Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Two Reviews from the Vino & Veritas World of True North: Unguarded by Jay Hogan and Turnabout by Laurel Greer

Unguarded by Jay Hogan
 

About the Book:

I fled Boston and my cheating jerk of an ex with three hundred dollars and a lip gloss in my pocket. Waking up the next day in Burlington, Vermont, with a crick in my back and a frozen ass wasn’t exactly in the plan. If there was one. Which there wasn’t. Story of my life.

Three hours later and I’ve been hired as temporary help in the local veterinary and grooming clinic, which is kind of impressive since I know zip about animals and even less about grooming. But one thing I do know—I’m crushing hard on the sexy, absent-minded vet I work for. 

My life is a hot mess. The last thing I need is another relationship. Emmett pushes all my buttons, but he isn’t out. He's overwhelmed with a business to run and a son to look after and the kind of domestic life I never thought I wanted.

I should walk away.

But Emmett believes in me, and I might just be starting to believe in myself. As different as we are, is it possible we're exactly what the other needs?  

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What I thought about Unguarded

Oh Tai and Emmett -- they are just so wonderful together! I'm getting a little ahead of myself here, but I really did love the main characters in this story. Tai is escaping from a bad relationship and ends up in Burlington Vermont. In need of a job and living in his car, he's directed to Emmett, the town vet who is also desperate for some help at his clinic.

The story begins with some absolutely delicious banter between these two characters that had me falling for both of them. These two are perfect together and they just pretty much fall hard for each other right away, but there is also a recognition that things are moving fast and that not everyone will understand, considering Emmett is still in the closet about being bisexual.

Things get serious when Emmett and Tai realize the depth of their feelings for each other and weigh that against how Leo, Emmett's son, is going to take it. Add in the parents and in-laws and a truly nasty ex-boyfriend and things get even more serious.There's even a situation with a dog that might not make it.

Unguarded started out very light and fun and I have to say that I missed that in the second half of the story. I wanted more banter from Tai and self-deprecating humor from Emmett, but they really did have some big hurdles to cross to get to their HEA.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and thought this was a great addition to the Vino & Veritas World of True North.
 



 

 Turnabout by Laurel Greer


About the Book:

I don’t have time for an unplanned visit home to help out in my father’s struggling letterpress shop. My stint in Vermont will have to be short, for a couple of reasons: 

One, I’m a busy executive trying to climb the corporate ladder.

Two, my ex is still my dad’s right-hand man in the shop. And I am not over him.

Nothing has changed at the Burlington shop. Auden still has his infuriatingly sexy Scottish accent. He’s still hot, and still stubborn. Between operating the antique press with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and moonlighting at Burlington’s hottest inclusive wine bar, he pushes every one of my attraction buttons.

My falling-in-love-again buttons, too. Except I’m his polar opposite. I love change, and taking chances. Everything he avoids in life. 

So why am I trying to convince him to reach for more than we’ve ever dreamed of—the possibility of forever?

Turnabout is a second-chance romance with interfering family, groveling, and a large helping of artisan stationery geekery.

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What I thought about Turnabout

Carter has been climbing the corporate ladder ever since his dad rejected his expansion ideas for the family business, but when he returns home to Burlington to help out in a family emergency, he realizes just how much he left behind and just how much is missing in his life.

There's no avoiding Auden, Carter's ex and the person running the print shop family business. Oh, there';s plenty of tension between these two in this second chance romance and it takes a while for them to risk their hearts by getting too close to each other.

So, plenty of tension in this one and a slow burn until they are just forced to give in to each other and admit there are still plenty of feelings and the possibility of heartache is very high.

I really liked Carter and Auden in this story and the push and pull of their relationship as they work through old hurts and the potential for getting hurt again. Both men had a commitment to their careers that also provided some realistic conflict between them. I loved the creative side of Carter and the easy way Auden interacted with people. There were some things I wasn't crazy about though, the sexual encounters in the workplace were uncomfortable for me and the whole reason for Carter's return seemed a bit weak to me.

That being said, I did enjoy this m-m romance and would look for this author in the future.

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