Rating: 5 š
So Iām finished with the penultimate book, sigh, as as with all the others there are many great elements here, so much fun and great joy. Also unexpected little narrative gems that continue to leave me smiling, even now.
This is, like most of the books in the series, a low angst sexy, full of love and laughter novel. Yes, a main character has some social anxiety and low body imagery to overcome but itās probably not the one character people are going to expect.
No itās not Miller. Miller is completely at home in his body and identity as a trans man. Heās had a supportive family and a great therapist to help him through his transitional years and issues, both with his dimorphism and his ADHD. Itās the later that has Miller at the gym twice a day, working off the energy and allowing the chemistry in his body the outlet it needs for him to settle and focus.
Miller is funny, mature , and his outlook on the people around him gives us an additional window into the various personalities of the Four Bears Construction Company and their partners. Heās part of the family and also one they admire.
No, the adorable man with body issues and social anxiety brought on by years of men making him feel awful about himself and his perhaps rotund bear like shape is Dr. Demetri Rose. Lover of Ancient Rome, knitting, and his pet tortoise Mars. Demās exes have made Dem feel inferior about everything from his body image to the fact that he likes knitting to even the way he has sex. So now Dem has just retreated into his classroom and his house.
We immediately connect with Dem, the way heās been bullied and hurt. Heās such a sweetheart and the reader wants him to go and find love. Now!
All it take to get these two started is a construction job at the university.
Millerās meet/embarrassing moment with Demetri is both awfully funny and hands to the face just let me die now embarrassing. That it ends with Miller looking still embarrassed but also amazing is why I love this series so.
These men feel real, their romance dance dynamics genuine at every step and absolutely relatable. Itās gentle, at times humorous , moving, and downright sexy. How I love this couple!
From Dem and Millerās frank discussions on the elements in their sex life going forward (both blunt and funny) to dancing in the rain magic, this book sings of moments of joy, laughter, and love.
It also has one of my favorite Stoneyisms. āNonsense makes the heart grow fonder.ā If youāve read these stories, you know that apparently Stone grew up in a household where every well known saying doesnāt exactly come out the way everyone else knows it to be. His mother laying down the ālogā to his father about somethings, the explanation behind each being the absolute best. She laying the foundation of her argument. I must say ,,,, um yep.
Another one āThereās more than one way to pet a cat.ā Because skinning a cat is plain awful. Why would anyone do that. Why indeed.
So Iām with Stoney on most of them. And yes totally right. āNonsense makes the heart grow fonder.ā It definitely does,Stoney.
Yep, another must joy filled read. Another highly recommended romance. Love, love this book and series.
Btw? Adore Mars and his knitted cosies. And Shelldon too. Each story and couple have their own pets to accompany them on their journey to HEA. This time itās tortoises to the rescue!
Special note here too. Demetri has a great neighbor, Auggie. A mechanic who was clearly crazy about the oblivious Dem. Auggie works for Big Bull Mechanics, a auto shop thatās competitive with Dareās Auto. Itās equally full of gorgeous men. We get to meet a few here and in the next story. FYI wonāt be the last weāve seen of this group.
Synopsis: A ripped, transgender construction worker and a tweed-wearing, tortoise-shell-cozy-knitting, bear of a professor… Somebody’s getting stripped.
The last place I expected to run into my childhood camp crush was at the local university, looking all kinds of cute in a tweed jacket with a nervous blush. Iāve always had a bit of a thing for the nerdy professor type.
Demetri says he doesnāt date. I want to believe that itās true and not that heās not interested in a transgender man like me. If all he can offer me is friendship, Iām more than happy to take it.
Coy looks during sweaty workouts, rainy nights on his couch watching him knit shell cozies for his pet tortoiseā¦ Iām falling for him whether I want to or not.
Can I break down his walls and prove to him that he can trust me with his heart? And can I trust him with mine?
***Stripped is a swoony, steamy MM romance that is the 6th book in the Four Bears Construction Series. It can be read as a stand alone, but you wonāt want to miss these bearās antics. This series does not contain any shifters, only the OTHER kind of bears.
Four Bears Construction series:
šµCaulky #1
šµNailed #2
šµHardwood #3
šµScrewed #4
šµStud #5
šµStripped #6
šµDrilled #7
šµGoats Like Cake Too: Four Bears Construction Series Epilogue
(Four Bears Construction #7.5)
by K.M. Neuhold
āNonsense makes the heart grow fonder.ā Stoney
