A slow burner but beautifully told,I enjoyed this bokk and would be intetested to read more from this author

I liked reading how Brad finally realized what would make him happy and went for it. I would've liked a bit more of peek into his relationship with Nashan, but overall it was a really good feel-good book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a short romance that looks at the pressures of being a doctor, and the heir to everything your family holds dear. Brad loves his work with people in need, but hates the politics and greed associated with the many boards he reports to. His mother ignores who Brad is, and tells him who he should be, and his brother is able to pursue whatever life he wants, as all expectations are on Brad. If you wanted to draw royal parallels you wouldn't be far off. Brad is tempted sometimes to end his life like his father did, but through making connections outside his stressful work and family life, and agreeing to therapy, he begins to work through expectation and to what he wants. The romance is slow, and healthy. Brad is supported by, and supports those who care about him. If you want a quick, but healthy, sweet romance, this definitely fits the bill.

Ivory by J. Rocci is about Dr. Bradley Durrant who feels trapped by familial obligations and that he can’t be who he truly is. He’s barely living life, if what you call what he is doing living. He’s barely there and quickly spiraling. Then he starts playing chess with his elderly neighbor, Mr. Windham, every Tuesday. During these games he slowly begins to heal and wake up from the passive way he had been living.

During one of these chess nights, Brad meets Mr. Windham’s grandson, Nashan. As Brad spends time with the Windham’s he starts to flourish and becomes the man he always hoped to be. He’s happy, taking time for himself and enjoying life.

I think what resonated with me was the fact that I can relate to Brad so much. It hurt seeing how much he had given up on life and was only living for his patients. Then when Nashan appeared, it was the little bit of hope Brad needed to make a change. Nashan offered Brad something he never had. A true friend. Seeing their relationship blossom, it just left me feeling like I was wrapped up in a warm blanket snuggled up with my pillows. That good ya’ll.

I read the first line of the blurb (“Trapped by familial obligations, engaged to a fiancée he doesn’t love, and crippled by the regrets of his past, Dr. Bradley Durrant is miserable and rapidly caring less about his own health as he works himself to the bone at the family hospital.”) & immediately decided that yes, this is the kind of a broken gay I want to read about. Because clearly I hate myself… And just to be clear, what this line promises is exactly what we’re getting.

From the very moment we meet Bradley, it’s clear he’s miserable. He loves his job and he loves helping kids, but everything else about his life? Simply a nightmare. And the great thing about this novella is that we do actually learn this by seeing how he acts and what he thinks about. “Telling over showing”? This book never met her. And it’s not even the end of compliments I can sprout on the writing!! It’s honestly beautiful? It’s simple but at the same time feel very lyrical, with a poetical turn of phrase every few paragraphs that always drives a point home in the best way possible. It’s honestly quite quotable? Which I think it’s amazing given how Ivory is barely 70 pages long & a lot of authors would simply just focus on telling the story and not bother making it feat an Aesthetic.

There was a brief moment when I thought that despite this great style, the dialogues are kind of stiff. But very soon I realised that’s only the case for Brad himself. Once Nashan shows up, it becomes abundantly clear that it’s just our protagonist who talks like that. And actually all the characters are very vivid and on top of that have their own manners when it comes to talking. There are even a couple catchphrases!

Frankly, the only character that seems one-dimensional is Brad’s mother. We need her to act the way she does for the sake of the plot & it all works perfectly well, it makes sense, but if I were to look for a flow, this would be it. (On the other hand, there are people like that out there in the real world so…) Speaking of his mother though! I can’t explain exactly what made me so happy regarding her arc because it’s a spoiler but god, Brad’s relationship with her was actually like a breath of fresh air? It was bad, objectively speaking, but I loved how it was portrayed and on what note did it end for the reader.

Okay, but let me get to my Point™ though. Because this novella? This seventy pages long story? It’s very clearly a romance. And yet, the romance isn’t the main arc. Let’s be real, not even a lot of properly long novels manage that, manage to make the main character more important than the love story. That’s precisely what we get here! Bradley is the most important part of this story and that doesn’t change when he meets the love interest. Even more importantly, love doesn’t work as some magical cure for this depression. Sure, Nashan turns out to be the push Bradley needed to get his life on track again. He was the one to convince Brad to see a therapist and he’s always there supporting him, helping him move forward and see the light at the end of the tunnel. But it’s Bradley who saves himself. It’s Bradley who takes meds, it’s Bradley who goes to therapy, it’s Bradley who works hard & makes important changes in his life. He finally learns to stand up for himself, to put himself first, to be that little bit of selfish that’s needed to be healthy. The romance? Is just a beautiful bonus.

All of this makes Ivory an incredibly soft story. Every single time that Bradley does something good for himself, puts a smile on your face. Every single time that he & Nashan smile at each other and flirt shyly, makes your heart grow. Honestly? I’m a little bit in love with this book.