Book Reviews

Book Blurb

The moment Ashley gave up looking for the right man, he showed up in the form of restaurateur Colt Harrison. Sexy has never looked this good.

Ashley Willis didn't think he was interested in joining the dating pool...that is, until he catches a glimpse of Colt. The sexy diner owner makes him hot all over and has him thinking all sorts of dirty thoughts. But Ashley has to worry about more than his sex drive—he's a single dad. What goes on in his life affects his son. Will Ashley play it safe or find the love he deserves with Colt?

 

Colt's been happily single for the last few years. He likes his complications to stay at the diner. Then he meets Ashley. The geeky art teacher is everything Colt's dreamed of having in his bed. Will the fact that Ashley's a single father be the deal-breaker or will the naysayers in Cedarwood break up this couple before they get a chance to find love?

 

 

First edition published by Loose Id, September 2015. It has been revised and reedited for release with Pride Publishing.

 

Book Review

The premise of this installment is the same as book number two in the series, ‘Ripples in Cedarwood’. Colton (Colt) owns and runs the diner in town. Ashley is an art teacher at the elementary school with an energetic six-year-old. Colton is attracted to the shy and sexy Ashley, but has always maintained a “no kid” policy. Ashly wants someone in his life, but after his ex-walked out on him, is afraid to get his heart broken again.

 

Overall, this was a quick, sweet read with a bit more tension caused by the Coalition for Cedarwood.

 

What I struggled with was Colt’s rationale for pursuing Ashley – Ashley wasn’t his “type” and came with a kid. Colt stated numerous times he didn’t care for kids and didn’t want to date someone with a kid. So why Colt wanted to see more of Ashley never really jelled from a relationship perspective. There wasn’t enough one-on-one dating for a relationship to develop, which is a problem with novellas.

 

There was some unexpected derogatory language Ashley, Colt, and Ashley’s mother used in reference to sex. I can see one character using such language as a character trait, but when three disparate characters – one of them an educator and the other a respected senior citizen – use it, it was disconcerting and pulled me out of the story.

 

Speaking of Ashley’s mother, I thought this was one of the stronger subplots of this story. Ashley and his mother have a strained relationship, and she offers and apology and an olive branch to start reconciliation.

 

The Coalition is stepping up their anti-gay message, which included an attack on Colt. While this physicality added some realism and helped solidify Colt’s and Ashley’s relationship, when and how it was done made no sense at all to me.

 

Characters from previous installments make an appearance, which I always enjoy. Colin and Farin are busy planning a festival and recruiting people to help (which is how Colt and Ashley are thrown together), and Officer Jordan makes a longer appearance after Colt’s attack.

 

As I noted above, overall, this was a sweet read with just a few items that pulled me out of the plot. The Coalition is ramping up with protests and the growing group of characters is planning on making their own statement in town.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 163 pages/43413 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	08-October-2019
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.pride-publishing.com/book/rainbows-over-cedarwood