Second Chance At First Love

Some Background...

Fourteen Summers is a New Adult/Young Adult LGBTQIA Romance about three college-aged boys named Aiden, Max, and Oliver. Aiden and Max are identical twins who've shared everything- their childhood home, all the big milestones, and even their college apartment. To be honest, they're co-dependent and don't seem to know how to function without each other.

The brothers' relationship has continued on this way, for better or worse, until the summer they rediscover Oliver, a long-lost best friend (who also happens to be Aiden's long-lost childhood crush). When Oliver and Aiden both discover that the other is gay and single, the boys reconnect in a new way, leaving Max a bit out in the cold.

We get the chance to experience the novel through all three of the boys' perspectives, so we get the sweet (and sometimes bitter) second chance at love through Aiden and Oliver as well as Max's experience as he feels like he's losing both his brother and best friend all at the same time.

The Boys...

I think it's pretty important that we get to see how each of the boys individually feels because their communal relationship is so complicated. Each of them has underlying issues that wind up influencing the way they "problem solve" when it finally becomes obvious that they can't keep going on as they had at the beginning of the summer.

Oliver is kind and sensitive, the child of a broken and argument-filled home. In both Aiden and Max he finds a sense of family and belonging that he desperately lacked as a child and is terrified to lose a second time. Aiden is intelligent and usually sensible, but he's been stuck in his "older" brother's shadow (only five minutes older) for most of his life, and his relationship with Oliver makes him see how cold it can be when you've let yourself stay away from the light. Max is goofy, a bit irresponsible, and devoted to his brother, but he doesn't always see that his devotion might not be benefiting Aiden as much as he thinks it does.

Despite their complications, I genuinely liked them all, and I think that Anderson did an admirable job of giving each of them their own character development. Not only are the boys trying to figure out the overlapping conflicts in their communal relationship, but Aiden's trying to navigate his first romantic and physical relationship with someone else, Oliver is juggling deep-seated family issues, and Max has to realize that he might have abandonment issues.

They're human, and they're real. Even though they're in college, they're still "kids". It's amazing how one's maturity level can entirely disappear when arguing with a sibling; let alone an identical one with whom you've shared the spotlight your entire life. I'm one of four kids, and I've tutored/babysat triplets for the last eleven years; from my own experience, I feel pretty confident saying Anderson nailed that sibling dynamic. I can feel the family chemistry that Max and Aiden are supposed to have.

The relationship between Aiden and Oliver is sweet and desperate, that desperation where two people realize what they want and don't want to wait another minute to have it. Sometimes they're fumbling and awkward, but I think the characters work well with each other. I also like that Anderson writes their intimacy in a responsible way; they're not just frenzied college kids, they're two people who are learning to be partners, who want each other to be safe and comfortable. I think that's the best healthy role model for any readers to have.

Overall Impressions...

Fourteen Summers was a lot more than I was expecting. I'm going to be honest, I was expecting more fluff, but there was a wonderful substance, and I love being surprised. Not to mention, the ending is adorable and I love the full-circle nature of the story. I really liked the epilogue, and for me, it felt like a perfect ending to the story.

I would definitely be up for checking out more of what Riptide Publishing and Quinn Anderson have to offer.