Be the Match An Emerald Hearts Novel
Contemporary Romance, Gay Romance
Dreamspinner Press
May 28th, 2024
Kindle
216
Amazon
Dylan McKenzie loves his life with his chosen family. He’s come to terms with his family’s rejection and lives life on his terms as a gay man. Now he’s headed to Seattle, meeting a nephew he didn’t know he had. It’s love at first sight and now he can’t let go.
Ryan Blackstone is desperate to cure his son’s leukemia. The doctors tell him he needs a miracle, and that’s what he’s determined to get. Ryan discovers Dylan is more than a miracle. He’s the man who sparks something in Ryan he hasn’t allowed himself to feel in a long time.
Together, Ryan and Dylan must get past their families and their fears. They will have to stand strong to be the perfect match they’ve both always wanted.
Review By Sherry Perkins
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
“Ryan didn’t know what wonderful was supposed to be, but it wasn’t what he shared with Lindsay.” —Be the Match
Be the Match could have been a maudlin tale about childhood leukemia but it’s not. It’s a story filled with love, hope, resilience and overcoming more than one piece of bad news. Categorized as billionaire romance, yes, it is that, and it’s also a satisfying “making things right” story—which is obviously easier to accomplish if you’re a billionaire.
Although the plot centers on finding a bone marrow match for his son, it winds through tragedy, betrayal, and pressing business concerns. Billionaire Ryan Blackstone has recently lost his wife, Lindsay, in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, he discovers their son, Leo, has leukemia. Almost too much trauma for him to bear, Ryan’s sister, Stephanie, is doing what she can to help stave off immobilizing all this grief. There’s also a dedicated and maternal housekeeper who is a grounding source for Ryan.
In a bit of a plot twist, Ryan learns Lindsay’s brother—whom Ryan had previously been told was dead—turns out to be quite alive and is a possible bone marrow donor match for Leo. Dylan McKenzie, according to Lindsay’s parents died a long time ago. The truth of the matter is that when they discovered Dylan was gay, they’d rather have everyone think he was dead than admit they had a gay son. A gay son they rather quickly kicked out.
Dylan leaves without a backward glance. He’d been living a life very much different than the billionaire life of his parents, his sister and her husband. But when he finds out he has a nephew, a nephew who truly needs him, Dylan is willing to do whatever it takes to save him. At some point in this story about medical altruism and what it means to be family, Dylan and Ryan find they have more in common than Leo or Lindsay.
A little strained at times, their attraction and eventual love takes an unexpected turn when Dylan discovers Lindsay wasn’t nearly the perfect wife he’d imagined. With the bone marrow donor story as a backdrop, we find ourselves caught up in a side journey about Ryan’s tech company and what Lindsay was orchestrating before her death.
Be the Match was appealing, not too unlike the 2010 Australian movie Matching Jack with its similar themes but different family dramas. However, West’s twist involving Lindsay seemed forced, but it definitely served to move the plot ahead. Just the same, I would have liked that Ryan and Dylan found each other during a time of crisis without the melodrama involving Lindsay. Whether Be the Match, or Matching Jack, both have a happily-ever-after ending that makes the trauma not only bearable but life changing, positive moments.