Love is Love Reviews

Review: Crunch Time (Work Out #4) by Andrew Grey

Good characters and interesting plot.

Crunch Time (Work Out #4) by Andrew Grey

3.5 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 110 pages. Published March 16th 2011 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

When George Higgins agrees to help a soon-to-be-former professional football player rehearse for a guest appearance on a talk show, he doesn’t expect anything to come of it. To his surprise, Darren White shows up on time and actually makes an effort to learn from George. But Darren has definite problems; he can barely read and sounds awful when he speaks. Luckily, George is a teacher and Darren’s motivated. It’s crunch time: the first rehearsal for Talking Sports is looming, and Darren and George will have to work together if they want Darren’s guest appearance-and their budding relationship-to turn into a full-time gig.

Likes:

Interesting characters.
Plot that kept me interested.
Less focus on the workout and more on the men’s personal lives.
Seeing Darren learn and grow.
Darren’s perfect Christmas gift.

Dislikes:

Felt preachy, especially at the beginning.
Beginning could have been stronger, especially when introducing George.
Lots of clichés.
Wish more time had been spent on Darren’s learning process.
Everything felt rushed. This story could really have used a longer format.

I didn’t realize until I was more than halfway through this book that I managed to accidentally skip the third in the series. But since none of the characters from that book seem to appear in this one, I just kept going.

This book was definitely an improvement over the others that I’ve read. The gym and workouts were still a part of the story, but a small part, which was a nice change. Instead, the men’s lives and personal struggles came to the forefront. I also liked that both men had physical limitations but weren’t defined by them. It was a nice change from the Adonis-like bodies in the first two books.

Both George and Darren are interesting characters. Once I got to know them, I was invested in the story, more than with the first two books in the series. The beginning was a little weak, and didn’t hook me right from the start, but the epilogue was really cute, as was the Christmas gift Darren gave to George. It showed how much he’d come to learn about what was really important in George’s life.

Their relationship was sweet and happened naturally. I liked that they didn’t immediately click and had to get to know each other a bit. I wish the book had been a full length novel instead of a novella. Darren’s learning process, as well as learning to be true to who he was, should have been expanded on. Most of the learning process was summarized in a few sentences, skipping weeks at a time.

What was left in the story was a number of clichés. Both Darren being a football player who has trouble with learning and George’s past relationship drama were both things I feel like I’ve seen lots of times before. Some of the clichés, especially George being a teacher, were used like a soapbox at times, beating the reader over the head with the fact that teachers aren’t paid enough for the work they do. While George being a teacher did come up a lot, it was definitely noticeable when the preaching began.

This is my favorite book in the series so far. I’ve rated it half a star above the others, which might not seem like a lot, but the downsides of the shorter format kept Crunch Time from getting bumped up to four stars.

Review: Pump Me Up (Work Out #2) by Andrew Grey

Better than the first.

Pump Me Up (Work Out #2) by Andrew Grey

3 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 119 pages. Published June 9th 2010 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

Taking advantage of a free pass from work, Maddoc decides to try out a fitness center. After meeting up with a friend, Dan, and making dinner plans, Maddoc meets Ivan, a hunky, silver-haired ex-Marine who gives him a ride home. Soon Maddoc finds himself with a new friend, a workout partner, a protector… and maybe something more, as a simmering attraction comes to life between him and Ivan. After moving too fast in previous relationships that fell apart, Maddoc wants to start slow—wants to make sure it can last. Luckily, Ivan is willing to wait.

Likes:

Better than the first.
The mystery with the stalker.
Maddoc learning he can be brave and strong.
Ivan willing to wait.
Maddoc’s reaction to being harassed and stalked was realistic.
Short.

Dislikes:

The mystery turned out to have an unsatisfying and under explained ending.
The relationship moved really fast.
Lots of things about Maddoc’s life were left out or sprinkled in too late into the story.
Ivan’s sudden decision to nickname Maddoc ‘Tiger’ out of nowhere.
Lonnie came across as a real asshole.
Clucky writing and long sentences.
I don’t see what made Maddoc so appealing he had multiple men after him.
Maddoc just put up with being stalked and harassed without doing anything to stop it.

While I did like this story better than the first, it still didn’t capture my attention. A lot of my complaints about the first book apply to this one as well – from the clunky writing to the lack of dimension in the characters. I spent about the first half of the book assuming Maddoc had just moved to town because there was no mention of him having friends or a support system of any kind. It’s only until later that mentions of him living in his house for seven years and being friendly with the old lady next door came up.

The momentum driving this story really comes from the mystery of the stalker. The first thing we learn about Maddoc is that someone’s been leaving him creepy notes and dead flowers. I like that Ivan teaches Maddoc how to defend himself, and that it’s simple and realistic. No fancy joint locks or anything. Just hit the guy and run away. What I didn’t like was that Maddoc didn’t actively do anything to try to stop the harassment or find out the culprit. That was all left up to Ivan.

As for Ivan, I liked him well enough, but considering that he also had some point of view chapters, he didn’t make nearly as strong of an impression as Maddoc. Maybe because there was nothing really going on in his life other than his romance with Maddoc. I do think him taking Maddoc to meet his mom after only having known the guy a few days was crazy fast, even for a romance novella.

Again, I wish the novella had spent less time in the gym and more time developing the characters. Maddoc and Ivan were more developed than Gene and Dan from the last book, but work still needed to be done.

My biggest complaint has to be about the way the stalker plot was wrapped up. The eight word explanation given for why the guy did it was completely unsatisfactory. Why now? Why send flowers like a creep instead of talking to Maddoc like a normal person? Why and how was he stalking Maddoc? Considering the lengths the stalker had to go to, it seemed much bigger than the half-sentence explanation.

As this book is better than the last, I’m hoping that by the end of the series, I’ll actually like the stories. Considering that this series is from back when Andrew Gray started writing, which I didn’t know when I picked it up, it’s not too surprising that the writing needs polish.

Review: Spot Me (Work Out #1) by Andrew Grey

Too many workout scenes. I know, I know, it’s in the title, but still.

Spot Me (Work Out #1) by Andrew Grey

3 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 95 pages. Published August 2009 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

Working out is a daily routine for Dan, who meets his friend Lonnie at the gym to lift weights. But breaking a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when Dan sees Gene, a professional bodybuilder, in the mirror. Dan knows it’s a lost cause: he’s forty and nursing a broken heart, nowhere in the same league as gorgeous Gene.

Then at the gym the next day, Gene asks Dan if he can work out with him. A bet wins Dan a smoothie and conversation, which surprisingly leads to a date. Now Dan is faced with a dilemma: does he allow Gene to elbow his way into his life, or will he give up on the idea of a new relationship before it even starts?

Likes:

Older / younger romance where the younger guy was the pursuer.
Dan learning to trust again.
Lonnie’s steadfast friendship.
Gene’s willingness to go as slow as Dan needed.
It was short.

Dislikes:

I never connected with Dan.
Too much into on workouts, bodybuilding, and the focus on Gene’s body.
Dan’s hangups seemed unnecessarily strong.
There’s very little substance to this book.
Clunky writing and lots of long sentences.

Andrew Gray’s works are either a hit or a miss for me and this one was definitely a miss. I never connected with Dan. There’s nothing wrong with him per se, but his personality seemed to revolve solely around his breakup months ago. Even his every day workout regimen started because of the breakup.

Gene seems nice. I liked him better, but since the story was only from Dan’s point of view, I didn’t get to see much of Gene that wasn’t about his body, bodybuilding, or him romancing Dan. I literally know next to nothing about the man, which is due in part to the shortness of the story, but also because the main conflict was centered around Dan’s insecurities.

And speaking of Dan’s insecurities, rather than making me sympathetic to him, they just made me annoyed. I don’t usually use the phrase ‘chick with a dick’ because people are people and they can act however they want, but all of Dan’s whining and hesitation could easily have come straight from a hetero romance.

My biggest problem with Dan’s issues was the timeline. Sure, he’d been with the same guy for ten years. That’s a long time. But Dan is forty-one. So he must have done some exploring in his twenties. Yet he acts like Mike was the only guy he was ever with and everything he knows about intimacy and dating come from their decade together. I would have preferred if Dan had realized that he wasn’t the same person he was before he started dating Mike, and so he had to relearn how to date again. That would have made more sense. And while it was kind of hinted at, the rest of his insecurities massively overshadowed that particular issue.

As to the writing, I feel like there’s too much focus on things that aren’t important to the story. Like how Dan gets to borrow Lonnie’s Porsche while he’s on vacation or the talk about music that went absolutely nowhere. There’s a subtle ‘rich guy’ vibe to the story that never gets explained. It’s as though the material is there to make this a full-fledged novel but that didn’t happen.

I’ll give the other books in this series a shot, because they’re all short. Hopefully there will be a little more depth to the characters next time.

Review: Superhero by Eli Easton

A great friends to lovers romance.

5 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 136 pages. Published July 25th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

It’s not easy for a young gay artist like Jordan Carson to grow up in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where all anyone seems to care about in middle school and high school are the sports teams. But Jordan was lucky. He met Owen Nelson in the second grade, and they’ve been BFFs ever since. Owen is a big, beautiful blond and their school’s champion wrestler. No one messes with Owen, or with anyone close to him, and he bucks popular opinion by keeping Jordan as his wingman even after Jordan comes out at school.

Their friendship survives, but Jordan’s worst enemy may be himself: he can’t seem to help the fact that he is head-over-heels in love with a hopeless case—his straight friend, Owen. Owen won’t let anything take Jordan’s friendship away, but he never counted on Jordan running off to find a life of his own. Owen will have to face the nature of their relationship if he’s to win Jordan back.

Likes:

The friends to lovers romance.
The slow burn.
Heart wrenching but in a good way because you know it’s all going to work out.
Happy ending and great epilogue.
Great characters.
Kept me invested until the very end.

Dislikes:

There is a moment when the guys do sexy stuff and they aren’t legal adults. That weirded me out a bit. As did the whole ‘still being in high school’ thing.
I do feel bad for how much pining Jordan went through while Owen had practically none.

This was a reread for me. I read it years ago and knew I’d liked it, but didn’t remember the story at all. Obviously I still like it, which makes it strange that I’ve only ever read one other book by Easton. I’m definitely going to have to check out her other things.

I’m a sucker for ‘friends to lovers’ stories, and this one takes the cake. Jordan and Owen are true BFFs and in a way that makes it harder for them to transition to the lovers side of things. It doesn’t happen until

Spoiler

which means the Jordan has lots of time to pine over how Owen will never like him that way. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings, though not enough to make me cry.

I have few complaints about this book. I will say, it made me a little uncomfortable reading about the occasional sexual moment when I knew that the characters were underage. There was no penetration, and that does make it a little better, I guess. I mean, I got over my discomfort because I was invested in the characters, so at the end of the day it wasn’t a big deal.

I was surprised that the book was written in first person POV and still flipped from Owen to Jordan’s POV. I’m not used to seeing that in books, but it worked well. The first person POV really helped get into their heads and immerse the reader into their world.

For a book that is less than 150 pages, Superhero really packs a punch. The characters are well developed and well written, the dialogue is witty, the nerd and jock lingo is on point, all with the added color of how coming out can affect different people differently. The little bit of angst as Jordan tries to get over Owen again and again makes this story more dark chocolate than milk chocolate in terms of sweetness, but I liked it.

Review: Hold Tight (The DADcademy #2) by Alison Hendricks

DNF 28%

2 out of 5 stars

Ebook. Kindle Unlimited. 250 pages. Published March 21, 2019

Blurb:

“I won’t let you go without a fight.”

After a painful divorce, Josh Ford is left fighting for his son in a high-stakes custody battle. When he contacts the DADcademy for help, he gets much more than he bargained for in the form of his college crush, a deliciously sexy pastry chef who’s always set his heart–and his body–aflame.

Andy Perez is everyone’s knight in shining armor. He took care of his family when they needed him most, and he’s more than willing to do the same for his long-time crush, too. It’s not like anything could ever happen between them. The sweet, sensitive artist was off-limits back then and he’s off-limits now.

After a major setback in the custody case, Andy is right there. Strong. Steady. And… kissing Josh. That one moment of vulnerability reveals a decade of suppressed longing. But when old fears threaten to tear them apart, they’ll have to cast aside their doubts and find strength in each other–and the family they could build together.

The DADcademy is now in session! Follow a group of well-meaning, lovable, but ultimately clueless single dads as they band together to support one another in raising their kids and finding their Happily Ever After. Every book in The DADcademy series can be read as a standalone, but reading them in order is strongly recommended.

Likes:

Seeing more of the characters from the previous book.
The instant support Eric and Julian give to Josh.
Andy’s history living on the edge of poverty and how he doesn’t let it hold him back.
Josh’s insistence on pursuing his art as a career.

Dislikes:

The story didn’t hook me.
I didn’t particularly care for either Josh or Andy.
There weren’t a lot of scenes in the beginning with Josh and his son.
Most of Josh’s personality, especially his wishy-washy attitude and low self-esteem.
The issues between Andy and Eric about the business seemed tone-deaf.

DNF 28%

This book had none of the same magnetism of the first. Neither the characters or the storyline caught my interest. Even Josh’s interactions with his son only happened in chapter one (I gave up halfway through chapter eight) so there was very little parenting.

To give credit where credit is due, the one scene between father and son did make Josh seem like he genuinely loved Mason. But when Josh’s ex-wife showed up, I thought her concerns about Josh’s parenting style were reasonable. She complained about how Josh never disciplined Mason, and didn’t provide structure, like having a fixed bedtime. What made it worse was Josh’s attempt to defend his decision. To be fair, I think threatening to take away Josh’s parental rights was a little harsh, but I didn’t think she was some unreasonable bi*ch.

I did learn some things that made Josh a little more understandable, if not more likeable. Like how he suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. It at least helped make sense of his desire to run away, sometimes literally, from almost everything. Josh also doesn’t like confrontation, but decided to push past that if it meant keeping his son. That was great.

What wasn’t great was learning that Josh wasn’t happy with his ‘every other weekend and one week a month’ time with Mason, but he hadn’t done anything about it before. Why not fight for his son when the divorce happened? Why did Josh wait until his custody was threatened to do something? It made him feel like a character who just went along with things, only reacting when something massive went wrong. This point was only driven home by the two sentences that soured me to Josh completely. “School and doctors’ visits were something Kim had always handled. He’d never been asked to come along, so he just hadn’t.”

The only thing Josh seems really passionate about is his art. He refuses to take a “dead-end job, watching the clock all day” like his ex-wife and instead relentlessly pursues his art, bouncing from job to job as a freelance artist.

On the other hand, Andy was an interesting character, but he didn’t jump off the page. I liked his family backstory, as well as his desire to keep improving the bakery. But when Andy was trying to convince Eric to start a Facebook page and website for the bakery, and Eric resisted, I almost couldn’t believe what I was reading. In today’s world, social media for businesses is everything, especially with Instagramable things like baked goods. For a business owner not to want to take advantage of something as simple as a free Facebook page seemed very out of touch with the reality of 2019 marketing. It honestly made me lose a little faith that the author knew what she was writing about.

This book gets a 2 star rating because while there was nothing that made me want to keep reading, the plot seemed strong and the characters were consistent. I’m not sure if I’ll keep going with this series, but I’d be willing to try reading something else from this author in the future.

After Hours: An Erotic Gay Short Story by May Lacer

My tenth short story is now out! Double digits! Get it on Amazon for $2.99 or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. Find it here.

Bartending in a hotel lounge isn’t exactly Keagan’s dream job. Long hours, demanding customers, and the occasional disgruntled drunk comes with the territory. But the tips are good, especially when there’s a conference in town. Businessmen and women like to show off by being nice to the staff, and Keagan needs every dollar he can get.

The downside is that he works nonstop, running from one side of the bar to the other. From the moment he clocks in, he’s busy making drinks while talented professionals fill the lounge, intent on networking as they enjoy the fully stocked bar.

Only when the crowd begins to dwindle does Keagan lay eyes on the most attractive man he’s seen all night. Terrance’s dark skin sets him apart, as does the way he flirts with Keagan, to the disappointment of the women. Keagan knows better than to flirt too much while he’s working, but when Terrance comes back as he’s closing up the bar, Keagan jumps at the chance to spend the night with him.

The spark between them explodes into a raging inferno the moment they get behind closed doors. But is one night all they’ll have together? Or can they have more?

*This short story contains steamy scenes meant for those 18 and up.

This short story is approximately 12,400 words long.

City Comfort: An Erotic Gay Short Story by May Lacer

I have to admit, this story came out last weekend and I completely forgot about posting it to the blog until Wednesday. And since I was days late anyway, I decided to just wait and post it at the same time I post this week’s story.

So here it is, my ninth short story. Get it on Amazon for $2.99 or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited. Find it here.

When his boyfriend freaks out about going to visit his extended family, Leo knows he needs to help any way he can. He brings over comfort food, hoping it will be enough to calm Aaron down. But when he finds Aaron in the middle of tearing his closet apart trying to find the perfect outfit, Leo realizes he needs to step up his game.

The best way to distract a panicking boyfriend is to make him focus on one thing. And Leo is more than happy to be that one thing. He doesn’t need amazing seductive skill to get Aaron calmed down. A few well-placed touches and Aaron returns to normal. But Leo worries his temporary solution won’t be enough.

So Leo promises Aaron some good, old-fashioned city comfort when he returns from his trip. The kind of comfort created when two willing bodies join together. As Leo describes what he’ll do to Aaron the next time they see each other, Aaron decides that he’s not willing to wait. And neither is Leo.

*This short story contains steamy scenes meant for those 18 and up.

This short story is approximately 32 pages and 7,900 words long.

Review: Help Wanted (The DADcademy #1) by Alison Hendricks

Loved the diverse side characters.

3 out of 5 stars

Ebook. Kindle Unlimited. 109 pages. Published January 29, 2019.

Blurb:

“Will you start a DADcademy with me?”

Eric Buchanan just wants to do right by his daughter, but when she expresses an interest in all things glamorous–something his nerdy, dad jeans wearing self knows nothing about–he’s absolutely lost. The solution? Find an adorably fashionable hairdresser who can show him the ropes.

Julian Rossi has spent his life helping other people become the best version of themselves, but when it comes to raising a son on his own–especially feeding that son–he’s making it up as he goes along. When a big teddy bear of a man comes in looking for help, Julian can’t resist. And when he learns that man also knows how to cook, he decides to strike a deal.

The plan: Swap essential dad-skills to support each other, one single dad to another. But attraction grows with every lesson, and Eric and Julian soon find themselves eager for a little one-on-one teaching. When old insecurities and crazy exes threaten to ruin what they’ve built, they’ll have to learn to truly trust one another–with their family, and their heart.

Likes:

Single dads who are very involved in their children’s lives.
Eric’s ex-wife is a nice woman he’s still friendly with. No evil women character.
Dads who want to learn and do better by their children.
Multiple LGBTQ+ side characters.
The idea of the dadcademy.

Dislikes:

The term ‘dadcademy’.
The romance wasn’t well developed enough for the emotions the characters felt.
There wasn’t enough time spent on page with the Eric and Julian together.
So much childcare.
The thing with Omar, that happened and then was ignored.
Eric being stupid.

I started off liking this story. The premise is good and I liked the characters. Especially how much both Eric and Julian cared for their kids and their businesses.

And then the story lost momentum. I put it down around the 65% mark and had a hard time picking it back up. The time Eric and Julian spent together just wasn’t the good kind of ‘building a romance’ kind of interactions. In fact, we barely get to see them interacting romantically at all. They literally have one date before things go south.

Which brings me to my second point. Considering how little time these two men have been romantically linked, their emotional attachment is way too strong.

Both men are negatively impacted by the breakup to the point where it’s affecting their daily lives. They simply didn’t connect enough for that kind of reaction. Or the way Julian instantly forgave Eric for the breakup.

Because this story is so short, I think the romance should have started sooner. On the one hand, I like that Eric is reluctant to start anything, and that there are some missteps between him and Julian over actually trying to date. But all that took time. Time that could have been spent deepening the relationship. The first date doesn’t happen until the 57% mark.

And I just have to complain about Julian’s ex. Hendricks’ author blurb says she “believes love stories are better with just a little angst thrown in” and I wish she’s chosen some other sort of angst for this story. Julian’s ex shows up at Eric’s bakery to “warn” him about Julian. This sparks Eric’s hidden insecurities and he ends up breaking up with Julian, even though it takes him a week of indecision to do so. He doesn’t talk to Julian, doesn’t try to be an adult about it. Just freaks out and runs away. Later, we learn that Omar tried to contact Julian over social media, but Julian blocks his new account. It makes Omar seem like a total creep stalker, but nothing is done about it. I wish Omar had been left out entirely. His presence made Eric seem really weak willed and susceptible to suggestion. Not to mention, I was deeply annoyed at the lightening quick way Julian forgave Eric when he finally realized breaking up was a mistake. It made Julian seem so desperate to have someone in his life that he’d forgive anything – something he specifically said he wouldn’t do after the way Omar treated him. More than anything else, it was the breakup/makeup part of the story that really killed my interest in the book and had me skimming until the end.

Overall, I think there was too much going on for a book this length. It needed to either be trimmed down, which would get rid of a lot of the little things I liked, or expanded into a longer book with a lot more focus on building the relationship. I’ll give the next book in the series a shot, but I can’t say I’m eager to read it. The hint in the epilogue about who the next main character will be didn’t exactly wet my appetite, but I’ll give it a shot.

Review: Freckles by Amy Lane

Cute and fluffy read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Ebook. Kindle edition. 2nd edition. 137 pages. Published March 8th 2019 by Dreamspinner Press (first published November 14th 2016)

Blurb:

Small dogs can make big changes… if you open your heart.

Carter Embree always hoped someone might rescue him from his productive, tragically boring, and (slightly) ethically compromised life. But when an urchin at a grocery store shoves a bundle of fluff into his hands, Carter goes from rescuee to rescuer—and he needs a little help.

Sandy Corrigan, the vet tech who eases Carter into the world of dog ownership, first assumes Carter is a crazy-pants client who just needs to relax. But as Sandy gets a glimpse of the funny, kind, sexy man under Carter’s mild-mannered exterior, he sees that with a little care and feeding, Carter might be “Super Pet Owner”—and decent boyfriend material to boot.

But Carter needs to see himself as a hero first. As he says goodbye to his pristine house and hello to carpet treatments and dog walkers, he finds there really is more to himself than a researching drudge without a backbone. A Carter Embree can rate a Sandy Corrigan. He can be supportive. He can be a man who stands up for his principles!

He can be the owner of a small dog.

Likes:

Cute and fluffy read.
No angst.
The joys of pet ownership.
Likeable characters.

Dislikes:

The downsides of puppy ownership – aka lots of poop.
I don’t think the names suited the characters.
Not particularly memorable.

I enjoy reading Amy Lane books, but I don’t enjoy them all. So every time I pick up a new book of hers, I’m a little unsure if I’ll like it or not. This one was cute, but not overly memorable. I honestly picked it up because it’s about pets.

This was definitely an easy read. Carter and Sandy were likeable, as were the supporting cast, with the exception of Carter’s boss, who was supposed to be unlikeable. My problem, and I realize this is totally my own perception, is that I didn’t think Carter and Sandy were good names for the men. Or rather, I thought their names should be swapped, and I had a hard time remembering who was who. To me, Carter seems like a name for someone happy and full of life, whereas Sandy seems like the perfect name for a lawyer who has realized his life is beige. Unfortunately, in this book, Sandy is the lively vet tech and Carter is the lawyer in need of some color.

I enjoyed watching the relationship that bloomed between these two men, and the positive changes that having a dog brought to Carter’s life. I’m not a particular fan of small dogs, but Freckles was mostly cute. Except for the pooping everywhere. That part made me glad my dog is house trained.

The added touch of the holidays and family made this a perfect low angst quick read.

Review: The Fireman’s Pole by Sue Brown

No angst.

4 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 220 pages. Published October 15th 2017 by Dreamspinner Press

Blurb:

The flames of passion rise for the lord of the manor.

It’s springtime in Calminster village, but things are already heating up. Sexy firefighter Dale Maloney is new to the local station. When Dale backs the company fire engine into the village maypole, he attracts the ire—and attention—of Benedict Raleigh, the Baron Calminster.

Soon after meeting Dale, Ben breaks off his relationship with his girlfriend, and the sparks between Ben and Dale are quickly fanned into flames.

Unfortunately the passion between the two men isn’t the only blaze in the village. An arsonist’s crimes are escalating, and it’s up to Dale and his crew to stop them. Meanwhile, as they investigate, an unscrupulous business partner attempts to coerce Ben into marrying his daughter. The May Day parade is around the corner, but they have plenty of fires to put out before Ben can finally slide down the fireman’s pole.

Likes:

The instant spark between Ben and Dale.
The firefighters and townspeople.
How accepting everyone ultimately is about Dale and Ben.
Funny.
No angst.

Dislikes:

Very abrupt ending.
The class difference isn’t fully addressed.
I have no idea what’s in store for this couple. Will they make it? I don’t know.
The romance went from 0 to 60 in no time at all.
A lot going on and not everything was given the attention it deserved.

I liked this book. It was fun and fluffy and I finished it in an afternoon. Reading it was like lounging on a pool float going down a lazy river. Which is to say, I enjoyed it while I was reading, because I was just going with the flow, but upon closer inspection it’s got a number of problems.

Dale is a likeable guy, both because of his personality in general and because he takes the friendly teasing from his fellow firefighters well. I did have to look up what the L plates that kept appearing on his station locker were. They stand for ‘learner’ and are the equivalent of the ‘student driver’ signs used in the USA. It’s a lighthearted way to tease Dale considering that he backed the firetruck into the maypole.

Ben is used to people treating him with instant respect because he’s nobility, and he comes across as snobby at first. But it’s clear he really cares for the village in general and his staff in specific, so it was easy to warm up to him. Dale warms up to him quickly as well, their instant attraction more on the superficial side.

The romance is a bit all over the place. Dale is recovering from a bad breakup and Ben isn’t out. But something convinces both men to throw caution to the wind and go full speed ahead with the romance. While their attraction is obvious, the reason why they fall for each other so hard and fast isn’t.

There’s a lot going on in terms of subplots, including an arsonist, attempted business takeover, helping Mrs. Wilson relocate, and more. The abrupt ending, without an epilogue, left a lot of dangling threads. At the very least, I would have liked to see an epilogue months or even a year down the road.

I liked how sweet and fluffy this book was, so I’ll definitely check out more of Sue Brown’s work in the future. While this book wasn’t perfect, I was willing to suspend reality a little when reading – after all, it’s a romance about a fireman and a baron. That right there requires a willingness to accept that two such different people could ever make a romance work – so I had a lot of fun reading this book. This was my first time reading Sue Brown and I look forward to her other books.