dumped by his long term boyfriend, jeremy has no choice but to turn to his best friend, max in see the light. they've been friends forever, former roommates even. so of course max willingly gives jeremy a place to crash as he figures out his next steps.

it's just that max has been in love with jeremy forever. and jeremy doesn't see it. he's laughed any time max has tried to voice his feelings. and max has always let it go because at least as only friends he still gets to be a part of jeremy's life.

but it's impossible to ignore the tension building the more time they are alone together. and once they cross a line it will not be so easy to go back. and neither of them want to, but they also have to figure out their new normal. they have to figure out if this thing between them is the real thing and not just a matter of convenience.

because if it's everything, then it's the best thing. because of course falling in love with your best friend is perfection.

**see the light will publish on january 28, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this Broadway-focused, friends-to-lovers romance. I learned a lot about the behind the scenes ins and outs of Broadway while getting lost in the slow burn romance between Jeremy and Max. I appreciated that this story wasn't an information dump, but seamlessly incorporated the characters' jobs and interests. Max was my favorite of the two, by far, and he makes some pretty tough decisions. He's so sweet and unaware of his effect on Jeremy. Though Jeremy is late to the party, no thanks so his ungrateful ex, he finally gets there and it's magical.

I love Broadway. Especially Broadway musicals. I am a certified theater geek and drama nerd. No shame. And I absolutely loved that musical theater, Broadway and all of the behind the scenes was so prominent in this love story.

This is a friends to lovers- my favorite. Max and Jeremy grew up together as best friends. Roomed together in college and shared an apartment after college. Until Max and his unrequited love could take it no longer. But they remained best friends because Max didn't really tell Jeremy how he felt. And being that they remained best friends, Max offers his couch when Jeremy and his live in boyfriend break up.

The first kiss scene was a bit contrived and cheesy, but it was still swoony and sweet. Seeing Jeremy realize what was right in front of him was awesome. And Max got everything he was wanting- and sabotaged it!

There was mention of Max not knowing how to be truly happy because he had battled depression in the past. And he does look into seeing a therapist again. But that was about it. I would have liked to see that go further. It's an aspect of depression that I think doesn't get explored enough.

So it is Jeremy that fights for the happily ever after. And I loved it.

The setting is New York City and off Broadway for this friends-to-lovers story. Jeremy is an actor and is kicked out of the apartment he shared with his ex. His best friend, Max, offers his sofa. Max is a solid guy with his own makeup artists business. He's been waiting forever for flighty Jeremy to settle down. Id friends-with-benefits good enough for Max? Or will Jeremy get over himself and realize that Max is the one.

4.5 stars for this friends to lovers romance. This was a super slooooow burn. It wasn't until a third of the way into the book before these two even share a kiss. There is tons of background and insight into their jobs. I applauded Max for being brave enough to speak up, but his inability to grab ahold of the happiness Jeremy is offering frustrated me. Jeremy's honesty was refreshing. He didn't hold back on what he was feeling until Max pulled away and threw up roadblocks. The ending was really sweet.

This is a nice read. It's fun. It's happy for the most part. It's relatively fluffy (despite the beginning). The characters are mostly likable. They're both pretty well adjusted successful adults living their lives. There's nothing objectionable. Nothing major anyway. I just feel like "the book" expected me to feel one way about things and I felt the opposite. I think I'm supposed to feel like Jeremy is a dense unobservant jerk who takes Max for granted but I don't. I feel like Max was an insecure mess who played needlessly with Jeremy's life. Jeremy was never anything but upfront and honest with Max, and Max couldn't return the favor. Until the end at least, when they actually talk to each other for real. Also I was really happy that Jeremy didn't truly waffle over his feelings for Max, Max didn't with his own for Jeremy either but in a different way, it was like a switch was flipped but in a believable way. It felt realistic. I did enjoy seeing their professional sides. You don't often see books that feature a make-up artist so that was fun.

This friends to lovers romance starts off strong with likable characters and a good pace as Jeremy and Max slowly move out of the friend zone. However, the pacing slows down considerably once they cross that line and there are doubts about the future. From that point, the story becomes a lot more drawn out than I cared for, and while I appreciate that Jeremy lives and breathes all things Broadway, there are several lengthy passages about plays, movies, and trivia that pulled me out of the romance. I realize that some parts were relevant to the story with what Jeremy and Max do for a living, but the rest began to feel like so much filler after awhile. The story does get back to the romance after a lot of angst, and picks up in the last quarter or so, and I did like the ending. So, for me, this one was a mixed bag of some things I liked and others, not so much, leaving me somewhere in the middle.

This is an adorable best-friends-to-lovers story set against a theatre backdrop. Jeremy is about to give up his dreams to become a Broadway sensation, and it hasn't helped that his boyfriend has dumped him and kicked him out.

We also get Max's point of view - best friend who generously lets Jeremy sleep on his couch. Jeremy is somewhat oblivious to how besotted Max is with him, but we get to get to see all of Max's longings and resignation about any future with Jeremy.

It's all very sweet. Both boys are sympathetic and are trying to achieve their dreams. The theatre component is very well integrated through the romance, and as Jeremy's dreams start to become a reality, he looks to Max for more.


I really enjoyed this book, and have done for many of this author's work. Not too much angst, not much melodrama or crazy, but lots of singing and dancing and make-up!


Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for advanced copy. Due out on Jan 28.

I really enjoyed this story. Kate McMurray has a way of creating characters that are memorable—not because they are perfect, but because they are flawed.

In this instance, Jeremy and his best friend, Max, grew up in New Jersey and took advantage of their proximity to Broadway to indulge in their favorite activity—going to musicals. Actually, Max’s favorite activity was watching Jeremy enjoy the shows. His beautiful face would light up and he’d become entranced with the action, while Max enjoyed the side benefit of his best friend’s pleasure. And Jeremy could sing and dance so added to his good looks, they both knew he’d be Broadway bound as soon as they were done with school. And Max? Max honed his art talent, and when it appeared he could apply his talent with a brush to makeup as well as paint, he began to uses his face, and then others in school play productions (including Jeremy’s) as his canvas.

They’re now in their late twenties, Jeremy’s boyfriend has dumped him and kicked him out of his apartment, and so he comes knocking on Max’s door looking for a place to stay. And even though Max took his own apartment years ago because he loved Jeremy with all his heart, and he knows it’s a bad idea to be so close to him without revealing his secret, he gives in and Jeremy moves to his couch. For a while…until he ends up in Max’s bed. And Max wants him there. He finally tells Jeremy just how much he loves him, but then doubts himself and worries that if Jeremy can’t return his love, they’ll lose what they have as best friends. And that would kill Max. So just as Jeremy lands the lead role on a new Broadway show—his chance of a lifetime—and Max gets the contract to do the makeup for that same show and another huge production, Max asks for a cooling off period and sends them both into chaos.

And that’s when the angst kicked in. For me, it was too much angst for too long. Yes, we learn that Max suffers from depression and has lower self-esteem than seems warranted by what we learn of him, but the period of separation and anxiety and self-induced angst that then carried over to Jeremy at a time when he should have been on top of the world made me start to really dislike Max. And that’s too bad because he was a well-developed character. Perhaps that was the point the author wanted to make. Those who suffer from depression sometimes scuttle their own boat. I’ve seen it in my family. He should have been (blank) and he should have done (blank). Shoulda, coulda, woulda. But he nearly tanked them.

What saved the day is this young man, who knows now that he’s in love with his best friend, has been for a while though didn’t realize it until recently, who’s now at the pinnacle of his career because he kept trying, and dreaming, and hoping, and working toward his goal. And when he stops to think about it, he realizes he can’t give up on Max. He takes all his positive energy and focuses on the show and on being there when Max finally comes down from his anxiety ladder and sees the light. Pun intended.

So I loved the beginning, didn’t care for the level of tummy-turning angst in the middle, but from Chapter Twenty to the end, I couldn’t put the book down. I was there at the premiere, sitting in the front row as Jeremy stood alone in the spotlight and belted out the first notes to the song. This is most definitely a love story and if you’ve ever gone to a Broadway play or sang out loud with Streisand or Minelli, this book is for you.

3.5 stars- Rocky middle, but good read overall

See the Light is a standalone best friends-to-lovers romance. I always have a soft spot for this trope, so I went in really excited and hopeful for an upbeat book chock full of chemistry. To some extent I got that, but this one didn’t quite grab me as much as I’d expected.

See the Light starts off really strong, with childhood best friends unexpectedly sharing a studio apartment following a sudden break-up. I liked both characters immediately and loved the premise of a theater make-up artist paired with a theater actor as they try to land that career-defining gig on Broadway. Their close knit bond was evident from the start, as were Max’s unrequited feelings for Jeremy. Unfortunately, when things shifted between the men and moved into more-than-friends territory, the chemistry felt lacking and forced. The emotional angst took hold at that point and seemed more drawn out than necessary, inevitably pulling down the tone of the book. Happily, as the plot progressed and conflicts resolved, things came together and felt more natural to me. Overall, See the Light was a good story with great characters. I’ll definitely continue to be on the lookout for more from this author, but this title wasn’t quite all I hoped for when I read the blurb.

A friends to lovers story that will not disappoint. Max was a sweetie that definitely suffered from a lack of self esteem. He has loved Jeremy his best friend for years. Jeremy took a while to realize he had feelings for Max and then had to reassure Max he was not just a rebound. Misunderstandings abound but not heavy on the angst. An enjoyable read.

<u>See the Light</u> follows Jeremy and Max, best friends since childhood. Jeremy has just been broken up with and goes to Max for a place to stay. What he doesn’t know is that Max initially wanted to move out on his own because of his feelings for Jeremy. While staying on Max’s couch, Jeremy auditions for a new musical called See the Light that he feels was made for him, and Max gets a makeup job both for See the Light and a fantasy musical called Sword of Dawn, which he believes could be his big chance. Max’s feelings for Jeremy eventually come to light and they begin a relationship.

Overall I did really enjoy this. I loved the glimpses into the theater world and all the work that goes into a broadway production. I also really appreciated how much emphasis was placed on Max and Jeremy’s friendship, and how they wanted to remain friends first and foremost. There’s also some really wonderful scenes where they communicate and talk things through.

I didn’t enjoy as much that for a period the relationship was very sex heavy, like they flipped a switch from friendship to romance and it centered on sex. I also didn’t like the self-sabotage, even though could be seen as realistic given Max has depression.

This is a nice friends-to-lovers romance with a heavy Broadway setting. It was really nice how the musical set the story and layered it on top of the main romance.

Interesting new setting on Broadway. Liked the main characters and their journeys, both personally and romantically.

2* Ugh. Boring and slow, you have to be a real fan of the theatre to persist with this. One selfish lead and one doormat lead.

This tale started off well, with besties forced to be flatmates for a while, with Max and his unrequited love hosting Jeremy.

I wanted to like Max for his unselfish support of his best friend, but OMG, the guy had no backbone, was indecisive and there was no way I could believe that he ran a business in NYC with that kind of attitude. The author went on and on about make-up, drag make-up, prosthetics et al, and tbh, I ended up bored.

Jeremy came across as Me, Me, Me - self-centred, selfish and boring. And we're meant to believe that he's the object of admiration by a cast member, at the exact same time that his ex wants him back, and that he's in a sort-of FWB relationship with Max? The guy hardly sounded like a prize, and tbh, was very up himself.

The tale was interminable. I hit 30% and started to skim-read, because that was the only way I was going to be able to finish. It was TMI re costumes, lines from shows, Jeremy's woe-is-me attitude, Jeremy's mooching off Max - and I don't think he ever bought or paid for one single thing. Anthony was a better co-lead for Max, actually, and I was hoping Max would see the light, dump Jeremy out of his life forever, and move on.

The sex in this was formulaic and seemed added in for the sake of adding some sex, as after all, this is a MM 'romance'. There wasn't any romance in it in my book, pardon the pun as Jeremy was just a selfish user who liked having his cake and eating it, and fabricating angst where there was no need for any, and where a simple, with-eye-contact, honest conversation between so-called best friends could have resolved all the issues.

ARC courtesy of Carina Publishing and NetGalley for my reading pleasure.

First up, thank you so so much for approving my request! Secondly, sorry, I couldn't finish this one. I was so excited, it had all the ingredients that made my eyes have hearts. LGBT, MxM romance, actors, theatre, hilarity, and I was so excited. But from the start the pacing had issues. I am now stranded at 30% and I just can't imagine how this book is still 70% away from the end. Sure, the MCs are not yet together (YET), but I just can't see that taking 70%, I can see that happen in maybe 10%, maybe 15%.

The MCs are both really fun though, and I love these guys. Jeremy is just such a fun dude and I love that he acts, that he can sing and dance and be totally fabulous and not cocky. Then there is Max, oh Max with his amazing talent for make-up. And the passion is there, these two dorks should just talk for once instead of not doing anything. :P I also love their friends, the drag queens. I am also laughing my butt off at times.

I also just adore the cover. Look how cute that is. I love the lighting in that one. It just awwwwwww!

But yeah, pacing. Ruining my fun. So I am sorry, I just cannot finish it. 4 stars for the fantastic characters, the cute romance that have me shipping them like craycray, and the side-characters. A big fat 1 star for the pacing that totally has me stuck. :|