I found this book as I kicked around Amazon. I was looking for a comfortable but short novella. I flicked over this a few times, thinking it was too long for what I wanted, but the cover and blurb kept telling me to grab it. Something nice set in my country in a beautiful part of the world - Cairns, the Whitsundays, Great Barrier Reef up to Port Douglas and Daintree National Park - is not hard to take.
I am so glad I grabbed this book. So glad.
The writing was impeccable, the story quiet but emotional, and the MCs had depth and a powerful chemistry that built as the story was told. It's hard to paint a confident, assertive person on page without making them appear arrogant or rude. It would be so easy to have Stuart come across as one-dimensionally arrogant but the author draws a believable vulnerability and genuineness about him along with the confidence he would need for his career. Likewise, Foster could have been too nice, there is such a thing in books, but he's this very easy going, self-possessed, water-loving, and kind Aussie guy. He was utterly loveable and sincere.
The book is hot. Scorching.
The food has a life of it's own, we love a bit of simple and fresh fusion-cuisine here.
The setting around the inlets and coves and islands, the reef and sandy beaches, made me want to go back. It is that beautiful, the ocean/sea that clear and that blue, one that truly does defy a word on the colour palette.
The dual POV moved the book along at a good clip and even though this is a character driven romance, complete with HEA and an aww-worthy epilogue, the book has excellent emotional depth.
Stuart likes the idea of a game to get the sexy captain to have sex with him. It can't hurt to have a holiday fling, Stuart does flings just fine, but Foster joins in after some professional soul-searching. He gives a lot of himself to the game as well, which makes it sexier and adds a necessary spark, an incendiary one.
White Speedos are like another character in the book.
'I swam up to the yacht, took the ladder in both hands, and hauled myself out of the water, slow step by slow step. He watched every movement and let out a slow breath when I sat right next to him. So maybe the white Speedos weren’t such a bad idea after all because he drank in every part of me.'
'White Speedos. Tiny white Speedos at that. Why did he have to wear them, of all things? I don’t care how many linings they had, those tight white swimmers barely concealed anything. And as if they weren’t revealing enough when dry, but wet? I could see everything. Every line, every vein, every single thing.'
'Then he undid his towel completely, revealing his bulge. He opened his eyes, just to watch me watch him. Then he ever so slowly rolled over, lifted his hips, and readjusted his dick, then lowered himself back down and spread his legs. Damn.'
General quotes to give you a feel -
'I also had the feeling that if we’d met under different circumstances, in a bar or at work, Stuart and I could be friends. I liked him. His gorgeous looks, killer smile, and heart-stopping eyes aside, he was a nice guy.'
'I’d put my cards on the table. Laid them out for all to see. Hell, I’d basically offered myself up on a freaking platter. I’d clarified if he was single, if he was interested, if he was willing… He just needed to establish himself as player two in this game.'
'He was goading me. And teasing and flirting with zero shame. He smirked. He licked his lips, sliding his tongue out provocatively. His eyes were full of heat and dare. I was in a permanent state of semi-arousal around him, as though my dick knew where it wanted to go.'
'Because back home, even surrounded by hundreds of people, associates, colleagues, I was always alone. But out here I wasn’t. It was quite ironic that in the open vastness of the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean, I’d never felt more not-alone.'
'On land, there were people about without a care in the world, walking, some jogging, some strolling along with dogs or pushing prams. Palm trees swayed like my world wasn’t ending.
Like my heart wasn’t breaking.'
Definitely one of my favourites this year. Great gay romance reading,
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Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018
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