Walking on Broken Paths by Amy Aislin

Desperate to escape the pain of his brother’s death, Jesse Melnik ran—but he couldn’t outrun the grief, no matter how much distance he put between himself and his past. Now, after fifteen years of trying, he’s finally ready to face his hometown of Charlottetown again.

He expects the memories of his brother to hover in every corner of his family’s sailboat and whisper in every sea-tinged breeze.

What he doesn’t expect is Parker Willis, the best friend he left behind without a word the day he fled.

And he certainly doesn’t expect old feelings to resurface.

Parker’s been stuck in a rut since his father died three months ago. Every day is the try to keep his father’s dinner cruise business afloat so he can chip away at Dad’s debts, all while working a job that leaves him more frustrated than satisfied.

Then Parker’s routine shatters in the best way Jesse Melnik returns to Prince Edward Island for the summer, all six feet three inches of gorgeous hockey player.

Now, that’s different.

Jesse kickstarts Parker’s heart.

Parker makes Jesse feel again.

And although both men are a little bit damaged from struggling down the broken path of loss, maybe—just maybe—if they can lean on each other, they’ll learn to move forward at last.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/234341631-walking-on-broken-paths

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

After Jesse lost his brother he couldn’t stand being home. So he ran far away and lived his hockey dreams. But after 15 years, it was time to finally come home. At least for the summer. But coming home means facing what he left behind and who he left behind. Like Parker. His best friend since they were kids, Jesse was so caught up in his grief, he couldn’t bear to stay in touch with him either. But reuniting with Parker feels like he never left and all those old feelings start coming back. But Jesse is still righting so many wrongs from how he spent the last fifteen years. His grief made him lash out in terrible ways and even though he has been doing his best to change, he still doesn’t feel like it erases his past. So as much as he wants to be with Parker, does he deserve it? Parker, meanwhile, has been facing his own problems. He lost his dad only a few months ago and he has been drowning ever since. He left a job he loved to keep his dad’s business alive and out of debt. There is so much he still wants to do but how can he do that when he is still grieving? But then Jesse walks back into his life and this time, he won’t let him go. Not without a fight. I adored these two. Broken in similar yet different ways, it was clear they have always loved one another and it so sweet that they finally are back together. They finally get a chance to explore the feelings that both were too young and scared to admit. And as they spend this summer together reconnecting and moving on from so many hurts, it heals them both in ways they only ever hoped for. Loved, loved this story! It was just so good and I loved getting to know these two characters. You don’t want to miss this one!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.