Release Day Review: 5 Stars for Wildfire (In Vino Veritas #1) by Garrett Leigh

Release Date: September 8, 2022
Cover Design: Christine Coffey

About the Book:

A gorgeous new sexual awakening romance with sizzling first times, snarky British banter, and off-the-charts chemistry. 

Life doesn’t always pan out as you expect. When it explodes in my face, literally, an old friend offers me a place to heal and a job renovating the kitchen of Burlington’s coolest wine bar.

V&V is a chill fest. Living above it should be a blast. But I’m not built to be a social butterfly. Not anymore. I’m a damaged man. 

And I’m not its target clientele.

At least, I think I’m not until I come face to face with the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen. Joss is the new chef and my roommate. He has hair like spun gold and it’s as pretty as the rest of him. Crystal blue eyes. Megawatt smile.

I can’t stop staring. Or thinking about him. He chases my nightmares away. And when he spots my crush a mile off, his solution to our chemical attraction blows my mind.

An experiment of sorts. Science. Is this sexual exploration or sex education?

Either way, Joss is only here for the summer. He’s leaving.

I can’t fall in love with him.

I can’t.

Shame my foolish heart never got the memo.

WILDFIRE is a heartfelt MM friends-to-lovers, hurt/comfort romance in the True North world, with a brooding lumbersexual, a wild-hearted chef, sweet angst and all the Vermont food. Content warning: contains mentions of depression, ADHD, suicidal ideation, and PTSD recovery.

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What I thought about Wildfire

I was so excited to see that Garrett Leigh wrote another book for this wonderful series set in a Vermont bookstore/bar. In Wildfire, Kai Fletcher is living above the bar, having been taken under his wing by the manager, Tanner, after a devastating accident that leaves Kai with PTSD. It's so lovely how everyone rallies around Kai to help take care of him.

When Tanner is given the directive to expand the menu, he hires Kai to renovate the kitchen for the new chef who happens to be a friend of Tanner's boyfriend, Jax. Joss is an excellent chef, but he also doesn't stick around for long. To give him a place to stay, Tanner asks that Kai let him share his apartment. 

Joss and Kai immediately grabbed my attention in this story and it's really all about their love story. As their friendship grows, Kai has the opportunity to experiment with Joss and when he can't forget their kiss, they take things a step further, then another step, and another. They learn to understand each other's neurodiversity. It's just beautiful. 

There's just one problem they must face with their burgeoning relationship --Joss doesn't stay in one place long and he might have a job offer back across the pond. Will he leave Kai? He'll have to decide what's important to him, with a little help from the rest of the Vino & Veritas group and an incident that reveals what is really important to him.  

I just loved this. Started it and didn't put it down until the final pages. It's emotional and grabbed my heart in all the right places. Definitely recommended. (and really, how can you resist that cover!) 

  About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess. 

 Connect with Garrett Leigh

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5893561.Garrett_Leigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garrett_leigh/

Review & Excerpt: Heartscape by Garrett Leigh and Headstrong by Eden Finley

Release Date: March 22, 2021
Cover Design: Christine Coffey

From award-winning author Garrett Leigh comes a gorgeous new romance in the True North world! Think: great food, burly men and good times. Beards are optional but encouraged.

I’m not the obvious choice to run Burlington’s coolest wine bar—quiet, brooding, clueless about tannin content, and always one wrong turn away from another downward spiral.

But no one seems to mind that I'm a wreck. Besides me. I just focus on getting through each shift until the night a beautiful stranger appears, looking as lost and damaged as I feel.

When a mutual friend calls in a favor, the sexy newcomer winds up crashing on my couch. I don't know if it's his melodic Cornish accent, or his ocean blue eyes, or the rock-hard body with the mysterious scars, but I get the feeling whatever happened to him runs far deeper than those wounds. 

Having Jax in my home makes my chest warm. Makes me shiver. Makes me want more. But I've got a pile of baggage and I don't want to be a burden on anyone let alone a man who seems to have enough demons of his own. 

Our chemistry is off the charts. His arms feel like home. The last thing I want is to screw this up. Is it wrong to hope we can heal each other? Or will one of us die trying?

HEARTSCAPE is a heartfelt MM friends-to-lovers romance in the True North world, with a brooding bartender, a rugged outdoorsman, sweet angst and lots of Shipley cider. Triggers: contains mentions of depression, suicidal ideation and PTSD recovery.

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What I thought about Heartscape

 Managing the wine bar adjacent to the bookstore is about all Tanner can handle. But when his brother's girlfriend asks for a favor for a friend, he doesn't turn her down.  Her friend Jax needs a place to stay and he's got a spare couch. 

Jax is recovering from some trauma himself, but he finds himself interested in the gruff Tanner.  I really liked how both of their stories are revealed slowly in this instead of one big dump.  It took some pages to get there, and by the time it's revealed, I had put most of it together, but I did like the gradual revealing of their past.

This is a story about two damaged people opening up to a new future for themselves.  There's not a huge amount of conflict, but there are plenty of uncertainty for both characters as they figure out what they want and how they are going to get there.

There's a very exciting ending that had me on the edge of my seat for a bit, and I just really liked these two characters.  Tanner may be gruff, but he is thoughtful of others, and Jax is so understanding when it comes to Tanner,

It all worked for me, especially the sensitive mental health topic, but mostly, I just liked reading these two characters getting their HEA.

 

Excerpt

Jax kisses me. In my wildest dreams I’m expecting it, but it still catches me off guard. His lips are soft, but demanding, and there’s nothing I don’t want to give him.

So I kiss him back.

I slide my hands under his layers of winter clothing and pull him close, and we kiss and kiss and kiss as if it isn’t the first time we’ve done it.

His lips feel like home.

His soft touch dances along my jaw.

I want to kiss him forever, but we run out of air.

Startled, I draw back and instantly find myself lost in Jax’s blazing stare. His gaze usually calms me—it really is like the deepest, bluest ocean. But right now, his eyes are stormy and hot. I want to dive back in headfirst, and for once what I want makes sense.

And it’s right here. I don’t need words. I stand, cup a hand around the back of his neck, and kiss him again. Jax makes another low sound, and the fact that he’s spent the night in my bed to babysit me stops mattering. Shadows fade. Heat draws us ever closer, and it’s easy to pretend we spent all night doing this. I can’t contemplate that it has to end.

But it does end.

Jax pulls back with a rueful smile, cheeks flushed, breathing hard. “I have to go. I promised Jerry I wouldn’t be late again.”

The mention of Jerry jars something in my brain enough to form a sentence that has nothing to do with how fast my heart is beating. “How did last night go?”

“Okay, I think.” Jax steps away. “Dude talked so much I stopped listening, but the apartment was all right. I can move in whenever I want.”

I should be happy for him. I am happy for him. He didn’t deserve to lose all his things in the hostel fire, and it sucks he had to take help from a stranger when he needed so badly to depend on himself. But I’m still dazed from his kiss. I say the first thing that comes into my head. Raw. No filter. “I’m gonna miss you.”

He gives me a soft grin. “I’ll miss you too.”

Then he leaves, and the reality that it might be the last time we do this hits me like a train. Jerry’s buddy’s apartment is probably outside of the city, closer to where Jax needs to be for his work. It isn’t a million miles away—nothing in Vermont ever is—but it’s not waking up to find Jax in my bed. It’s not drinking his weird tea together or eating dinner on the couch with him. It’s not opening my eyes every morning to feel the comforting hum of his presence.

It’s not being there to let him know, every day, that he fucking matters.

So tell him now.

I lurch from my bed and snag a T-shirt from the clean laundry pile I haven’t even thought about putting away. My shoes are by the front door. I stamp into them and fish my keys from the dish. Then I make a run for it down the stairs and out into the morning gloom.

The sidewalk is icy from the plummeting temperatures that are starting to move in from the mountains. But I’m a Vermonter; I know how to handle that shit. I dash to the parking lot where Jax is waiting for Jerry, his broad back to me as he contemplates the ground.

I grab his arm. “You don’t have to leave.”

  

 

 

 

 

Release Date: March 22, 2021
Cover Design: Christine Coffey

A straight guy gives gay hookup tips to a virgin. What could go wrong? 

When I first met Whit, I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. He’s a hockey player, and I hate everything to do with the sport that broke my heart.

But I can’t help feeling sorry for the guy. He’s newly out and desperate to meet someone, but his eagerness seems to scare potential hook-ups away.

Agreeing to be his wingman should’ve been simple. Watching him flirt with other guys made things complicated.

Whit challenges me in every aspect of my life, from my hatred of hockey to the new questions I’m asking myself. Like why a straight man suddenly can’t stop thinking about kissing another guy.

I think the answer lies somewhere on Whit’s lips...

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More about the Vino and Veritas Series

  

 

What I thought about Headstrong

Whit's on a mission -- he needs to lose his virginity before his upcoming birthday, but he doesn't have a clue about how to get what he wants. He ends up at Vino & Veritas where Rainn, the straight bartender takes pity on him.

A real friendship develops between these characters and Whit finds himself wanting more from his friend and knowing that's not in the cards.  Or is it? 

I did really like Rainn's character.  I struggled a little with his easy acceptance of his newly found bisexuality on the one hand, and at the same time liked that he didn't automatically eliminate it as a possibility. It's Rainn's discovery of himself and his future that really have me giving this 5 stars.  Don't get me wrong, I loved Whit -- he's solid and sweet. His dedication to the farm and family made me love him.

This is a classic friends to lovers romance that really kept me turning the pages. 

 

 

Excerpt

A steady stream of drink orders keeps me busy for a solid half hour, but that doesn’t stop me from noticing Whit moving around the room to flirt with guys. Ultimately, from what I can see, he strikes out and wanders back to me during a lull.
He sits at a stool and bangs his head on the countertop.
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I don’t know how hygienic that is.”
Whit’s lips turn down. “You work here.”
“Exactly.”
“Eww.” Whit wipes his forehead. “Is being gay always this hard?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“I have to admit, this isn’t exactly what I was expecting.”
I lean my hip against the bar. “What were you expecting?”
“I dunno? For guys to see how hot I am and ask to blow me in the bathroom or something?”
A full-blown laugh falls from my lips this time. I have to admit, the dude is funny even if he’s not trying to be.
“So glad my misery is entertaining to you.”
“Sorry.”
“Where are all the easy men who want all the gay sex and no strings or names?”
I purse my lips. “Maybe it’s like that in big cities? The scene is low-key here. I mean, all bars by nature have that hookup culture, but if you’re looking for boys in booty shorts and orgies, you’re definitely in the wrong place. When Harrison opened V and V, he wanted to create a safe and queer-friendly environment that everyone could enjoy.”
“Is everything about gay people in mainstream media wrong?”
“Probably.”
He pushes his empty closer to me. “Can I get another cider?”
“Sure.” I switch them out.
The night isn’t super busy, but the work is steady. I leave him again to serve others but keep stealing glances at him. It’s confusing. Objectively speaking, he’s a good-looking guy. His intriguing eye color is a draw in itself, along with his dimples when he smiles. His suit doesn’t make him look like your typical college hockey player. It’s a mystery why he’s striking out.
Jake reappears at Whit’s side, and Whit’s face lights up. Then Whit’s mouth moves a hundred miles a minute, and Jake’s eyes gloss over.
I can’t hear what Whit’s saying, but I think I’ve found the reason why he’s not having any luck.
Jake turns his head toward me and mouths, “Help.”
Super-bartender to the rescue. Not all heroes wear capes. I give Jake a new drink. “Whit here’s too young for you.”
Jake gives me a grateful look and moves away quickly.
“Oh, age isn’t a big deal to me,” Whit calls after him.
If possible, Jake moves faster.
Whit slumps.
“You don’t want to date that guy anyway. He’s in here all the time trying to score.”
“Aww, that sounds perfect for what I need.”
I cock my head.
“I can’t be a virgin when I graduate in the spring. That’s sad. I mean, ideally, I won’t be a virgin by my next birthday which is in seven weeks, but I’m willing to be flexible.”
Oh dear.
“This has been your opening line to guys tonight, I’m guessing?”
“Well … I told myself not to talk, but then, I don’t know, isn’t that something you should disclose? It feels like something you should tell someone. Because, they have to be, like, gentle and shit, and it’s not like gay sex is something you jump into, right?”
“Again, I wouldn’t know. But has anyone ever told you that you talk a little too much and maybe say things you don’t need to put out there right away?”
“Really?”
“Well, we’ve only met twice, and oversharing and boundary crossing seems to be a common theme.”
Whit groans. “I’m fucking this up.”
“You really aren’t. You’re just coming on a little strong. You’re hot—I mean, I’m guessing. Everyone keeps staring at you and checking you out. It’s your mouth that’s holding you back.”
“So I just have to fill my mouth with something other than words.”
His words make my straight cock twitch a little. Ah, blowjobs. Oh, how I’ve missed thee. I point at him. “That. Right there. Lead with that.”
Whit glares at me, and I have to say his tough face is kind of laughable.
“Or every time you feel yourself rambling, take a drink,” I suggest.
Whit’s head falls to the bar again. “I’ll die of alcohol poisoning.”
It’s not my fault a laugh escapes. Seriously, I can’t tell if this guy is entertaining or plain sad.
He lifts his head. “You should be my wingman.”
I should do what now? “As tempting as that is, I kinda have a job to do already.”
“Yeah, but that’s why you’ll be good at it. You know people, and you’ve seen things.”
“I’m straight, remember? I know nothing about gay hookups. I’d tell you to go on dates and make them feel special before trying to get them into bed.”
“Is it against gay law to go on dates and make each other feel special?”
I throw up my hands. “I don’t know. Which is exactly why I shouldn’t be your wingman.”
“Worth a shot.” Whit finishes off his cider. He stands, and I think he’s going to go back to mingling, but he takes his coat off his chair and puts it on. “Thanks for the drinks.”

Blog Tour: 5 Stars for Unforgotten (Forgiven #2) by Garrett Leigh

 

Title: Unforgotten
Author: Garrett Leigh
Series: Forgiven, #2
Imprint: Carina Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Romantic Leads: Male/Male
On-Sale: February 16, 2021
Format: eBook
Price: $4.99 US
ISBN: 9780369700117

Book Description: Billy Daley hasn’t been home in years, and he likes it that way. He’s just fine on his own—he has a cash-in-hand job at a scrapyard, a half-feral cat to keep him company, and many miles between him, his hometown and all the baggage that comes with it.

Until the job goes sideways. Suddenly he’s back in Rushmere, working for none other than his brother’s best friend—a man whose kiss Billy can’t seem to forget.

Gus Amour’s memories of Billy Daley are all spiky edges, lips crushed against lips and a reckless streak that always ended in trouble. But when Billy needs a place to stay, Gus steps in. He’d do anything for the Daley family, including living, and working, side by side with a man who makes his heart beat too fast and his blood run too hot—two things he’s been running from for years.

It doesn’t take long before their easy banter, lingering touches and heated glances become a temptation too hard to resist. But falling into bed and falling in love are two different things, and love has never come easy to either Billy or Gus. Only when fate threatens to steal away their opportunity for a second chance will they realize they don’t need easy.

They just need each other.

Buy Unforgotten by Garrett Leigh

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Excerpt

It had been years since I’d last seen Billy Daley, but since Luke had given up pretending his brother didn’t exist, and had rekindled with his long-lost true love—again, my sister—Billy had come up in conversation a lot. I wondered if he still had the same hair: scruffy, soft, and just long enough to hang over his collar. I—

“Where is he now?” Mia snapped.

“He didn’t say, and he sounded off his nut.”

“Don’t make assumptions. He’s been sober every time you’ve seen him since the accident.”

“I’ve seen him twice.”

“Whose fault is that?”

I winced and averted my gaze as Luke let out a heavy sigh. God, why were families so complicated? The Daleys made mine look like the Waltons, and we’d been reunited for less than a year.

A year that had changed my life for the better. Mia was a royal pain even when she was trying to be nice, but despite the years we’d spent hurting and apart, I couldn’t imagine her not being more than a phone call away, or turning her back if I was the one down on my luck.

Saying all that, Luke was right: him and Billy would murder each other in the first ten minutes of cohabitation. With their ma decamped to Spain, if Billy wanted to come home to Rushmere, there was only one option. “He can stay here.”

Mia and Luke swivelled their collective attention to me, eyes wide, as if they’d forgotten I was there, in my own kitchen. Nice. I pushed my cereal bowl away and wiped my mouth. “I have a spare room, remember? Not doing anything with it now you two are shacked up at Luke’s place, so…”

They were still staring. I switched between them. Comprehension was starting to dawn in Mia’s gaze, but Luke was looking at me like I was an alien.

“But…” He scrubbed a hand through his hair and darted a glance at Mia.

Oh lord, this was going to be funny. The bloke was the coolest I’d ever known, and surprisingly open-minded given his military background and the fact that he spoke about three whole sentences a day, but I didn’t need him to speak to know what was making him squirm, and I couldn’t contain my amusement.

A laugh bubbled out of me. “Jesus, man. Please tell me you’re not still hung up on what I told you over the summer? It really wasn’t a big deal.”

Luke slow blinked. “You hooked up with my brother. How is that not a big deal?”

“Please,” I scoffed. “It wasn’t a hook-up, it didn’t get that far. And we were both bladdered. He’s probably forgotten about it.”

“You didn’t.”

“Yeah, but I’m not your brother, am I? Besides, it was years ago. I don’t even know why I told you. And in case you’ve forgotten, you’ve been hooking up with my sister my entire life and I’ve never complained.”

Luke said nothing, his standard MO.

I let him be and looked at Mia.

She shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea, if Billy’s up for it. Gus is boring as hell, and better than that, he’s never home, so you won’t have to worry about a repeat performance.”

“As if I’m worried about that.” Luke’s frown deepened. “I’m more concerned that Billy will fuck up Gus’s life like he has his own. My brother is a shitshow of chaos.”

“So am I,” Mia countered. “And you both deal with that just fine.”

“Yeah, but—” Luke caught himself before the con­versation strayed into a zone I was definitely not com­fortable playing in. These days, dude was my BFF whether he’d admit it or not, but I wasn’t down with bearing witness to whatever dirty words had been about to come out of his mouth to my sister.

To distract myself from the smouldering smirk he sent her way instead, I let my mind drift to his brother. With his dirty blond hair and chiselled jaw, Luke had long been the hottest dude in town, if the graffiti on lampposts and toilet doors was to be believed. But for me, it had always been Billy. He was darker than Luke, in more ways than one. Wild. More hooligan than lovable rogue.

Even if I never saw him again, I’d remember his kiss forever.

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 What I thought about Unforgotten

Billy Daley is a prickly sort. He especially can't seem to get along with his brother Luke and he's stayed away from his hometown to avoid more animosity.  But when he gets himself in trouble again, he has to appeal to his brother for a place to stay. Since Mia has moved in with Luke, Mia's brother Gus has a spare room and offers it to Billy.

Gus has been living on work and Grindr for his after hours.  He's buried his emotions deep, but when Billy shows he threatens to blow it all up. Memories of a kiss shared between Gus and Billy long ago won't go away, but both know that moving forward with their feelings for each other could incinerate them all.

Garrett Leigh does an amazing job of building the tension between Billy and Gus,especially their smoldering attraction for each other. Yowza. I adored Gus. He's such a great guy.  He's always thinking of others -- Luke, Mia, Billy -- and silently carries a lot of his own baggage around. My heart went squishy for him when he talks about hiding his feelings because he thinks no one would care.  The relationship between Billy and Gus really opens up both of their eyes into their own hangups as they are forced to choose whether they can make it work.

I really loved everything about this M/M romance from the realistic language to the emotions running throughout the story to the dramatic and potentially devastating ending. Garrett Leigh always does an amazing job with broken men, and Unforgotten is no exception.

A complementary copy was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.  

About Garrett Leigh

Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.

Garrett's debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.

When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.

Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with photographer Dan Burgess. 

 Connect with Garrett Leigh

Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5893561.Garrett_Leigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garrett_leigh/