After Ben

3.25 stars. This was a hard book to rate. There were a lot of things I liked about it. The portrayal of grief, and the slow recovery from a devastating loss, was movingly captured. I truly felt how much Ben had meant to Theo and his struggle to redefine his life after the initial shock had worn off. The connection with Morgan, especially after they met face to face, was intense and passionate. I appreciated the fact that once Theo decided he was all in, he was fully committed without lingering guilt or doubt. And I also found Theo's relationship with his parents to be well crafted and developed, demonstrating that it's never too late to forgive and change. But the writing style at times got in the way of the story for me. There was a lot of telling instead of showing, especially in Theo's initial online conversations with Morgan. We're told that they had lively debates about a variety of topics but we never actually see evidence of them. And while I found the flashbacks to Theo's life with Ben to be poignant reminders of how much they loved each other, the author also has a weird habit of starting a chapter and then flashing back to something that just happened a few hours or days ago. It made the story feel much more passive to be reporting on something instead of engaging in it as it happened. Theo isn't always an easy character to like. He is inappropriate bordering on creepy with his young interns, and he totally takes his amazing assistant Maggie for granted. Morgan too has his faults, including a tendency to be judgmental and moody. But that's actually a plus for me; love and romance shouldn't be reserved for perfect characters only. In a way it's more meaningful to find myself rooting for two people who I don't always like; it means they feel real to me. In summary, this book was a mixed bag for me, but it was very emotionally impactful in several places so I'd rate it as slightly above average. I had a similar reaction to another Con Riley book, [b:Must Like Spinach 32712654 Must Like Spinach Con Riley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476974816l/32712654.SY75.jpg 52701614], so I guess I would include her in my list of Maybe I'll Take a Chance On Their Next Book authors.