✰ Bianca ✰ Janeane ✰
Gabe wants Alec between the sheets…too bad Alec’s undercover already…
Rich kid. Party boy. Gabe is tired of the labels. He’s a smart guy, but ever since he got kicked out of grad school, people are only interested in his no-limit credit card and his pierced ears…and other places.
Tall, dark and scowling Alec hates Vermont, with its artisanal-freaking-everything and its irritating people. To be fair, most people irritate Alec, including the FBI director who sent him here to investigate a smuggling scheme involving yoga mats.
When one of the cutest twinks Alec’s ever seen takes an interest, Alec knows there’s an ulterior motive. No one with multi-colored hair, piercings, and an ass like that would want boring, serious Alec. The kid must be up to no good. Either way, Alec can’t blow his cover. If only he could keep his hands off of Gabe long enough to find out what he’s up to…
Super cute and colorful Gabe is in town because he doesn’t really know what to do with his life after having been kicked out of grad school. He’s a 26 year old jobless rich kid with a black credit card and nothing to do.
They first see each other in the book part of Vino and Veritas and are very attracted to each other. BUT … Alec thinks Gabe might be involved with the drug smugglers!
But the story ended up being pretty funny and adorable and sexy.
I really liked Gabe & Alex. Just the whole lying part through the whole book was too much for me.
But the cover is one of the prettiest in the series - I just love the color and the model!
I swallowed hard, not missing how his eyes flicked down to
my throat for a second, and finally found my voice. “What do you want?” I’d
tried for challenging, but it came out husky and a little plaintive. Like I’d really
said something more like, Looking for a good time?
He took another step, putting him squarely into my personal
space. I caught a faint thread of the scent of him, leather and man, just like
I’d imagined. Oh God.
“I’m kind of new in town,” he said, still staring right into
my eyes. I pressed my hands back against the side of the building, concrete
rough beneath my sweaty palms. “Where does a guy go to have fun in Burlington,
anyway? You kind of look like you’d know.”
He looked down, pointedly doing a sweep of me from my purple
Chucks, up my skinny legs, over my chest—lingering there for a second; could he
see the outline of my right nipple piercing through my shirt?—and back up to my
ear piercings and multicolored hair. He landed right back on my eyes again. His
own seemed wider and darker. Dilated. Yeah, he liked what he’d seen.
Fuck it. Maybe there was something wrong with me—okay, I
knew there was something wrong with me. I always went for the wrong guys, and
this was wronger than usual.
But fuck it, seriously. I’d never been cornered in a park by
a guy who looked like he could break me in half, and maybe I’d been missing
out. Not like I could get away if I wanted to.
Brent Weyland was the life of the party until an injury ended his hockey career. Now he’s retreated alone to a lakefront house, trying to make sense of a life and body that don’t feel like his anymore.
Jon Norquist was happily married right up until he wasn’t. Now a single father in his forties, he’s trying to figure out what comes next. In the meantime, he pours his heartache and regret into the lyrics he sings for the wine bar crowd a couple of nights a week.
When a friend coaxes Brent out for a night of wine and music, he puts Brent and Jon on a collision course. Their chemistry is instantaneous. Jon gives Brent’s battered body a much-needed remedial lesson in pleasure. And Brent gives Jon a reason to smile again.
Multiple reasons, actually. Neither man wants anything serious, but love has a habit of showing up whether it’s welcome or not. No matter how hard they try, the two can’t help having feelings for each other, even as life continues to throw them curveballs.
A year ago 29 year old Brent was a famous hockey pro.
I think this will definitely go on my True North favorite list.
I loved Brent and Jon. Both are so adorable and sad and heartbroken. And in Brent's case in so much pain. I just loved to see them fall for each other in this sweet and insta but also so very slow and grown-up way.
It was a tiny bit too much with their constant .. But this is just a friends-with-benefit thing & He won't want to be with me anyway. Yes, we got it the first time. But you should finally get that it's NOT a FWB thing and that you're both falling! The book was a tiny bit too long with all that back and forth and repeat... BUT I really loved all the moments. The dog and kid and cuddle and sexy time moments. Just adorable! And sweet and heartbreaking and so full of pain for poor Brent. But we hope so hard for a happy end in all aspects of life for our darlings!
If there was one thing I was good at when I performed
onstage, it was engaging my audience without being distracted by them. The
lighting here at Vino and Veritas didn’t mask the crowd in shadows like bigger
venues did—no blinding stage lights in my eyes obscuring the people beyond
them—which meant I could make out a lot of faces. And there was usually a fair
amount of activity, too. People came and went. Waiters brought out drinks and
food. Bartenders poured drinks. Quiet conversations went on. Some loud ones,
especially as more alcohol flowed.
I was used to it, and I was never distracted by it. The sea
of motion and faces was easy to ignore.
Except for that guy’s face.
One glance at him, and thank God I’d been between songs, or
I’d have forgotten what I was doing.
And it didn’t help at all that he’d been looking right back
at me as if I’d caught his eye the way he’d caught mine. Not just like people
casually watched a performer onstage, but like something I’d done had made him
stop dead and stare. He was still, his eyes wide and his lips parted as he stared
at me. I couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the lights, but I swore he blushed
too.
As I played on, I kept my gaze down, or at least tried to
only let it drift toward the side of the room where he wasn’t sitting.
Otherwise I was going to go blank on every note and every lyric.
But then I was far enough into the music that I forgot, and
I glanced in that direction again, and there he was, still looking right at me,
and—
What song is this?
I only missed a beat or two, fortunately, and I recovered
quickly. I doubted many people noticed, if any of them did. In a venue like
this, a lot of people were only half-listening, as opposed to during an actual
concert when they were all focused on me. I was background noise for most, even
those who applauded between songs. Just as well when I was this distracted.
By some miracle, I made it through my set, and people didn’t
mutter things like, “Oh my God, finally,” or “One more and I was going to stab
my own eardrums” as I left the stage. Given that this hadn’t been my best or
most focused performance, I’d take it.
In the back room where overflow books and promo items from
the bookstore were kept, I put my guitar in its case and downed the rest of my
water bottle. That had been, hands down, the hardest set I’d done since I’d
started singing here. The first few had been tough because the emotions had
been a lot more raw—because I’d been real smart, singing what I’d just written
about my painful divorce-in-progress—so it had been rough for a while. But even
during that period, I’d never actually struggled like I had tonight to remember
lyrics and chords, or to keep my fingers from slipping or my tongue from
getting tied.
And now I needed a drink. Not just water this time, either.
So, I left my guitar and jacket in the back where they were
safe, and then headed up to the bar for a glass of wine. Only one, since I was
driving. I’d probably have a couple more when I got home. Maybe not the
healthiest thing in the world, but I’d been in a shitty place all day, and
singing about my divorce poured some salt in wounds that hadn’t closed yet. I
wasn’t apologizing for numbing that with a little alcohol once in a while.
“The usual?” Rainn asked over the bar.
I shook my head. “Glass of pinot blanc.”
Our eyes met. Then Rainn nodded and stepped away to get the
wine. He knew me and what I’d been through the last several months, so he
didn’t question me. He just didn’t need to know that my ex-wife wasn’t the one
screwing with my concentration tonight.
He handed me the glass, and I thanked him before taking a
sip. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but I had to say, I loved the wine they poured
in this place. One of these days, I’d buy a bottle or two to keep at home.
Maybe after I finished redoing the kitchen and had a place to put a wine rack.
That was another depressing thought that didn’t need to take
hold tonight, so I focused on enjoying the amazing wine while I wound down
after my set. My son was at his mom’s tonight, so I didn’t need to rush out of
here to pick him up from the babysitter. I preferred the evenings where he was
with me, but when he wasn’t, I couldn’t complain about relaxing here for a
little while.
Someone stepped up to the bar beside me, and as I moved
aside to give them some room, I glanced up and—
Oh. God.
Jamie Morin’s college GPA drops every time a cow breaks through a fence, but he’s determined to get his degree and keep his parents’ Vermont dairy farm afloat. He’d rather be reading than milking, but he can’t let his family down…not the way his brother did. So the last thing he needs is distraction in the form of an irresistible bookseller with a mysterious backstory.
Briar Nord has a lifetime of experience proving that happily-ever-afters only happen in his favorite books. But his luck might be changing. He’s got a great job at a bookstore, and he lives in a city that puts maple syrup on everything. But Briar knows not to trust anything--or anyone--too closely, and that includes a gorgeous farm boy with soulful eyes and too many obligations.
When Jamie joins Briar’s romance novel book club, they both feel an instant connection and soon they’re turning pages long into the night. But Briar’s past was bound to catch up with him. Sometimes, though, it takes two heroes to write a new ending . . .
Enter Briar. He's new in Vermont. He's working his dream job at the book-side of Vino & Veritas.
But between discussing books and fighting over baked goods ... falling for each other is probably not something they have any control over ...
I really enjoyed reading this. The story is cute, funny, heartbreaking, sexy, sweet, and hella frustrating because it takes them forever to get to that happy end. There are way too many problems in the way - mostly cows. LOL! But also some very dangerous things from Briar's past!
I loved the two boys and the V & V crew and the friends and the parents. Finally someone got gifted a set of parents who are not homophobe idiots! ♥
I start heading toward the circle of couches and chairs near
the back where the inaugural meeting of The Booklover Club is supposed to take
place. I make a quick stop at a shelf of new titles because the store’s got at
least three that I’ve been meaning to read. I grab one of them, a nonfiction
book about dairy farming, and I take a quick pause to wonder if my wallet can
handle a bookstore binge. I’m still reading the inside of the jacket flap when
I hear a voice behind me.
“Can I help you?”
I turn around and try not to do that thing Jeremy says I
sometimes do, where I just stand there staring at someone or something without
speaking. In my defense, I think the problem comes from spending most of my
childhood surrounded by cows. Sometimes I just forget how to people.
Especially when incredibly hot human beings are standing in
front of me. Which is happening right now.
This guy looks exactly like Porter, one of my other favorite
book characters. He’s in Alyssa Samuel’s gay romance novel Lost Key, and right
now I can’t help but wonder if he walked right off the pages of that book and
into this store. The Porter look-alike in front of me has sharp, angular
cheekbones sitting under hazel eyes and dirty blond hair and eyebrows. He’s got
some scruffy I-wanna-be-a-beard-but-I’m-not-there-yet hair around his chin
that’s straight out of the Vermont tourist brochures. His head is covered by a
pilling green tuque, and his skin is this olive tone that should be next to
impossible for any white guy to have in Vermont in March. He’s wearing a
flannel shirt and jeans, which is pretty much the stereotypical Vermont
uniform, but somehow on him it manages to look cool and unique.
And as if all that weren’t enough? He’s carrying a stack of
books.
