Tag: LGBTQIA Contemporary Romance

Review: He’s Behind You (Treading the Boatds #3) by Rebecca Cohen

Rating: 4🌈⛄️

Rebecca Cohen has a new holiday romance out in He’s Behind You, third story in her Treading the Boards series about a local amateur dramatic society, the Sarky Players.

It’s an absolutely entertaining series and this one is no exception. The story takes place around the holidays and our main characters get pulled into the Sarky Players and it’s panto this season, Aladdin, by two different paths.

Dr. Craig Rosen is a cellular researcher for work and an well known Warhammer gamer in his off time. His romances have left him with a bruised heart and a poor self image, reinforced by his sad history. It’s his associate who drags him off to an audition and a new start in his romantic life.

Jason is a lawyer, divorced father to two older children, and just coming out as gay, a sexuality he’s actually inwardly known about himself for years. Now after some trying emotional times with his ex wife who he likes and respects and his kids, he’s ready to experience what’s he’s missed all these years. But his way. He wants someone to connect with, a man who’s company he enjoys and well, all the sex too.

He’s also a ex Sarky Player coming back to rejoin the ranks.

Hmmmm.

There’s a terrific meeting between them. Lots of adult communication, a great family on Jason’s side to enjoy and a lovely romance.

As a gamer I wish that Jason’s attitude towards Warhammer had undergone more of a change. While it wasn’t quite as judgmental as it started out, he never gave Craig or his son’s passion the respect it deserves. That was probably a realistic character flaw but it made me like him a bit less as a father and partner.

Overall, this was a sweet, HFN holiday romance and I really enjoyed seeing characters from the previous books so involved within this play and story again.

I would have loved to have been in the audience for this one!

Happy Holidays! Here’s another sweet romance to add to your holiday reading list.

Treading the Boards series:

✓ Overly Dramatic #1

✓ Summer Season #2

✓ He’s Behind You #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showHe’s Behind You (Treading the Boards Book 3) by Rebecca Cohen – Goodreads

Synopsis:

A Treading the Boards Novella

Craig Rosen thinks he’s pretty happy with his quiet geeky life working in a lab in London and playing Warhammer. But one of his colleagues has other ideas and drags Craig along to an audition at the amateur dramatic society, the Sarky Players, for their Christmas pantomime, Aladdin. Meeting Jason Carter makes Craig think that maybe he’s not as content as he thought.

Jason Carter accepted he’s gay a little later in life than most, but now with an ex-wife and in his late thirties, he’s ready to embrace who he really is. He can’t believe his luck when he meets Craig, and the cute younger man’s patience and gentleness make him the perfect guy to help Jason navigate his new life.

While there’s no denying the attraction between them, it’s not just Jason’s insecurities that might upset their best performance. Craig is convinced that someone as confident as Jason, a corporate lawyer who looks sexy in a suit, could never settle for a man like him. Together they will need to re-write the script to give themselves the happy ending they deserve

Review: The Christmas Tenor (Laurel Holidays #3) by V. L. Locey

Rating: 4.5 🌈⛄️

My holiday reading continues with V.L. Locey’s The Christmas Tenor, the 3rd novel in her Laurel Holidays series, each a standalone story.

The Christmas Tenor is a very sweet, sexy holiday romance between a older, withdrawn widower and a young confident singer,. The older man is Cabriolet Vermat who withdrew from everyone and everything following the death of his famous actor husband from cancer . The exceptions being his twin brother and his incredibly successful business, Cabriolet Chauffeur Services and the people who help him run it.

Cabriolet and his twin brother, Pierre, are incredible characters. Indeed, it’s actually hard to separate them I. My mind. Not because of their personalities, because those are quite distinct! But because the author has done such a fabulous job of creating such a tight emotionally deep close bond between these brothers that , even for them, to be separated feels wrong.

From the ages old banter that flows between them to the ability to hurt as well, this brotherly dynamic (and Pierre’s flare with his wardrobe) was as popular with me as was the main romance. Adore these brothers…and now Pierre needs a true love FYI!

Those two are dealing with so many compelling issues. There’s Cabriolet’s inability to move past his husband’s death. Pierre’s inability to accept their mother’s rejection of their gayness and essential abandonment. Age has nothing to do with loss and pain and love.

This is handled so beautifully.

Julian Baez is also a fascinating, well defined character. Younger, decisive about his goals for himself and his needs, especially what they consist in a relationship, Jules is a dynamic, sexy personality. Who likes older black men. He’s extremely clear on why that is, his expectations, and the need for someone like that in his life. While making it less like a PowerPoint presentation and more a reasonable life choice.

I loved Jules too. Maybe not with the adoration I have for Cabriolet and Pierre but it’s definitely there. They are a great match. Locey makes us see the chemistry and get how it works for them both.

The only reason it’s a smidge under 5 🌈 is I felt that ending was a bit rushed. It went from Cab slowly making one decision, to one change, then another, then another. That may be how it works in the mucin world but I didn’t think how It showed Jules handled it was in keeping with the character “who was a take charge “ of his future sort.

So I thought there was a bit of fumbling there at the end to get them where the author needed them to go.

However, that’s a slight issue. The epilogue is wonderful and the journey to get there overwhelmingly heartwarming and sweet.

I really enjoyed this. I think you will too. Add it to your TBR holiday list. I’m highly recommending this!

Laurel Holidays series:

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesLaurel Holidays Series by V.L. Locey – Goodreads

A trip that he thought would bring him only pain is about to present him with the greatest gift of all.

For three years now, Cabriolet Vermat has put off, wiggled out of, and outright lied to get out of making this dreaded trip east. The owner of Cabriolet Chauffeur Services in Los Angeles has avoided the yearly invitation to the small town of White Bridge, New York, to speak at their alumni winter gathering but this year they’ve outfoxed him. They’re throwing a dinner to honor his late partner’s dedication to his alma mater and have asked Cab to speak. This time he has to go no matter how much pain it will stir up. Arriving in the picturesque small town beside one of the Finger Lakes, Cab is treated to a special performance of holiday songs and there he sees Julian Gabriel Baez for the first time.
The young singer captivates him immediately, and he finds himself seeking out the much younger man after the performance. The pull he feels toward Jules is unlike anything he’s felt since he met his partner years ago. Confusion and desire war within him, but the outgoing young tenor wins him over with his engaging smile and kind heart. A two-day trip soon turns into an extended holiday vacation. Cab worries that the magic of Christmas will quickly fizzle out and he’ll be alone once more. Or will this festive season bestow a blessing of the heart upon a man who thought he would never love again?

The Christmas Tenor is a standalone small-town gay Christmas romance with a beautiful May-December relationship, a lonely widower, a rising opera star, loving families, and plenty of holiday joy.

Review: The Wishing Tree by R.J. Scott

Rating: 4🌈⛄️

The Wishing Tree is a sweet, heartwarming holiday tale of a long time wish come true as two friends find their way to love and HEA at Christmas.

Once again, the snowy, beautiful state of Vermont serves as the backdrop for Scott’s holiday romance. I honestly don’t know what narrative pheromones Vermont is throwing off these days but.it seems as though every other book I pick up lately is located there. Not that I’m complaining, it is picturesque and perfect in so many ways that I get it.

And it works just as great as a location for the small town of Wishing Tree, it’s annual Christmas festival and it’s close knit community. Including that of the Buchanan family and the Haynes clan, all four brothers of which Bailey is the youngest.

It’s Bailey Haynes who as a young teenager, wrote his wish on the Wishing Tree about his deepest feelings for Kai, the fact the Bailey was gay and hadn’t told anyone yet. Everything poured out on a card years ago.

The story moves forward through past important events to arrive at the present and our meeting with the man of Bailey’s dreams.

That’s Kai Buchanan, soon to be ex hockey player of the Harriers. It’s been a tumultuous time for both Kai and Bailey, although neither knows the true extent of each other’s feelings and current situations.

I liked Bailey. He seems young, with a need for quiet and a certain amount of solitude. Extremely artistic, as a jewelry designer, Bailey also has held within himself a secret love of silk and a way of wearing beautiful undergarments like corsets.

The author balances Bailey’s fear of rejection over how he sees himself, dressed as he wants to be, and Kai’s inadequacies in expressing his feelings upon not only his return but prior to that.

Like Bailey, I was a tad unimpressed by Kai’s announcement of love as it seemed to pop out of nowhere, with absolutely zero foundation.

The story earnestly moved forward past this section and got much better and believable.

All the families, siblings, many nieces and nephews were all adorable. They helped ground the couple in a loving strong environment.

With the Christmas decorations and festivities, the relationship got the wonderful elements we look forward to in a holiday story, full of snow, starry nights, and wishes granted for a HEA.

The Wishing Tree by R.J. Scott is a lovely holiday friends to lovers story! A sweet romance I’m definitely recommending.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Wishing Tree by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Synopsis:

It takes an impossible Christmas wish for Bailey to find forever love with his brother’s best friend.

Turning twenty-five and still a virgin, Bailey has barely dated, let alone acted on the private fantasies featuring his brother’s best friend, newly retired hockey star, Kai. All he wants is for Kai to love him, but after a summer when Kai’s anger drove them apart, love doesn’t seem possible at all.

When Kai goes home to Wishing Tree, he knows he owes everyone an apology, not least of all to the man he loves. He’s convinced he can be the man that Bailey deserves, and he needs to show Bailey how much he’s changed.

The only problem? Bailey has secrets that he’s scared will drive Kai away, and Kai is running out of time to convince Bailey that falling in love starts with a wish and can end up in forever.

The Wishing Tree is a standalone small-town Christmas MM romance with perfect snow, twinkling lights, a first real kiss, a shy virgin with a silken kink, a retired hockey player, and all the Christmas feels.

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: Snowed (Boston Rebels #3) by R.J. Scott and V.L. Locey

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Kyle Lourenco, goalie for the Boston Rebels, has been a quietly interesting character in this series . Mentioned in quite a few books, he’s been a somewhat enigmatic peripheral character. Someone we didn’t know as well as we had the others but a person still likable and within our “hockey family “ fold.

This story abruptly changes that. And it sees Kyle returning home to family and a man he left physically behind but never emotionally.

The location is northbound Manitoba, and members of Kyle’s family as well as others in the small town of Eagles Ridge are Indigenous peoples. It allows the authors to include elements of that culture into this story for an additional richness of location and character. I really appreciated this aspect of the story.

The location also adds to the authenticity of the brutality of winter and freezing conditions the story is founded upon. Snowed indeed.

The character of Kyle is a haunted one, his personality tormented by a childhood amnesia and constant nightmares that no one has been able to determine the cause of. Add to that the fact that he’s left or abandoned (depending upon perspective) his family, friends, and love for the NHL. And you have a deeply complicated tormented man in need of help.

Christian Gauthier is the man and love Kyle left behind. A love he still carries while working in his store or running search and rescue missions.

When the men reconnect during a blizzard, it sets off all sorts of unexpected events. To go further would spoil the fun and indeed, some of the shockers too,

This is a emotional ride of all sorts. There’s a scary mystery, lovers reunited, second chance at love, family homecoming….all sorts of goodness here.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. And the ending seemed just right for this couple.

I wonder what book 4 will bring.

I’m definitely recommending this story. It’s a winner!

Boston Rebels series:

Lost in Boston #0.5

Top Shelf #1

Back Check #2

Snowed #3

Synopsis:

A second chance at love is all Kyle wants for Christmas, but a dark menace from his past wants him dead, and love is second to staying alive.

Kyle Lourenco has carved out a comfortable life and career for himself in Boston. With the holidays quickly approaching, he’s heading home for the first time in several years. Home to his loving parents and the small Canadian town where he was raised. And home to Christian, his best friend and the first man to steal his heart.

Just as a winter storm begins to blow in, it forces Kyle off the road only miles from home and a dark and sinister force from his past creeps ever closer. His only hope is getting to Christian’s cabin before the evil that has haunted him for years finally catches up to him.

Best friends since they were three, Christian Gauthier grew up next door to Kyle, in a remote mountain town with one stoplight and a forty-mile round trip to the nearest school. When Kyle left town for a shot at a professional hockey career, he took Christian’s heart with him. Even though he knew Kyle was always destined for bigger things, it hadn’t stopped Christian from falling for him as soon as he knew what love was.

With Christmas coming soon and a major snowstorm heading their way, Christian shuts the doors to the family store and heads to his cabin, where he will be on standby as an official volunteer for Search and Rescue. He has never regretted staying in Eagle Ridge, but a near miss on a simple rescue leads him to reevaluate everything, and when Kyle ends up at his door, he knows that guarding his heart might not be the best solution after all.

https://www.goodreads.com › showSnowed by R.J. Scott – Goodreads

Review: Keeping Promises by Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4🌈

Cowboys n Kids rides again in a new release from authors Jodi Payne and B.A.Tortuga. This time is a pair of divorced dads, one’s a rodeo cowboy, who get their second chance at HEA. With a very cute couple of kids very much a part of the mixture.

This works well primarily because of a sense of established relationship between Jeremy M. Dunn and his ex rodeo cowboy West Belen.

You do get the sense that, however much time has passed, feelings were never the issue. So as a death and injury drives one home and the other to reach out for help, it feels real instead of rushed.

What’s nice is the slower pace here towards a permanent situation. It needs communication, something they weren’t very good at when younger.

The story has many sweet and delightful elements. The kids are great, each taking the reappearance and talks of permanence in their own ways. There’s also a pair of younger adorable rodeo cowboys who end up at Jeremy and West’s home like a couple of lost Golden Retrievers.

I would love to see them again.

Overall, a terrific heartwarming romance of lovers reunited and happy second chances of HEA.

And holidays!

It’s a treat to read. And it’s one I’m recommending.

Keeping Promises by Jodi Payne – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Jeremy M. Dunn III has the single dad thing down, so the last thing he wants to do is call his ex-husband to ask for help with their two kids. They didn’t part on good terms, and they’ve barely spoken since the divorce. But with a cast on his arm that goes up past his elbow, Jeremy has no choice. He needs a few days to figure out how to bathe their daughter, make school lunches and parent their son one-armed, and there isn’t anyone else he can ask for help.

Former rodeo cowboy West Belen was already on his way back to his kids, and to Trey (“the third”, his nickname for Jeremy). He made a promise to try again, and he means to keep it, so when he sees his chance to move back into his family’s life, he grabs it like the brass ring he knows it is. He’s determined to be more than an “every other weekend” dad to his children, and he doesn’t want to keep on living with regret about how he and Trey ended.

Jeremy still desires West, but he isn’t sure he can trust West to be responsible and available. West still thinks Trey is the hottest thing he’s ever seen, but he has no idea how to convince the man he’s ready to settle down. The two of them have never had trouble butting heads, but now they need to learn to work together to make a home for themselves and their kids where they both belong

Review: Operation Meet the Parents (Operation HEA #2) by K.M. Neuhold

Rating: 5🌈

It’s been a while since the first novel where I encountered Harlow (he of the movie Meet Cute) and Teddy but it only took a sentence or two before the effervescent Low and the steadfast Teddy came happily alive once more.

This time the now together pair is leaving sunny LA for the snowy temps of Minnesota and a Christmas with Teddy’s family. It’s Low’s first time meeting them and at a major holiday at that.

What could go wrong?

Neuhold brings us a delightful heartwarming story, filled with family, Holiday gathering and festivities, as well as a bit of angst when Teddy’s mother slow to warm up to Low. Neuhold gently explores a realistic,loving mother/son relationship and the changing dynamic when one brings home their “forever love”. I so enjoyed watching the family, Ted’s mother and the men navigate what could have been a awkward holiday but instead turns out to be a very happily memorable Christmas.

Operation Meet the Parents is a well written holiday romance centered around an established wonderful couple, two highly delightful men, each with a secret mission and special gifts for each other. There’s so much laughter, tremendous characters,some sexy fun, and a ton of love of all types, romantic and that of family.

In short, just a terrific story and a great Christmas sequel for Low and his Teddy Bear. I’m really hoping that Neuhold will give us their wedding and a welcome reunion with both families and friends.

Both books are just a delight and I’m absolutely recommending both. Read one, then this heartfelt lovely Christmas tale.

Operation HEA series:

Operation Meet Cute #1

Operation Meet the Parents #2

Synopsis:

Teddy is ready to pop the question, but can he find the perfect movie-moment proposal for Harlow? And more importantly, will Low survive meeting the parents? Oh, the joy of Christmas.

A missed connecting flight, inappropriate winter attire, and a kitchen fire…it wouldn’t be Christmas without some complications, right?

I know Harlow is desperately trying to impress my family, but I’m a lot more concerned about coming up with a proposal worthy of his Hollywood dreams. That is if he doesn’t burn the house down first.

There’s nothing like the holidays with family. Fa la la la la….

***Operation Meet the Parents is a 25K word novella companion to the full-length novel, Operation Meet Cute. Don’t miss this warm and fuzzy, all-the-Christmas-feels, steamy story.

https://www.goodreads.com › showOperation Meet the Parents (Operation HEA #2) by K.M. Neuhold – Goodreads

Review: The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

I’m not sure why this sat a few days on my shelf before I got to it because it has to be one of my favorite romances yet this year.

Lily Morton really ticked every box for me here on contemporary romances and then further with not one but two love letters to Majorca and Venice. These settings are clearly places the author is familiar with and loves. And it shows in each warmly described location and all the finely etched details. The lagoons of Venice, history, the twisty roads and beaches along with local foods… all folded in with a memorable, heartwarming romance.

That Prologue! Honestly. Starting a story with a prologue almost guaranteed to make you sniffle ! Blink and you are already invested 100 percent in Wren Robert’s story, why he’s fog bound at that airport. And bereft.

Then comes the story.

And what a fantastic, romantic, grand story it is.

I laughed, cried, laughed some more… sighed a lot. And was ultimately thrilled at the ending.

Lily Morton gives us a spectacular cast of characters here.

Wren Morton, the Cuckoo of the title. The foster child forever being deposited in someone else’s “nest”, but who grew up without self pity, self-sufficient, kind, and with a love for learning. How I fell deeply in love with this character.

Mateo Rossi, extremely wealthy hotelier, bored, multidimensional. Of an ancient Venice family as well as one in Majorca. A man of divided hearts. Watching Mateo interact with Wren, changing as he reveals more of his real self? Amazing.

While the story is told mostly from Wren’s perspective, every now and then we get Mateo’s pov, just when it’s needed. To see Wren outside of how he sees himself. I grew to anticipate those!

The other characters like Mateo’s mother and grandfather are people that are so well developed that I felt I just didn’t get enough of them. Same about Alfie and a certain glass artist.

I really hope to see a sequel to this story.

The Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton is such a remarkable romance that I felt 5 stars wasn’t nearly enough.

I’m highly recommending it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Synopsis:

Can a summer romance last forever?

Wren Roberts thought he’d found his fairy tale when he met Mateo Rossi on holiday in Majorca. The wealthy and successful older man swept him off his feet, and before he knew it, he’d thrown caution to the wind and was living in Mateo’s waterside apartment in Venice. It’s a far cry from his harsh upbringing and crummy flat in London.

But as the summer turns to autumn, cracks begin to show. Mateo’s family aren’t welcoming, and there doesn’t seem to be a place for Wren in Mateo’s world. He could have coped with all of that, but Mateo himself seems like a different person away from the sunshine island.

Should Wren have been more cautious in riding off into the sunset when he wasn’t sure what lay over the horizon?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a romance about two men who find that sometimes happily ever after doesn’t end there.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Cuckoo’s Call by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Review: Hot as Heller (Aster Valley #3) by Lucy Lennox

The man asked me to valet his damn car

Rating: 3.5 🌈

Hot as Heller by Lucy Lennox is a new release I happened to grab up as it’s tag line caught my attention.

Of course, it’s a middle book in a series. But I found this time that really didn’t make a difference for me understanding the characters or for getting a feel of place and community. Lennox does a good job of laying out her foundation universe. It’s folded into this story so well that it includes enough of all preceding storylines and history that the reader doesn’t feel lost when past events or people are mentioned.

Also each book represents a different couple so while minor threads appear from previous novels, each story can stand somewhat alone, with a support cast you can become familiar with if this is your first book. Or one you already know because you’ve read their stories. Either way, it works.

I enjoyed this story and felt that one of the elements was excellently on topic , especially given the timing. I’m talking about the current tragedy on the now shut down movie set of “Rust”, and the intense and much needed movie industry discussions going on about safety, stunts .and overall actor/support control.

I wonder if the author knew how on point and current this aspect of the story would be.

It was excellently written and the suspense almost made the romance take a backseat for me. It did have the effect of making me care about a character I was having trouble connecting with.

That would be Finn Heller, the child actor who’s the lead in this action movie being filmed in Aster Valley. Finn is/was a very problematic character for me. Most doormat personalities are. For the majority of this book , Finn let’s everyone make decisions for him. Whether to go to a bar when he doesn’t want to. He says no and goes anyway. He says no and does it anyway. For everything.

While the author is doing her best to explain his actions, that very personality is turning into white noise for me. Not good when he’s half of a main romance.

Better is Sheriff Declan Stone. Recently of LA’s PD, a corruption scandal involving his partner and just sick of Hollywood and its denizens, he’s relocated to small town Aster Valley for a saner, better lifestyle.

I liked this character immediately. He comes across as realistic, competent. At home in his skill set and person. He’s, in short, believable and someone we can connect with.

Which begs the question as to why he’s attaching himself to a doormat, however attractive. Finn does find himself undergoing a sea change before the story ends but I still found him not as fascinating a person. Oh well.

What I did fall in love with? The small town community of Aster Valley. I need dispatcher Penny to finish filling me in on the romance drama between Charlene Candy, her ex wife Clara Corn ( yep you see that coming), and her new love Clara’s brother. Plus there’s that thing with Colman and his wildlife…

Never a dull , funny , or just small town human moments. This book and the Sheriffs time of full of them. Those made it for me

The town, it’s people, the secondary romances, as well as other interesting , warm-hearted aspects to Aster Valley pulled me in and engaged my imagination to make me want to explore the rest of the series.

This has so many different terrific elements that I can definitely recommend it as a contemporary romance people will enjoy.

Aster Valley Series:

◦ Winter Waites #0.5

◦ Right as Raine #1

◦ Sweet as Honey #2

✓ Hot as Heller #3

◦ Thick as Thieves #4 – coming 2022

Synopsis:

The man asked me to valet his damn car.

Look, I left LA for a reason. I’ve had my fill of big Hollywood stars and their even bigger egos. I want something genuine. Something real. And it doesn’t get any realer than being the new sheriff of Aster Valley, Colorado.

That is, until entitled Finn Heller appears on the scene, handing me the keys to his convertible like I’m his personal servant.

The former child star and wannabe action hero is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. He’s also a snarky party animal with legions of adoring fans and attitude for days.

Or so I thought.

The longer the film crew stays in town, the more I begin to wonder if Finn is hiding his true self, one that’s as beautiful inside as out. He’s a star alright, but the kind that shines bright enough to light up the night sky… the kind I want to make a wish on.

A wish Finn will find a way to make things work with me, even if it means his next role is my very own leading man.

https://www.goodreads.com › showHot as Heller (Aster Valley, #3) by Lucy Lennox | Goodreads

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Review: Bigger Than Us by B.A. Tortuga and Jodi Payne

Rating: 4 🌈⛄️

Artist Daniel McCaverty and businessman Mitchell Brown were both close friends of Adam who has just died of cancer. His Will has irrecoverably changed both mens lives forever, leaving them intertwined with those of two young children, one a baby. Two men, two children, and one house . That’s equals a family…

Bigger Than Us is among the latest of what authors Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga are calling their “shoe stories “ and I call their cowboys n kids books.

They have cowboys, a city boy, kids, a second chance at love, and a major drama/trauma that pulls the two men together to form a family.

Here , as it’s been in several stories, it’s been a death by cancer of a guardian or parent, that lets the men step in and take charge.

I liked both characters of Dan and Mitch, both very different from each other. Dan for me was more fascinating and his background and history raised a lot of questions that were never satisfactorily answered. I think if I had gotten more of Dan’s past, it would have raised the rating higher. Because I felt we were going to get his background then the authors never came back to it. Too bad. He’s a compelling personality.

Dan and Mitch’s love story also comes about quickly. But they acknowledge the fast pace, communicate their doubts and questions about their situation, the kids, their relationship, everything that’s been fast tracked… just as adults should. And that element, the ability for the men to voice their own issues with everything that happened so fast actually makes the reader happier and ok with the love and warmth occurring on the pages in front of us.

The kids? Priceless. Act and talk like kids. Especially Vicki who’s hurting and acting up because she’s scared and mad and little. And wants her Dad back. Your heart will ache for her.

This story runs through Thanksgiving and ends at Christmas so for me it’s a holiday story. Sweet, sad, heartwarming, and loving.

I enjoyed it, especially the ending even if it stopped a bit abruptly. Still happy.

Side note. What is going on in Burlington, Vermont? Did I miss the heart eyes text for Burlington where it’s now the romance destination ?

Anyway, add this to your holiday TBR pile. You will absolutely enjoy it.

Bigger Than Us

Synopsis:

When Daniel McCaverty gets the call that his best friend and mentor up in Vermont has cancer, he expects to have plenty of time to go help. He never expects that Adam will be gone before he gets there, or that he will suddenly be in charge of Adam’s two small children. He’s a loner, an artist, and a wanderer. What’s he supposed to do now?

Mitchell Brown is a white-collar kind of guy. Organized. Careful. He has a plan in place for Adam’s kids long before Daniel arrives, and is shocked when Daniel is given custody. But for Vicky and Emory, he’s willing to put his hurt and confusion aside to help Daniel figure things out, to make the whole situation work.

Daniel and Mitch have to deal with a tidal wave of grief while getting one kid started in school, and keeping up with their work. But they’re going to have to figure out their unexpected attraction to each other if they’re going to build something together that’s bigger than either one of them alone