it seems like hell to the pampered college boy in the beginning, he quickly realizes it’s just the wake-up call he needs – and it all starts when he meets Tate.

Tate has never been handed anything in his life. Orphaned at a young age, he had to work hard to keep him and his sisters together and now runs a homeless shelter for LGBT teens. When Tate meets Jonas, he immediately endeavors to strike up a friendship for less than altruistic reasons, but as the two actually start spending time together he sees Jonas is in need of a real, genuine friend. For all Jonas’ “model gorgeous” looks, his self-esteem is crap and he’s in deep denial about his sexuality.

Things move quickly between Jonas and Tate and it’s fairly obvious from very early on that pretty deep feelings simmer just below the surface. The pair barely manages to stay “just friends” for a very short period before they can’t keep their hands off each other. Poor Jonas goes through a lot in his journey to come out, from under the shadow his soul-crushing, domineering father, as well as being comfortable in his own sexuality, and the deep bond the two guys forge really is a lifeline for them both –  it’s a pretty emotional ride, one that held my rapt attention and even had me crying at parts.

Emotional, captivating, romantic, and sexy – A.M. Arthur hit one out of the park once again with Come What May. I have honestly never read an A.M. Arthur book that disappoints and I can’t wait for the next book in the All Saints series, Say It Right (Coming September 12^th).

In Come What May, Tate introduces Jonas to many new experiences – one of the more innocent of these is musicals, particularly Moulin Rouge, which goes on to have a special meaning for the couple. When they first watch it, Jonas confuses the green Absinthe fairy on the DVD menu with Tinker Bell before Tate sets him straight. Absinthe, as Tate explains to Jonas, was very popular during the Bohemian era in France, the setting for Moulin Rouge, and has some particular importance in the movie as well. I myself have never tried Absinthe, but for a safe alternative, without the famed (arguably over-exaggerated) hallucinogenic effects of the original, I recommend Mavericks Coffee Absinthe Flavored Ground Coffee – an intensely flavored coffee made with fennel, wormwood and anise flavors that give it a strong earthy licorice taste.