Gentle giant meets escort who doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love. And they live happily ever after ❤️
That’s basically the plot, but it’s so very romaGentle giant meets escort who doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love. And they live happily ever after ❤️
That’s basically the plot, but it’s so very romantic, that you can’t help but fall in love with both.
Admittedly, it took me a few days to finish it - maybe because of my hectic real-life-brain wasn’t able to slow down enough to fully immerse myself into this rather slow paced love story. Yes, they fall in love almost the moment they meet (Beau, the gentle giant, hires Trevor to pose as his boyfriend during a family wedding), but it takes them around 1 year (and around 50% of the book) to start being in a relationship.
While Beau is like a steady rock, unwavering in his affection and firm belief that Trevor is his other half, Trevor struggles, being sure that (through no fault of his own) he’s not worthy of love, and especially not worthy of someone as wonderful as Beau.
As mentioned, I struggled with it during my week, but as soon as weekend came, I couldn’t put it down. It’s… sweet. Loved the southern charm, the found family, home cooked meals and sunflower fields. There’s no drama to speak of, and I was all here for it. Because sometimes, it’s just lovely to have a break, and to believe that people who are meant to be together will eventually find their way.
Love is a gentle man that holds my battered heart safely in the palm of his hand. For keeps, I think, in the middle of the warm sunflower field. Beau’s elated smile widens against my lips, and I know without a doubt that I’m home.
What I liked about it the most is the title. But the rest wasn’t bad, either.
I mean… it’s a novella. 80 pages. You can’t expect too much relationship What I liked about it the most is the title. But the rest wasn’t bad, either.
I mean… it’s a novella. 80 pages. You can’t expect too much relationship development there, so all things considering, it was fun. It’s the story of 37yo Bennett, an architect from NYC who moved to Copper County (close to O’Leary, where another of May’s series is situated).
And 24yo Theo, who’s been trying to get Bennett’s attention for years, and who now (finally) succeeds.
I liked the way they connected over logic puzzles, and the way that wore Bennett down. A thing I want a fan of: Bennett thinking (and behaving) like he was at just double of Theo’s age.
I really love books about more mature characters ❤️
After reading the prequel, I kind of imagined this to be a series about a couple of college friendsI really love books about more mature characters ❤️
After reading the prequel, I kind of imagined this to be a series about a couple of college friends who’re about to start their “adult” lives all over the country, just loosely connected to each other.
Imagine my (very pleasant) surprise when the book starts 18 years AFTER their graduation, each of them at a point in their lives where they’re ready to start something new. And that new path brings them all together again to the place where they spent a huge part of their college days: the old bar, that they decide to buy and turn into a gay bar.
This book is about Indy, the “love them and leave them” guy. His counterpart is Salem, a 28yo (femme ish twink) who’s forced to return home when his life in the “big city” didn’t turn out the way he planned to.
The attraction between them is immediate, and what I loved most about this book is that they’re 2 adult men, going after what they want. There’s no huge miscommunication, apart from the fact that it takes them (both) a while to realise that their “no relationship/feelings” policy is moot.
Another thing I loved: their “found family” and the way each of them is unique in their own way. I can’t even decide which book I’m most excited about, I really like all of them and want them to find their significant other (or, in one case, see what’s been in front of their eyes for 20 years).
It’s not a perfect, and I can’t even put my finger on why I can’t give it 5 stars - maybe the almost complete lack of drama? But I definitely enjoyed myself, and I feel like I got to know them. In fact, I want them all to be my friends in real life ...more
Very… cozy. A good mystery, and a very well done audiobook.
Why only 3 stars then? Because for a long time, I didn’t really know what the focus is - thVery… cozy. A good mystery, and a very well done audiobook.
Why only 3 stars then? Because for a long time, I didn’t really know what the focus is - the murder happens relatively late, and until then, you obviously know who’s going to be the victim (not only from reading the blurb, but because it’s very obvious), but we had a few irrelevant side plots that just fizzled out.
And I was annoyed with Jack. I mean - the book is told from the third person pov of Ellery, so ofc we love him more. But Jack with his hot and cold behaviour isn’t good enough for Ellery, even if he seems to be the only other queer man in the island (and even if he’s not openly gay/bi, which leaves enough room for Sue the insufferable journalist to slander Ellery again, partly because she’s jealous ...more
Wonderfully nerdy wrap-up to the Horn of Glory-series.
First of all: should it be read as a standalone? Absolutely not. Unlike many other books by thisWonderfully nerdy wrap-up to the Horn of Glory-series.
First of all: should it be read as a standalone? Absolutely not. Unlike many other books by this duo, this series is not just set in the same small town, following different couples: we have a story arc that starts in book one, and that (thankfully) ends with this one. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that I think it might have felt a bit dragged out otherwise.
Did I enjoy the final book despite the nerdy talk? Definitely, although I can understand how it might be a bit much for people who’re not either into gaming or at least into computers in general.
I fall into the latter category - while I don’t have the time and patience for games, I’m familiar with all things computer related, even as far as understanding how encryption and the like work - and let me tell you, Lucy and May did their homework: the tech/nerd part is done pretty well ...more
2 very different, but equally strong characters being oblivious that a 26 days one night stand (or 28? More than 30? Or even 64?) is, in fact, a relat2 very different, but equally strong characters being oblivious that a 26 days one night stand (or 28? More than 30? Or even 64?) is, in fact, a relationship? Count me in ...more
I didn’t even know „cozy mysteries“ were a thing, but I really enjoyed reading this old fashioned whodunnit with the barest hint of a slow burn romancI didn’t even know „cozy mysteries“ were a thing, but I really enjoyed reading this old fashioned whodunnit with the barest hint of a slow burn romance ...more
This was a mix between absolutely loving it and absolute frustration.
We met Reagan in the previous book - he’s JTs brother, son to Patricia and Trent This was a mix between absolutely loving it and absolute frustration.
We met Reagan in the previous book - he’s JTs brother, son to Patricia and Trent „the senator“ Wellbridge. His parents don’t take him seriously, and they don’t hold back with their opinions about him.
Seriously, at times I just couldn’t believe how shitty they behaved towards him without even realising it. I came to reluctantly love Patricia at the end of book one, but here I wanted to scream at her whenever she made an appearance ...more
Lucy Lennox and May Archer are THE best duo for writing small town fluff ❤️
Yes, I know - there are similarities to their other series - you have familLucy Lennox and May Archer are THE best duo for writing small town fluff ❤️
Yes, I know - there are similarities to their other series - you have families with a lot of queer siblings, one or two older parent figures, quirky people, and a very lgbtq friendly environment. But you know what? I don’t care if the pattern is the same, it’s like a warm hug, comfort read at its best.
It might also be because I live in a more rural area and quite enjoy the slower pacing, so I get the appeal.
It’s the story of JT, who’s the Wellbridge family’s golden boy - living in New York, nicknamed “Rainmaker” because he’s known to make business deals happen. And Flynn Honeycutt aka “Firecracker”, who owns the local tavern and who brews mead, Honeybridge Mead.
To make it short: JT aka “Frog” (…long story…) has to strike a deal with Honeybridge Mead in order to get promoted. Problem is, he spent a night with Flynn 3 years before, and it didn’t end well.
I won’t go into details: the plot is a bit predictable, the drama, too (although thankfully it’s not blown out of proportion and resolved pretty quickly). It’s a comfort read, and it’s bound to make you smile.
Special shoutout to JT’s mother Patricia, who’s… well… something else ...more
An almost perfect, charming, very English romance.
It’s the story of Devan, who had just been asked by his brother by be his best man. Only minor flawAn almost perfect, charming, very English romance.
It’s the story of Devan, who had just been asked by his brother by be his best man. Only minor flaw: his brother is about to marry Devan’s ex-fiancé, whom he caught cheating on him in the day before his own wedding 5 months earlier. And as a cherry on top, his boss sends him off to Northumberland to check out a hotel with the intention of buying an incorporating it into a high end hotel chain.
There, he meets Jonty Bloom, a quirky young man who talks a lot, and seems to lack every qualification to work as a concierge.
I won’t spoil the plot - firstly, because a lot of you have already read it, and secondly - if you haven’t - you should go in blindly and enjoy the ride.
Because I loved almost everything about it: Devan, Jonty (it’s literally impossible to NOT fall in love with him), the long term residents, Jonty’s imaginary talks with his bff Tay, the scenery (I have the sudden urge to spend my holiday in Northumberland of all places ...more
Absolutely loved this one, despite the heavy homophobia coming from Walker’s parents.
Seriously. You know when you start to HATE some characters? This Absolutely loved this one, despite the heavy homophobia coming from Walker’s parents.
Seriously. You know when you start to HATE some characters? This book had me so invested that I woke up at night, asking myself how a mother can behave like the one we encounter here.
Let me start with the audio: I love how Declan Winters narrates this series. You might know by now that English isn’t my primary language, but I do love (and appreciate) narrators going all in with accents, especially when it adds to the story. And the story is, again, located in Seguin, Texas, with one of the main characters -Walker- being a “country boy”, whos soft spoken, drawn out words made him come alive in my head: I could vividly imagine him, stout, muscular, all polite and loving his family, never once having questioned his straightness despite being drawn to his (very gay) friend Ozzie. He’s a geometry and woodshop class teacher, in his first year since finishing uni. And he still helps out where he can, not only at Lupe’s, the Guadalupe County home for teens, but at his parents’ tire repair shops.
At some point, Walker begins to suspect he might be interested in men, too (specifically in Ozzie), and his determination to find out what he likes made me wheeze with laughter:
Here I was, about to pleasure my prostate. Saying it like that made me scrunch my nose, thinking of my last physical exam. The bottom guy—the one who wrote the article—called it his P-spot. Like a G-spot, only for guys. Unfortunately, “P-spot” made me think of our old family cat who’d hated that we’d moved his litter box and kept peeing in the same place.
(…)
I really had to quit stalling, so I ignored my inner thesaurus, took a deep breath, and tried to relax my sphincter. Then I laughed, because the word sphincter was hilarious.
What I love about this author’s books: once her characters figure out what (and whom) they like, there’s rarely any relationship drama, and here we have a really well done friends-to-lovers bi-awakening where both men actually talk to each other.
But there’s no lack of drama, because - as previously mentioned - Walker’s bigoted, homophobe parents are next level despicable. There’s a special place in hell for parents who treat their kids like that, and what made it worse for me is that I really think it’s not too far off the mark, especially when it comes to the latest political developments, especially in states like Texas.
Uh. I hate it, and I hated them. Why can’t people love who they love?
Anyway. Great book. Go read it, it can be read on its own, even though it’s nice if you already know the other side characters....more
Seriously. Fuck homophobia. And homophobic people.
It’s strange to read the books in this series. They’re located in Ryland, a small town in North CaroSeriously. Fuck homophobia. And homophobic people.
It’s strange to read the books in this series. They’re located in Ryland, a small town in North Carolina. A town where people - while not necessarily bad - are very… set in their ways, to put it mildly, especially the older ones. And it’s not sugarcoated. It must be tough to grow up in an environment like this as a queer person.
My heart broke into a million little pieces reading this book, only to be put together over and over again. It’s the story of Jasper and Sutton. Best friends since… forever. Sharing memories, a job, a life, and even - on one memorable occasion- a girl.
Only problem is: Sutton realised a while ago that he’s in love with his best friend, even knowing (or assuming) that there’s no future for them, not the way he wants to. And Jasper… Jasper is oblivious. He doesn’t want things to change - he knows what “the right thing” is - him being with women, and he enjoys that part. But he doesn’t want a life without Sutton in it either, so when Sutton tries to put distance between them (an act of self-preservation), Jasper is unmoored. And when Sutton announces that he wants to move out from the house they live in together, things escalate, and things - and revelations - bring unexpected changes into both their lives.
I really was bisexual, and I was so fucking in love with Jasper that it hurt… that it was killing me, and if I didn’t find a way to make this go away, I wouldn’t ever recover.
The one thing that kept afloat while reading this: knowing that they’ll have their HEA, even if it was a hard earned one. Their love and understanding for each other - a thing of beauty. Both of them discovering this part of their sexuality together - very, VERY hot. And realistic.
Was that what it felt like to be in love with someone? Like there was nothing you wouldn’t do for them, and every second you ever shared was held in its own locked vault in your head so you knew they would always be there?
The homophobia they had to deal with - internalised or not - was hard to read about. But I guess - and that’s what makes this book stand out - realistic. Not everyone ends up accepting and welcoming them, but enough will. It’s not all fluffy clouds and sunshine - but maybe that’s what made me appreciate their love for each other more.
Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down, even if my heart hurt for what they had to deal with.
“We had a million little moments, Sutt, all of ’em leading us here. I can’t wait to spend my whole damn life makin’ a hundred million more of them with you.”
It starts off weird: after a short prologue where we have the two MCs (Slater and Zack) waking up together after Nice, but not really worth the money.
It starts off weird: after a short prologue where we have the two MCs (Slater and Zack) waking up together after attending a funeral, we hop six days earlier.
There’s a death (obviously, hence the funeral): Slater’s grandfather dies, obviously in the throes of passion. It felt… weird. Detached. Slater’s mother informs him while he’s with his numerous siblings and cousins, and she’s so… calm. Matter of fact. Slater too, the fact that his grandfather had a heart attack during sex seems to be more important than the sudden death itself, or grieving. Same goes for the grandmother, who’s busier burning the sex toys involved in the act than - you know- actually grieving her partner of 50 years.
Actually, Zack (former neighbour and former boyfriend of Slater) seems more shocked, even if he, too, seems to focus more on HOW his former father figure died.
But ok, I know, it’s not Shakespeare. It just felt weird for me. On top of that I can’t really imagine almost-octogenarians trying to “spice up their love life” with pegging. No offence, but I’m not sure my back would be happy with stuff like that even though I’m way younger ...more
Before we start - what the heck is this cover? I almost didn’t pick it up because of it. What convinced mWholesome romance with a dash of priest-kink.
Before we start - what the heck is this cover? I almost didn’t pick it up because of it. What convinced me were Kati’s review and the fact that Declan Winters is narrating.
And because you kind of know what you get when you read a book by Kelly Fox: usually there’s some kind of a queer group, usually with one older couple (where one of them might or might not die at some point), a mostly queer friendly small town, low drama and a lot of wholesomeness despite a loosely interwoven crime/human trafficking plot and the occasional homophobic prick.
I’m happy to report that we got all of that - even the darker themes are treated in a way that don’t drag you down as a reader, even if I bawled my eyes out when that one older character died.
As for the romance: it was… ok. “Priest-kink” isn’t really “my” jam, usually everything religion-related leaves me uneasy because of the underlying bigotry that (usually) goes along with it. At least Beckett (the “Skeptic”) didn’t continue on his Catholic path that had been pre-picked for him, and I loved the kind of community he created for himself, and the way he talked to his congregation. But that priest-kink stuff where he left his collar on and had his partners call him “Father”- uh. No. Leaves me with an uneasy feeling.
In the other corner we have Holden, who left his hometown before college after a homophobic attack that almost killed him. He returns to the side of his dying father, and he looks for… idk… a break? repentance?… in Beckets arms right after Beckett picks him up at the airport. For a while, he keeps showing up at Becket’s doorstep claiming that he “needs to be put back together”.
I kind of loved it, and kind of didn’t. Tbh I’ve been more invested in the side characters that are being set up for upcoming books than in the main couple. Declan Winters still made it worth my while, but the romance itself fell a bit short for me.
Still: good start in a new series, I’ll definitely continue listening to the audio books!...more
Quite often, novellas are too short to have be a proper plot - what I really appreciate about this one is that we get Surprisingly good for a novella.
Quite often, novellas are too short to have be a proper plot - what I really appreciate about this one is that we get a short “introduction” that gives us context: a few years earlier, Caine’s secret highshool sweetheart Mitchell took off with Caine’s sister, leaving Caine heartbroken. Now, 3 years later, Mitchell and Sara return for Christmas to visit Caine and Mitchell’s father, Tim.
I won’t spoil anything more, because there’s a rather surprising plot twist I don’t want to deprive you of, but it’s short, hot and with enough depth to stand out amongst other shorties. Thx to my friends here who made me pick it up ❤️ (you know who you are…)...more
Cat the bookworm (in a semi hiatus of sorts)
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