Something Like Autumn: Something Like..., Book 2

Jace Holden is a truly wonderful person who does not deserve any negative thing he has ever experienced. This book moved me in so many ways. I cried several times during reading and after. Never in my life have I had a piece of media affect me this way. Its very difficult to read knowing how the story will end after Summer. Nonetheless I was so thankful to get to spend more time with Jace and uncover who he was before we met him with Ben. What a great person he was and it made his ending so much more impactful. Love is an important theme in these first two books of the Something Like... Series and Jace Holden is full of it. Having experienced it in so many forms throughout his life it's hard to believe that the person we meet in the beginning of this book becomes the man that so many would fall in love with. Jace is by far my favorite character in the series so far and although I loved every minute of reading this book the closer I got to the end the more somber I became. This wonderful person was going to be gone and each page brought me closer to that fateful day. The trials and tribulations of Jace and Victor are something that I was all too familiar with. It's tough to love someone who cannot love you in the way you need. Greg and Michele was a wonderful side story and the contrast of the deep relationship that Jace has with his family and the distance that I felt with Ben and his family is a great experience. I wasn't super close with my family so the amount of love that Jace receives is incredible to see throughout the story. Jace Holden was loved and he was able to get that one thing he wanted out of life. Taken way to soon and I will always be upset about the ending of his story. I am glad however that I got to experience the joy of getting to know him as a character and it felt like I was able to say goodbye by the end of this book.

I am honored to be the first or one of the first people to write a review of this superb book. Something Like Autumn is an equal among Something Like Summer and Something Like Winter. It deserves a seat next to them. Jay Bell was the first LGBT author I ever read and my first read was Something Like Summer that was bought on my kindle a couple of years ago. I've become an avid fan and the Something Like Summer series has been my gold standard to all other gay literature since. I was not sure what to think when I found out a few weeks ago that Jay Bell was writing Something Like Autumn. I had more than loved Something Like Summer/Winter and I was unsure of what story was left to tell about Tim and Ben except for their future. Though Tim and Ben are featured in Something Like Autumn, this book is dedicated to Jace, the man that was able to win the heart of Ben from the ridiculously handsome Tim Wyman. We know from other books in the series that Jace is a "saint", calm, collected, and seemingly always in control of his emotions. In this book, we see that is not always the case and come to understand what events took place that shaped Jace into the amazing person Ben fell in love with. We are introduced to his fantastic friend Greg, his loving parents, his wonderful sister Michelle, his guardian angel Benard, and the free loving Victor. They each were an important element in forming Jace and were superbly written. Most importantly, we got to see Jace's point of view and his reactions to Tim disrupting the "perfect" relationship that Jace and Ben had. We are privileged to see his thoughts, hear his words, and connect emotionally with Jace.This book, by far, has been the most emotionally charged filled in the series, in my opinion. I absolutely love the story of Tim and Ben, but ironically, my life has literally been parallel with Jace's. I recently came out three years ago at 28 years old only because my first love, like Jace's first love, met the same fate. This book was emotionally difficult for me to read and I cried numerous times throughout it because his life was just too eerily similar to my own and yet I love the life Jace lived. Jay Bell's insight into love is accurate and precise. It is true that you never stop loving someone even when you love someone else and this is an important lesson that Jace learns about life. Since we all know Jace eventually dies from the other books in the series, I would have to say that Jay Bell, a master author of love and its tragedies, was able to make this book not simply about the inevitable death of Jace, which was a difficult task because you already know the Jace's fate, but simply because Jay Bell was still able to make Jace's death a tearful surprise. In the end we learn that Jace's life is the perfect example of "Amor Vincit Omnia", Love Conquers All.If you are fan of the Something Like Summer series, then Something Like Autumn is a must read. I hope this review is helpful to you and that you come to the same conclusion that I did after reading this book, that life is definitely not easy, but love exists and it is the most powerful force in the universe. Something Like Autumn was released at a perfect time in my life and truly represents the season of Autumn, which givs us hope that when summer ends, we live through the love formed during the warm summer nights and rise to meet new ones to be formed during the cooling Autumn days. Finally, to the author Jay Bell, I know that when a person writes something, he will never know the complete impact of his writings. Just know, your books have given me hope. Homosexuality is promoted as promiscuous every where you look and yet your able to write the exact vision I see of gay love when I read about Ben, Tim and Jace. With all my heart, Thank You Very Much!

I have never been one to go to the final chapter and read it first. There was always a need for the natural progression of the story. “Something Like Summer” was like reading the final chapter of this book. I didn’t realize the connection was so intense. Now, I’m sad again, but I’m hooked. The character perspectives written in separate novels is ingenious... I can’t wait to roll back the clock and go back to Texas. I’m sure my emotions will fire up as I recall what I’ve seen from Ben’s perspective, but I’m totally hooked... maybe I will eventually need intervention. But, for now, Texas, here I come... again!

I'm not going to leave a long review (there are enough of those already) just a few brief notes of my experience listening to, and eventually reading, Something Like Autumn.I started this book by listening to the audio version. I liked it but didn't love it. At times the narration felt too slow and for some reason, I hated the accent given to Victor. For this reason, because I didn't like the sound of Victor, I found it hard to connect with him. I made it half-way though before switching to reading.The experience of reading? I LOVED it. The second half of the book was outstanding.This is the third story in the series. It is about Jace, who we already met, and whose future we already know. It provides all the background of how Jace became the man he was and I loved this level of insight. I loved Jace.I was prepared for the ending. I knew what to expect. I wondered how it would be handled from Jace's POV and how the story would be wrapped up. So I was ready. BUT... it ripped my heart to pieces, and I blubbered and cried my way to a headache.This book has a highly emotional ending but I highly recommend it. For me, though, it was much better read than listened to. If you think you might want the audio version, check out the sample and you can make up your own mind.

This is a well written story that stands alone but is probably better read in the order the author intended (after Something like Summer). Jay Bell has a great talent for creating real and memorable characters. From the first line of the first chapter of this book I was hooked. It's a real page turner. Jace's relationships with his family, the complicated Victor and loveable Ben are well written. The ending, although I knew it was coming, was still very moving. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I think Jay \bell is one of the best authors of M/M stories and this has been a really lovely story following a young mans life from early teens and it gripped me from beginning to end, it doesn't have the usual HEA but although it made me quite sad at the finish I nonetheless had to read it again, all of this authors books are good but this one is particularly poignant and I have no doubt I shall read it again.

WARNING, THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOTH THIS BOOK AND SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER, ITS PECEEDING STORY.I can't out my finger on where it happens, but somewhere a long the line this book got to me, no, scratch that... I can tell you EXACTLY where it happened, the first time, the second time, and that fateful third time that I knew was coming.Autumn was incredibly sweet and touching in places and then cruel and cutting in others. If I had one big criticism of this book its that the inevitable end portion of the book is handled too quickly,from splashtown to "the event" (as it shall be named) is too short, there's a whole host of back story between the two of them and what was going on there that I wish had been filled in. But then, this wasn't about that. This was about understanding Jace Holden and falling in love with him again and that certainly happens.This book has what may be my favourite line of any book I have read in the last few years however. "bens sister who had all the charm of a farting orangutan"this book also left me wanting more Allison and Jace scenes. The two had a really nice dynamic that wasn't much shown but alas some things are perhaps best left to the mind.I didn't want this to end, and even though I knew how it must end, I still couldn't help myself but read on. In a very daft way, I feel like I killed Mr Holden because I couldn't stop myself from reading.Overall a nice read but make sure your emotionally stable before you pick it up.P.S. kudos to jay bell for the compassion shown in his Epilogue to tell his story and his friends and provide a number of Suicide and Depression helplines. It shows the compassion of a good man.

Something Like Autumn (SLA) is the coming of age story of Jace Holden (65%) and his time with Ben from his perspective (35%). I strongly advise you to read Something like Summer (SLS) before reading this book. SLS paints the backdrop and SLA fills in all those annoying questions you had about Jace and his relationship with Ben.You can read SLA before reading Something Like Winter (SLW). In some ways it does work better that way. Though it may be harder to open your heart to Tim in SLW if you do it this way around.I promise you that you will not regret buying this book!*** Spoilers for previous books, do not read further than this if you haven't read them***After reading SLS and SLW, I have to confess that I didn't really have any real attachment to Jace. I just saw him as some literary device designed to act as a speed bump on Ben and Tim's journey together. He was just too nice, too understanding and baffling on how he could compete with Tim's torturous love for Ben.After reading SLA, this all changed. COMPLETELY. I love Jace so much, I love him more than Ben and Tim combined. I could finally see what Ben saw in Jace and how lucky Ben was to have him.Jay Bell will break your heart into a thousand tiny little pieces. I have never cried so much reading a book. When it came to the ending, even though I knew where the story was going, I was totally devastated. Not just a trickle of tears..... whole hearted sobbing.Jay Bell has a gift. Lesser authors fail to achieve the same connection with their readers because they are too ham fisted to take you on that journey of discovery. I can only hope Jay continues to write for a very long time. Thank you for writing this book!

****slight spoilers nothing major****I thouroughly enjoyed this book, I felt that learning more about the life of Tim and Ben was a very nice touch, I didn't think I'd like Jason that much, from the very beginning I felt he was going to be another Victor (Something Like Spring) but Jason quickly won me over.If you're a fan of the series this book is a must read, it's so heartwarming, not just from a romance perspective, but generally heartwarming as you witness the transition from a troubled teen, to a loved and cared for son.