I'm going to be honest. There was a moment I thought about not finishing this book. I wasn't in love with the characters. I didn't feel any connection to them. The first quarter of the book seemed too slow, as a matter of fact, it didn't even seem like Santino Hassell's writing. But I'm glad I ignored that voice in my head, or I would have missed out on some very special moments. 
 Just as I was about to put this down, there's this lovely conversation between Ashton and Nunzio that turned this book around for me. It sealed the deal on just how awesome of a character Nunzio is in this series and more importantly, showed me an Ashton I could love, and I really did love him by the end of this book. 
 The friends-to-lovers romance between the flamboyant socialite Ashton and the demisexual Val is complicated not only by the differences in their social class and overall world, but by big secrets that could crush both tender and stubborn hearts. While I didn't connect with Val all that much, I really felt I got Ashton. He's smart and sensitive and plagued with self esteem issues that really cover up who he really is. Val understood him, and Ashton craved that understanding. And it wasn't just one way -- Ashton understood things about Val, too. Their friendship was a solid foundation to their love story that just couldn't be ignored by either character. 
 The story also puts a light on the nastiness that is homophobia. I thought it worked well to increase awareness without sacrificing realism or being preachy. The escalation from words to physical attack put me in someone else's shoes for a moment and increased my personal awareness. I liked that about Concourse. 
 But really, the star of this tale was Ashton. I just totally fell for him, and I thought the epilogue was one of the best I've read this year. It left me smiling so hard and that's a terrific way to end a book! 
 Overall, I did enjoy Concourse, in spite of a few pacing issues at the start. I was glad that I stuck with it because it was really worth my time. 
 ARC provided for review.