Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox

Blank Spaces by Cass Lennox

Review by Lauren

source: copy from Netgalley; all opinions are my own

Official Summary: The decision to stop dating has made Vaughn Hargrave’s life infinitely simpler: he has friends, an excellent wardrobe, and a job in the industry he loves. That’s all he really needs, especially since sex isn’t his forte anyway and no one else seems interested in a purely romantic connection. But when a piece is stolen from his art gallery and insurance investigator Jonah Sondern shows up, Vaughn finds himself struggling with that decision.

Jonah wants his men like his coffee: hot, intense, and daily. But Vaughn seems to be the one gay guy in Toronto who doesn’t do hookups, which is all Jonah can offer. No way can Jonah give Vaughn what he really wants, not when Jonah barely understands what love is.

When another painting goes missing, tension ramps up both on and off the clock. Vaughn and Jonah find themselves grappling not just with stolen art, but with their own differences. Because a guy who wants nothing but romance and a guy who wants nothing but sex will never work—right? Not unless they find a way to fill in the spaces between them.

Review: I absolutely loved this story and I can't wait to read more by Cass Lennox. This is the first in the Toronto Connections series, so I'll definitely be reading on!

Anyway, this book is about Vaughn and Jonah, two vastly different people who just happen to both be gay and whose jobs intertwine. Vaughn works at an art gallery and when one of the painting goes missing, Jonah and his partner visit the gallery to determine if their insurance company needs to pay them. The theft seems suspicious, so they are waiting until they hand over a lot of money, as this is not the first time pieces have gone missing from the gallery.

Vaughn is well-dressed, comes from money, and doesn't like sex. It was obvious to me that Vaughn was asexual, but Vaughn doesn't have a word for it until later in the book. He just knows that sex isn't for him. He's still attracted to guys and would love to have a relationship, but he doesn't think anyone would be with him if they couldn't have sex. As for Jonah, he's a kid who grew up in the foster system and is desperate to make money and have a good life. He's also obsessed with sex, going out all the time and getting off with strangers. He's not dating. It just makes him feel better. It's a release for him.

Like I said, these are two very opposite men. I wasn't really sure how it would work, but it does. I won't say everyone will love their relationship but I liked that Lennox portrayed a modern relationship. It works for them. That's all I'll say on that. The theft mystery was really interesting and I was curious as to who was stealing them. It was a nice addition to the story. There are other secondary characters and story lines that are portrayed well in this book too. It was nice that it wasn't all focused on the relationship, as it made everything seem more real. Also, everything Jonah deals with is a good thing in terms of making him see how Vaughn could be a real asset to his life.

Overall, I really loved this one. I think it's great that more authors are exploring asexuality in books. There are varying types of asexuality and I think Lennox explained that well.