Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
Meet Milo and Mungo. Mungo and Milo.
Just friends. Best friends.
Honestly, there’s nothing more to it.
Just best friends. And bad timing.
That awkward moment when you realise you’re dancing alone. That you’re hopelessly in love with your oldest friend, except somehow along the way, you forgot to tell him. Tired of waiting for you to come to your senses, he’s moved on, he’s found his significant other.
And now it’s too late.
Though slowly dying inside, you pick yourself up, swallow your pride, and grieve from the side lines. And everything is fine, until the day you notice him acting strangely.
Why is he unhappy? A shadow of his former self?
You know him better than anyone and something is not right. Against good advice, you confront him. And risk ruining everything.
Cloud White is a friends-to-lovers romance with a hard-won happy ending. Be kind to yourselves and heed the trigger warnings.
The Review
Milo and Mungo have been the best of friends.They’ve have known each other since college day as roommates, and continued as housemates, and their friendship has never faded. They are both smart, and work for the same big law firm. Mungo deals with uncomplicated property conveyance, while Milo is in the upper echelon of patents law.
Five years ago, Milo made a mistake and broke Mungo’s heart. Milo claims he wasn’t ready. Being young and foolish, he had no concept of commitment and love. Now he is ready to have more with Mungo, but it’s too late.
They have a special circle of friends. The triplets, Maddie, Frankie and Tristan, have all found significant others. Frankie has Lysander; Tristan has Dominic; and Maddie has Darren and their baby Rosie. Milo really wants what they all have – someone to love and care for – and he’s blown it once again.
He is shocked when Mungo tells him he has moved on and has found someone else, his new live-in boyfriend Cav. Although they are still friends, things have become strained. They don’t see each other as much anymore. Their circle of friends still keeps in touch and has little get togethers, but some of them have noticed a change in Mungo.
Milo drowns his sorrows, going clubbing and finding himself a very young hook-up, Danny. The next morning, Danny is still in his house. Danny has reasons that he can’t go home, but Milo has a good use for him at a brunch date with his friends. But when Danny shows up on Milo’s doorstep again later, Milo can’t turn Danny away.
Danny tells Milo his story, and Milo offers him the spare room, but just as friends. Danny’s older brother Simon – a big burly fireman – gives him full approval to stay, temporarily. Simon is trying to find a place where he and Danny can both live together.
Milo has a toxic and estranged relationship with his family: his mother Debbie, his sperm donor father, his sister Karen, and her husband Jason. On the rare occasions when they come to see him, he has to hide his hurt and fear, because they would find a way to use his weaknesses against him. He is still dealing with the abuse he witnessed growing up, and he struggles to cut ties with his dysfunctional family. He always had Mungo around for extra support, but now he finds a new ally in Danny.
Mungo and Milo still find time to meet. Mungo is trying his best to keep Cav happy. He’s changed his diet, can’t be late, his clothes are different, and he’ll do whatever to keep the “love of his life” happy. But is it working? Milo doesn’t like what he’s seeing.
Cloud White digs into the plight of two best friends who have gone their separate ways. Milo, Mungo and Danny are all dealing with the legacy of abuse from a dysfunctional family. They must somehow find a way to support each other as they each are hurting in their own ways.
I loved the relationship with Milo and Mungo. Milo is hyper, but in a good way. He’s the life of the party, always fun but smart as a whip. Mungo is a giant teddy bear with a big heart. He looks intimidating, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone. What finally grows between them is very beautiful – and steamy.
I also liked Danny. Danny and his friend Rueben, who bring lots of snark and humor to the story. Simon, Danny’s brother, adds a surprise to the tale. but Mungo isn’t surprised at all. Maybe Simon will get his own story?
If you want to read about Frankie and Lysander and Maddie and Darren, give book two in the “Nailed It” series, Cloud Ten, a read. Tristan and Dominic are in Cloud Nine, and it was fun to get to visit with them all again in this latest sequel.
I highly recommend Cloud White. it’s peppered with sadness, drama, humor, and long lasting friendships. Hill does an outstanding job addressing some hard subjects. Well worth the read!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
