Book Review: Kai’s Healing Smiles
Kai’s Healing Smiles by Vivi Anne Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This simple boy meets man romance story is made complex by the characters themselves. Silas is a middle-aged professional architect, and a widower who lives in a constant state of mourning for his wife. Kai is a young, fresh-faced kid working behind the counter at Starbuck’s.
It just so happens that Silas visits Starbuck’s every day to get a fancy, frothy drink, part of a sad widower’s ritual. But seeing the smile on the cute barista’s face becomes a part of the ritual… and just might be the key to helping Silas move on with his life.
Nearly every character in this bittersweet novel is flawed and messy in one way or another. Every one of them is well-developed to the point that no one feels superficial to the story. As they intersect with our main protagonists, they all help carry the story forward.
It’s not difficult to see where the story will end up – but as the saying goes, the chase is better than the catch. Course, if you are here for the steamy sex with lots of kink, you’ll enjoy the catch too! But I appreciated very much that the road to bliss was paved with a lot of issues. The payoff is all the better for it.
PLEASE NOTE: The author gives clear warnings:
*Tropes: age gap, hurt comfort, Daddy/boy kink
*Content warnings: mature sexual content and language
*Trigger warnings: sexual assault, grief
If any of the tropes or warnings point to something you wish to avoid, please do so. There is a large audience for writing of this nature, but it’s not for everyone.
Lori Alden Holuta
Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.
