Review: Covington Acres (Briar County Book 5) by Riley Hart

Rating: 4🌈

Covington Acre is another low-angst, sweet contemporary romance in Riley Hart’s Briar County series. Located in Hart’s beautifully realized town of Harmony in Briar County , North Carolina. In this series, the author has written about the Covington family, their children and partners, their own children, as well as the extended family and towns members of Harmony to the point everyone within these stories had become familiar and real.

Covington Acres charts the romantic journey of two different men, each of whom the readers have met through previous books.

One is Vincent O’Brien, mid 40’s, former boyfriend of Holden, now best friend, who has moved to Harmony. Vince works on the Covington farms and lives with Colby Covington, a man who secretly believes himself broken.

Colby thinks that because all his romantic relationships have been unsuccessful he’s unable to find and fall in love. He’s frustrated with his life and can’t figure out why.

For both men, it’s their deep friendship and feelings about each other that’s one of the most powerful and satisfying things about their lives.

Covington Acres is a warm-hearted, sweet, friends to lovers romance. These two make perfect sense, have great chemistry, and it’s a slow realization that brings together past histories, a new awareness of demisexuality, and acceptance that allows them to grow together.

It culminates in the wedding of the original couple, Monroe “Roe” Covington and Holden Barnett. We see all the other couples, the teenagers, and family members who have been part of this series and multiple stories. This has all the feel of a series finale. If so, it’s a genuinely terrific one. In the same lovely, gentle tone as the town and its people .

If you love contemporary romance, check out this series and book. It’s a sweet, satisfying read.

Briar County :

Firefly Lane #1

Sundae’s Best #2

The Creek #3

Covington Acres #4

Buy link

Covington Acres (Briar County Book 4)

Blurb:

Colby Covington has no clue if there’s anything in the world for him beyond Briar County. His family assumes he’ll do as they do: work Covington Acres, get married, have kids. Colby doesn’t want children, and seeing as he’s never felt even an inkling of romantic love for another person, he sure as hell isn’t interested in marriage.

In his mid-forties, Vincent O’Brien is starting over in the small town of Harmony. After being cheated on, again, he’s sworn off ever falling in love. As fate would have it, Vince needs a place to stay, and Colby has a spare room.

With an immediate connection that shakes up Colby’s sheltered world, neither man expects their friendship to blossom so fast…or for a semi-public hookup to make Colby realize he’s bi. Friends with benefits is perfect. It’s easy, it’s fun, they trust each other, and neither Vince nor Colby wants anything serious.

But the more their lives intertwine, the more Colby starts to feel something he’d thought himself incapable of. Something like love, with Vince…the man who will never feel—or want—the same.

Covington Acres is a small-town, bisexual/demiromantic awakening, friends-with-benefits romance with mature characters, home-brewed beer, and secret kisses.

Publisher: Riley Hart (August 1, 2024)
Publication date: August 1, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 238 pages

Review: The Creek (Briar County #3) by Riley Hart

Rating: 5🌈

There’s nothing better then to be able to return to Riley Hart’s fictional North Carolina setting of Briar County, where we’ve gotten to know the various townships and citizens that makeup this warm-hearted series.

The Creek sets down a familiar theme with a hometown son returning after a decade or so absence.

Hart’s storyline of second chance love combined with this richly layered foundation of found family and warm-hearted tapestry of a diverse community is a wonderful novel to sink into.

There’s so much to appreciate and love here. The characters are well crafted, defined by their past histories and experiences as well as their personalities.

A major standout in terms of storylines? One that’s rarely seen among contemporary romance novels is that Hart doesn’t take sides when narratively exploring the broken relationships between divorced fathers August, his ex Lewis (not a MC), and their teenage son, Reese, who’s having enormous emotional issues dealing with all the upheaval in his life. No one dimensional ex hatred or simplistic dumping.

No. Here, Reese’s pain and adjustment problems are naturally made a big theme of August’s return to Harmony. Reese’s slow integration into the community with the help of the “found family “ members we’ve come to love and care about is remarkable in its believability and realistic elements. His fears of abandonment, the discussions that he finally understands how to bring up about himself, his fears, heartbreaking and grounded in RL.

Cliff Jones, the welder/artist, who’s never forgotten his first kiss and the boy who gave it to him, is a sheer joy to encounter. No drama, just a warmth of discovery, and understanding about where his future lies in the man and his teenage son who’s returned.

August and Reese, their deeply heartfelt relationship is real and emotional. Reese, who is seeing a therapist to try and help him understand his feelings, is so well written that you will believe you know him. Well.

The drama, such as it is, occurs much as it would in real life. The arguments are the same. The outcome lovely.

There’s so much here to connect with and take into your heart. It all begins with the road into Briar County.

If you’re not familiar with this incredible lovely series, I’ve listed them below. And I highly recommend them all, including this one.

Briar County series to date:

✓ Firefly Lane #1

✓ Sundae’s Best #2

✓ The Creek #3

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.com › Creek-B…The Creek (Briar County Book 3) – Kindle edition by Hart, Riley, Aguiar, Wander. …

Description:

Divorced for two years, August Reynolds needs a change. He and his teenage son, Reese, pack up and move to Briar County, the home August left at fourteen. He’s hoping it’ll help him and Reese connect again, that Reese will come into his own there the way August did. For him, it was all because of Clint Jones, his childhood best friend and first crush.

At forty-two, Clint figures he’s probably never going to find the one. He’s dated on and off, but he’s never fallen in love. He has his business, his dogs, his friends and family. Most of the time, that’s enough, but then August moves home—Clint’s first kiss and bisexual awakening—making him realize he might be lonelier than he thought.

Clint and August fall back into an easy friendship. Some of their best childhood memories are the days they spent at the creek: talking, laughing, and learning about who they were. But now they’re adults, the attraction palpable between them. It’s not long before they’re tumbling into bed, stealing moments for secret kisses and spending days exploring each other.

They can’t move too fast, though. Reese misses his other father, and sometimes August worries Reese would rather be with him. They’re just getting their life on track, and the last thing August wants is to shake it up by telling Reese he’s with Clint. But as it turns out, that’s not the only obstacle in their way…

The Creek is a small-town, second-chances, friends-to-lovers romance, with mature men who talk about their feelings, stolen kisses, and nights spent beneath the stars.

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Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Playing Games ( Franklin U #1) by Riley Hart

Rating: 4 🌈

Playing Games is a wonderful enemies to lovers romance from Riley Hart. It’s the first in a multi-author series called Franklin U that can be read in any order, the only main factor is the campus all the characters live on and the college they attend.

I enjoyed the layered approach Hart takes here to both the characters, their differences in social status and histories, as well as how often even the harshest of arguments and familial divides worked their way out in areas of grey, adult relationship style instead of stark black/white divisiveness.

That same narrative outlook was applied to Braxton Walker, who’s tough upbringing and history is one he’s working hard to rise above. Despite his rough appearance, he’s set goals to achieve.

Tyson Langley is his opposite. Rich, sliding through his studies, a star on the college LaCrosse team, he represents everything Brax is fighting hard for and yet Ty seems to appreciate none of it.

The characters are well defined. And when a believable crisis causes Ty to seek a job that brings him into Brax’s orbit, the enforced intimacy that breaks down each other’s walls has a realistic feeling to it.

The romance happens a tad fast but the groundwork is laid for it and a relationship. It does work.

I ended up really enjoying their story and the characters. They each make a couple of “guest” appearances in other books in this series.

If you’re a lover of contemporary romance, add this sweet book to your list!

Franklin U series:

✓ Playing Games #1 – Riley Hart

✓ The Dating Disaster #2 – Saxon James

✓ Mr. Romance #3 – Louise Masters

◦ Bet You #4 – Neve Wilder

◦ The Glow Up #5 – A.M. Johnson

◦ The Learning Curve #6 – N.R. Walker

◦ Making Waves #7 – Christina Lee

◦ Football Royalty #8 – Eden Finley

https://www.goodreads.com › showPlaying Games (Franklin U #1) by Riley Hart | Goodreads

Brax

Tyson Langley thinks the king in Franklin University Kings is in reference to him. Star lacrosse player and God’s gift to the female and male population, there’s nothing the spoiled jock can’t have.

It’s impossible for us to be in the same room without talking crap to each other. But I also have a secret… As much as I despise Ty, I want him too. I revel in our banter and in never knowing what he’ll say next.

I’ve spent too much time on the wrong side of the law for someone like Ty, though, and if I want to make it through college and escape my past, he’s a distraction I don’t need.

Braxton Walker needs to learn to lighten up. If you search brooding online, his name pops up. He’s the bad boy with a leather jacket and a scowl. We couldn’t be more different.

Finding ways to annoy him is like the longest foreplay session of my life. And when we end up working together, it gets harder to deny how hot he makes me.

What’s a little hooking up between enemies?

We weren’t supposed to become friends or share secrets. We weren’t supposed to understand each other and all the complicated stuff we’re going through.

I’m used to playing games, only the more time I spend with Brax, the less it feels like playing around and the more it becomes something real.

This series takes place across a calendar year. The books have been released in chronological order but are all stand alones and can be consumed in whichever order you choose.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Boyfriend Goals by Riley Hart

Rating: 4.75🌈

I was looking for a contemporary romance to read after finishing a urban fantasy, and picked up Boyfriend Goals by Riley Hart.

What a utter pleasure this was to read! Low angst, a plot driven by fully realized characters in situations that allows them to grow, finding home and true love in a totally relatable,real way.

I went to sleep thinking about Milo and Gideon, their happy life together, friends and family. And they are still with me now.

Hart’s decision to have Milo be neurodivergent is a great one although it might spark some confusion or controversy. Milo is a wonderful character, who’s neurodivergence has effected his life since birth. It’s how he handles it now that will speak to the reader and Gideon.

As I understand it, neurodivergence “now refers to any structured, consistent way that brains work differently for a group of people than they do for the majority of others.”The sources I referenced many different types of neurodivergence, including Autism, which is referred to a couple of times here.

I’m not in touch with the author so I’ve no idea what Milo’s character framework was when planning this story. Whatever it is works! Milo feels so believable and alive for me. His interactions with Gideon, and the others in the community are credible. Whether it’s a new one on one situation or one that’s got Milo in a very stressful place, Hart’s writing is so terrific that it easily conveys that’s this a real life event for him.

Gideon too is a beautifully layered person. His dynamics within his family and how it’s worked through emotionally is heartwarming and heartfelt. Insecurities have no age limit and that’s especially true here.

Hart could have made Milo’s mother more one dimensional instead we get a moving relationship, fundamentally strong with two people who love each other. Again, such a great element among many.

By the end of the story, I was absolutely in love with Milo and Gideon, their combined stores, INK & INK, their new lives together and their community. What a wonderful life!

What a grand story! And one I’m highly recommending!

https://www.goodreads.com › showBoyfriend Goals by Riley Hart – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Milo
Unusual. Quirky. Different. I’ve heard it all. I’ve accepted I’m not for everyone. Maybe not anyone.

When I find out I inherited a bookstore and apartment on a small East Coast island, I jump at the chance for a new life.

Turns out, I’ve also inherited a sexy, tattooed guy who not only rents the space next to my store for his tattoo parlor but my apartment too.

Did I mention he’s really hot?

And surprisingly sweet?

Gideon
I wasn’t looking for a roommate, but it’s not like I can stay at Milo’s place while he’s banished to a hotel.

Our unlikely friendship is instant. According to Milo, we’re bestie goals.

And if he doesn’t wear pants at home, who am I to complain?

Milo’s not like anyone I’ve ever known. I like laughing and flirting with him. He’s adorably honest, eager, and sexier than he realizes.

Now I just have to figure out how to convince him that maybe it’s time for an upgrade from bestie to boyfriend goals.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer.

Review: Sundae’s Best (Briar County #2) by Riley Hart

Rating: 5🌈

In Riley Hart’s Introduction, the author talks about the desire to create something different with this series. Instead of serial stories linked together, Hart wanted a narrative playground. One where standalone stories could have roots and flourish amidst a familiar foundation, a wide universe.

So Hart started creating Briar County, North Carolina. With its small towns like Harmony and Everett, and it’s wonderful town stores, restaurants, and community gathering places and events like the Covington Farm Goatalapoloozas Briar County quickly becomes a group of places that feels like home.

Populated by people we invest in and connect to. They flow in and out and around these stories just as you would see people in your own community.

What a rich tapestry Hart has created for this series and us.

Sundae’s Best is such a remarkable story. It starts from a place of grief, pain, loss, and an emptiness, and growing need for two men connected by death of two beloved people. One is looking for connection and a home. The other? He’s not sure. But he’s feeling empty even though he’s surrounded by community and family who love him.

Sundae’s Best, the name of Deacon’s ice cream store, is a gentle, heartwarming, incredibly well written and moving love story. Its so sweet and low key, realistic, fumbling even, as Grady and Deke find their way to friendship through their mutual love, grief over their loss of Nathan and Birdy. Then it’s so sweet as it gradually turns into something more, deeper, turning into love.

We watch as Deke has to wrestle with his new feelings ( never confused that he does love Grady but over all those terms) and everyone trying to define him when he hasn’t figured out things other that he needs Grady. That’s so understandable and believable too.

All the small town dynamics at place, the positive and negative, are on display.

There’s also an amazing aspect of this book that deals with Grady’s past and his family’s reaction to his sexuality. Again, Hart’s characters are so well defined and layered that so you feel their emotions and understand their actions.

There isn’t one part of this book that doesn’t hold up to intense scrutiny. It’s just that good.

My complaint? I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay there…. Eating Sticky Bourbon ice cream,playing with the goats… and wanting to know what happens next in their lives.

In short. Briar County has me hooked. It has made a friend. Made me want to stay.

I think you’ll feel the same. Start here. Go for the first. Doesn’t matter. Just head on over and make your acquaintance. I’m highly recommending you do!

Briar County series:

Firefly Lane #1

Sundae’s Best #2

Synopsis:

Grady Dalton is in a rut. He’s thirty-eight, without a boyfriend, and has yet to find the place that feels like home. The closest he ever got was his best friend, Nathan. But it’s been seven years since he passed, and life isn’t getting easier. That’s how he ends up in Briar County, hoping to grow roots in the place Nathan had loved.

Deacon Sharpe spends his days serving homemade ice cream at Sundae’s Best and his nights alone, pretending he’s getting by after his wife’s death better than he is. His world is rocked when a man shows up who claims to have been his brother-in-law’s best friend and seems to miss Nathan as much as Deacon misses Patty.

Their losses connect them, but soon, the weight of their loneliness eases with laughter, making ice cream, and Grady reminding Deacon of what it feels like to be held again. Deacon tells himself it’s platonic. How can it be more when he’s forty and has never been with a man, never even been attracted to one? But then, he’d never felt those things about anyone other than Patty either. And when Grady touches him…kisses him…nothing else matters, and the rest of the world melts away.

Together they can deal with family drama, small-town gossip, and Deacon’s newly discovered feelings. But as it often does, life has one more curveball to throw their way…

Sundae’s Best is a small-town, bi/demisexual awakening romance, with characters who like to be held, swoony moments, a dog named Moose, and lots of ice cream. Sundae’s Best can be read as a standalone.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSundae’s Best (Briar County, #2) by Riley Hart – Goodreads

Review: Firefly Lane (Briar County #1) by Riley Hart

Rating 4.5 🌈

Recently I’ve been reading books with older characters, in their 40’s and one aspect I’ve appreciated about these stories from various authors is the open and adult communication that flows between most of these characters.

Firefly Lane is a great example of this level of open communication. It exists not just among the primary characters but also throughout the community of the town of Harmony, whether it’s blunt questions or advice. It’s still on the open adult communication scale .

Hart’s themes for this story run the gamut from the ability to grow and change one’s outlook, no matter your age to the notion that finding your true home has no timetable. Even such basics as you aren’t your parents. There’s a multitude of storylines here. All unpacked with care and intelligence.

At the heart of the story is not a couple of men but more a intersecting triangles of families, all of equal importance to this story and beautifully crafted.

The first family that launches the novel and action is that of two siblings. Holden Barnett, pilot out of Atlanta, and his estranged younger sister, Marilee Young, and her teenage son Sean. The sister and son in deep need, living in Harmony, NC.

The second family, one that’s deeply established and well liked in town is that of Monroe “Roe” Covington of the huge Covington family, his teenage son Wyatt who he had with his best friend Lindsey. Roe is out gay man to all around him and has been since his teenage years, although his closeness to Lindsey has people thinking , wrongly, they still might get together.

The foundation Hart starts to lay down here for the series is solid. We feel a warm, layered community, full of interesting people, some busybodies, many far more intriguing and caring.

And as we see our way around Harmony and get to know the citizens, the past histories and real issues are coming to the surface within the two families.

It’s never just problems with Holden and Marilee and Sean. Because their heavy issues impact Roe, Wyatt, and Lindsey. All as we watch, we see parents/uncles weighing what effect their adult relationships will have on their sons as well as their sons/nephews relationships. Yes, people actually acting as responsible adults. Love it.

All the while, keeping the romance sexy, endearing, and vulnerable.

There’s also a back history of parental abuse ( mentioned , never seen) with Holden and Marilee’s folks as well as Sean’s father Adam, Marilee’s absent husband. That plays into much of the story here, and finally figures into the personal growth.

I found this to be a terrific story. So many layers, great characters and foundation Town to get acquainted with.

I can’t wait to the next in the series and eagerly look forward to seeing all these people and couples once more.

Briar County series:

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesBriar County Series by Riley Hart – Firefly Lane – Goodreads

Firefly Lane #1

Sundae’s Best #2. – coming soon

Synopsis: At forty-three, Holden Barnett is getting along just fine. His job as a pilot keeps him from getting restless, and he’s got a man who doesn’t want promises for the future. One phone call from his estranged sister changes everything. She needs his help, so Holden drops everything and heads to Harmony, a small town in Briar County, which represents everything he’s tried to avoid in life.

Monroe Covington is forty-five and happy. He loves his life—running his store, helping at his family’s farm, and spending his days with his best friend, Lindsey, and their son, Wyatt. Sure, half the town likes to forget he’s gay, and he’d love for the queer population to be bigger, but Roe makes do. He misses dating, relationships, and a man to hold at night, but at least he gets new eye candy when Holden, the brother of the woman who’s renting his cabin, shows up.

The attraction is instant, the friendship not far behind, but between Holden’s initial relationship status, family complications, and the two of them wanting different things, they’re a disaster waiting to happen…only it doesn’t feel that way, not with how much time they spend talking, laughing, and eventually, tumbling into bed, a field, or the back of a truck together. The closer they get, the more Holden realizes that just being fine isn’t enough, and Roe begins to see that his life isn’t as complete as he thought. Now, if they could only sort out the rest of it…

Firefly Lane is a small town, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers summer romance with no cheating, mature characters who talk out their problems, like to work with their hands, and have amazing chemistry. Did I mention they watch movies in the company of goats?

Firefly Lane

A Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Something About Us (Saint and Lucky #2) by Riley Hart

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

I had the pleasure of reading this immediately after completing Something About You, book one in the series. Both books were terrific, and this one seamlessly built on the foundation Lucky and Saint began in book one.

Lucky leaves his family and small hometown for the first time in his life as he accompanies Saint back to his world in LA. Fascinated, frightened, and frustrated all come to mind when I think of Lucky’s first weeks with Saint. The traffic is overwhelming and dangerous, and he’s unemployed and feeling down because not only is he not contributing financially, he knows he’ll never earn enough to be Saint’s equal. Speaking of that—Saint has friends and acquaintances, a job, and an important role in society as a supporter of AIDS research and other charitable organizations in the LA area, and the few times Lucky is included, he’s most definitely an outsider.

Though he finally obtains a job in construction, he continues to feel “less than” and Saint inadvertently feeds into that by not including Lucky in his after-work get-togethers and by avoiding taking Lucky to his usual West Hollywood haunts. And on Lucky’s end, he commits a relationship no-no by not telling his boss and coworkers that he’s bisexual and living with a man.

But in the house? In their little love bubble? The two are solid. Or so it seems. Each is holding back a bit, Saint out of habit, Lucky out of fear of the unknown. It takes a crisis for them to finally take a break and work on themselves so they can be healthier together.

I loved the way the author worked to build this relationship from the ground up, knocking down the bad bricks, so to speak, and starting again each time to cement a solid relationship. Yes, I know that’s a terrible pun, but it fits. But most of all, I loved the way Lucky allowed his softer, more feminine side to not only come out but to come out with no fear. Starting with a discussion of wearing feminine underwear in book one, Lucky owns it in book two, and ultimately is solidly okay with his desire to be feminine in some ways on some days.

After a lot of work individually and together, the two eventually manage to merge their lives completely, and the story ends on a solid HEA. I highly recommend this series to all who love an MM romance, interracial couples, genderfluid characters, and a crossover visit from other characters. I nearly forgot to mention Lucky stopped at a restaurant in Virginia to see Nick (Crossroads). He and Saint first stopped there in book one when they discovered the restaurant on their way to DC and met the owner, Nick, and his partner, Bryce. I loved both vignettes as they were seamlessly woven into this series. This is a story I can most highly recommend but if you can pick up book one first? All the better. Though this can be a standalone, it really needs book one to complete your enjoyment of the characters.

And the cover? Designed by X-Potion Designs, it’s a black-and-white shot of two hot men in an obviously sexual position.Perfect for this story, and most definitely attention-grabbing.

Sales Link: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 198 pages
Published August 12th 2018 by Riley Hart
ASINB07GDQ3K11
Series Saint and Lucky :

Something About You

Something About Us

New Release Tour for Something About Us (Saint and Lucky #2) by Riley Hart (excerpt)

SOMETHING ABOUT US

SAINT AND LUCKY BOOK 2

RILEY HART

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 08.15.18

Something About Us Cover

COVER DESIGN: X-Potion Designs

BLURB

Falling in love was the easy part.

Lucky and Saint are head-over-heels for each other. It doesn’t matter that they met only a few months ago. It also doesn’t matter that this is Saint’s first real relationship and Lucky’s first with a man. They’re infatuated, happy, and excited to start their life together in LA.

It isn’t as easy as they thought.

Away from home for the first time and feeling like he has to compete with Saint’s experienced and cultured friends, Lucky is a fish out of water. Saint is still coming to grips with his recent loss while doing everything he can to keep Lucky happy. The only time things feel right is when they lock themselves away from the world—when they’re alone, everything is perfect.

But reality comes crashing back in to challenge them at every turn. Lucky and Saint need to learn how to stand together, as well as apart, if they’re to have any hope of making this last. They’re learning the hard way that “I love you” is when the real work begins.

SAU3

SAU2

SAU1

EXCERPT

Lucky Holloway had never seen so many cars in his life.

Okay, so maybe he was exaggerating a bit. It wasn’t as if back home he’d never driven into DC. Obviously, he had, but that was different. DC wasn’t something he did on a daily basis. Since he’d just moved to Los Angeles with his boyfriend, Saint, this—the mass amounts of traffic—would be his life. Every day. He figured he’d better get used to it.

Lucky watched the obscene number of cars, thinking about how many people were there. Again, he glanced at his boyfriend—his boyfriend. It was still an adjustment to realize he had a boyfriend and that moving to LA was a part of it. He would take hours in traffic if it meant having Saint, if it meant stepping outside of the world he’d always known and seeing what else was out there.

There was a loud honk, and Saint cursed and zipped between two vehicles, changing lanes into a spot where his car technically shouldn’t have fit.

“You gotta be a little aggressive to get your way.”He winked, and Lucky playfully rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, this is going to take some getting used to. It’s so amazing to me that there can be this many people right here on this freeway with us, when there are fifty other freeways with likely the same amount of people on them.”

“It’s wild when you think about it in those terms. For me, it’s life. I don’t really know any different.”Saint continued to push his way into spaces, making other cars slow down to let him in, until he exited the freeway. Lucky still couldn’t believe he was there, that he’d met Saint only a few months ago. That somehow, in the course of Saint going to Lucky’s hometown of Cottage Grove, Virginia, to reconnect with an estranged grandmother, Saint and he had fallen in love. And how so soon after Saint had become a part of his grandmother, Alice’s, life, and in turn Lucky’s life, Alice had passed away. He was angry on Saint’s behalf. It wasn’t fair that Saint had lost her so soon after finding her. It wasn’t something Saint mentioned, not outside of that moment they’d shared in Saint’s grandfather’s old office. Saint kept himself zipped tight, as though he hadn’t lost Alice and this was all about their adventure. Lucky decided to make a point of trying to get him to talk about it more.

What he really couldn’t believe was that he’d made the decision to uproot his whole life, leave behind everything he knew, and go with Saint. He’d never done something so uncharacteristic in his life—falling in love in such a short amount of time—and it was both thrilling and scary as fuck.

Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together.

She loves reading, flawed characters, and hanging out with her husband and children, who she adores. She and her family live in Southern California, soaking up the sunshine while also missing seasons. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful she gets to wake up and do what she loves.

Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.

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A Jeri Review: Something About You by Riley Hart

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

In true Riley fashion, she has tugged at our heart strings, brought the feels and made us swoon.

Tyler is a hometown boy. Loves his family, dotes on his grandmother and is happy with his work as a handy man. And even though everyone thinks that he and his best friend Sienna are going to end up married, they aren’t. What Tyler really wants is to explore his bisexuality.

Saint is an LA guy. Born and raised he loves the city, the fast paced life and the chance to hook up whenever he wants, no strings attached. And since his parents died in a plane crash, he thought he had no family. But he has a grandmother he didn’t know about.

I really enjoyed a lot about this book. Interracial couple, the super successful guy is the person of color, and they are both bisexual. We need more of all of those things in books.

The only thing I didn’t love was the way Tyler and Saint were super bickering with each other at the beginning. It was a bit repetitious. And while it was a bit formulaic, I still really enjoy the stories and characters that Riley Hart creates.

There wasn’t much of a chance for the romance to build between Tyler and Saint given the circumstances, but I still liked their dynamic and how they tried to get to know each other.

And the relationship each of the men had with their grandmother was so sweet.

Another win for Riley Hart.

Cover art: X-Potion Designs, is hot and perfect for the story and couple.

Sales Links: Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition
Published June 17th 2018 by Riley Hart
ASINB07DTNBWH4
Edition LanguageEnglish

Release Day Blitz for Something About You by Riley Hart (excerpt and giveaway)

SOMETHING ABOUT YOU

RILEY HART

M/M ROMANCE

RELEASE DATE: 06.19.18

Something About You Cover

COVER DESIGN: X-Potion Designs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Wilson Models

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Lucky Tyler Holloway has never felt particularly lucky. Frankly, he’s about as regular as can be. He works construction with his brothers, loves his small-town life, and shares a close bond with his family—especially his grandmother. Okay, so maybe he has a few secrets in his closet, like his bisexuality…and that other thing he doesn’t talk about… Maybe that’s why he’s always felt a little like an outsider.

Grayson St. Claire has it all: a dream job in LA, money, freedom. Saint has no attachments, which is just the way he likes it. Still, he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he missed his deceased parents who were the only family he had… Until he gets an e-mail from some guy named Tyler revealing the existence of a grandmother he’s never met, and prompting Saint to drop everything to drive across the country.

Saint and Tyler couldn’t be more different. Tyler hates the guy on sight, but there’s something about Tyler that gets under Saint’s skin. It’s not until they get to know one another that everything begins to change. But the Holloways and St. Claire’s have secrets, and their pasts are tied together in tragic ways they don’t know about. The odds are stacked against them and between their distance and their differences, Lucky and Saint have to admit that love alone might not be enough.

Goodreads – Something About You

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EXCERPT

Fuck. He really hated Sienna right now. But the truth was, Tyler was attracted to Saint, and he sort of hated himself for it. Saint represented everything that annoyed the shit out of Tyler. He was arrogant and full of himself. He had money, and he wanted everyone to know it. He obviously had a grudge against or didn’t understand small-town life. They were too different, so the attraction didn’t make much sense. You don’t have to know or like someone to think they’re sexy. Ugh. Truth.

He shifted uncomfortably. “You’re crazy. I don’t even like the guy.”

“And?” Sienna asked. “Since when do we have to like someone to be attracted to them? I know you’re Mr. Nice Guy, but hate sex is some of the best sex you can have. Billy and I—”

“Can you not?” Tyler cut her off. “I don’t want to hear any more about your sex life with Billy, and there’s no chance I’d have sex with Saint—hate sex or not.” Jesus, were they really going to do this? “Plus…even if I wanted to have sex with him—which again, I don’t—I’m not into fucking someone I don’t like, especially the first time I’m with a man, and I’m sure he’s straight anyway.” Just like everyone assumed Tyler was straight…and he had himself until he’d admitted the attractions he’d felt.

He couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. He wanted to go back to before he’d admitted to Sienna he thought he might be bi. Well, he was pretty sure he was obviously bi. But it just felt…strange to have this conversation with her. To discuss his sexuality, which he was still working through himself, a sexuality he hadn’t yet explored outside of a kiss. How in the world did someone know if another man was gay or bi anyway? Hell, the man who kissed him had done it without any confirmation from Tyler. How had he known it wasn’t a quick way to get his ass beat—or worse?

Sienna reached over and patted his thigh. “Oh, my dear, sweet friend. You are so innocent sometimes. He was totally checking you out.”

“He was?” slipped out before Tyler could hold it back. “I mean, I don’t care if he was. I’m not interested. This isn’t a game to me, Si.”

She sighed, and he could see the guilt in her eyes. “You think I don’t know that? I want you to have every experience, though.” She moved the bowl from between them and leaned against his side. Tyler wrapped his arm around her, Sienna’s head in the crook. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a little much sometimes. I definitely don’t want to push away the one person who always stays. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”

“Hey.” He tilted her head toward him. “I’m not the only one who stays, and I’d never leave you. I hope you’re not talking about Billy either. You walked away from him, and you should have. That’s nothing on you.”

“I know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She snuggled into him again, and he thought, not for the first time, how much easier life would be if he were in love with Sienna. Not just because she was a woman. There were other single women in town, and if he were interested, he could date them. He had dated some of them, but he and Sienna had always gotten each other on a different level. They understood each other and cared about each other. They had fun together, but anything other than friendship wasn’t there between them. Not on Tyler’s side, nor hers.

“I don’t ever want anything to hold you back. You’re the best person I know. Why shouldn’t you have every experience possible? Why shouldn’t you know what it’s like to be with a man? And he’s sort of the perfect person because he’s leaving and he wants to jump your bones. I could see it.”

Riley Hart is the girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s a hopeless romantic, a lover of sexy stories, passionate men, and writing about all the trouble they can get into together.

Life is good. Riley also writes young adult and new adult under the name Nyrae Dawn.

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