Cora Rose

"I'll admit I've never had grandiose plans for my future. I'm really more of a "take it as it comes" sort of dude. But making minimum wage at a small-town sandwich shop wasn't exactly what I had in mind after college graduation either. It may not be an exciting life, but it isn't so bad. At least I have my amazing coworkers and friends who always try to make the workday fun. Everyone, that is, except the new guy, Simon."
This story features a sandwich shop employee and a closed-off nerdy kind show more of guy with more secrets than you can imagine. In spite of everything, and we all know that opposites attract... somehow these two might be perfect together.

it's a quick, light read that will leave you feeling good. If you have read and enjoyed any of this author's previous works, or even if you are a first-time Cora Rose reader, you will really like this story. We first meet Wesley, a recent college graduate and a sandwich shop employee. He doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. He has a degree in sociology, but absolutely no idea, or ambition of what he wants to do with it. All he knows is that the party and hookup scene is getting boring and stale, and he needs a change. I thought; "yeah...the folks that paid for your college degree probably also want you to figure this out soon."

Then we meet Simon, the new sandwich shop employee. Quite frankly, we know right away that this guy does NOT belong in, or at, the sandwich shop. He just can't seem to fit in with anyone that works there. He doesn't dress like them...he dresses like a "forty-year-old accountant"! He won't talk to anyone, and he drives a really, really. really, nice car. No one at the shop can understand him or get past that icy exterior...but Wesley wants to give it his best try.

Simon instantly had captured Wesley's attention. Wesley starts spending a ridiculous amount of time focused only on Simon. This is a little odd for the supposedly "straight" guy. Surprisingly, the romance is solid. Wesley is insanely attracted to Simon, even if he isn’t aware that it’s "attraction" that he's experiencing, but Simon is very, very aware and into Wesley...but he will NEVER...EVER, let it show. Of course, Simon soon does something stupid and kisses Wesley. The kiss "rocks Wesley’s world". Now what does he do??? He decides that it's an imperative that he take the time to "assess" why he enjoyed that kiss so much...after all he is 99.9% sure that he is straight...straight as an arrow...yes sir...STRAIGHT!! While doing all his "assessing", he has to also make sure that Simon doesn’t run away and never talk to him again. This is what all "straight" men would think and do in this situation, right? Poor, poor oblivious Wesley (:

Wesley works hard to get Simon to open up and continue the fledgling friendship. There is a lot of push and pull from Simon and quite a few secrets that he has to be forced to share. Some of the secrets you will be able to easily guess with the breadcrumb clues that Simon leaves. There is one "bomb" that he drops that will really surprise you.

Cora Rose has created one of the most realistic romances that has ever been put on paper. The pacing was slow, and I liked that Wesley and Simon had to work a bit harder for their love to develop. I thought that the end of the story was a little unnecessarily "dramatic". Wesley acted out of character, and he didn’t have enough trust in Simon. The "time jump" was also a little jarring. I wanted Wesley to listen to Simon a little more. All of this having been said, I do absolutely recommend this book...for its humor, its drama, and for the sweet, obsessive two guys. show less

This is a sports romance but I don't recall that we attend any of Logan's water polo matches. Or the gym or practices. Instead, we are frequently with him at his chemistry tutorials where he works with the enigmatic, feisty Theo, who is known as the best tutor on campus.

Two more different characters couldn't be found. The fun part is the slow reveal that Logan is not the typical Jock that Theo has assumed he would be.

Both MCs are fabulously idiosyncratic. Logan's tenacious in not letting show more Theo push him away. He's egoless enough, and self assured enough to stick by Theo through Theo's reflexive hurtfulness - I'll hurt you before you hurt me. It's powerful stuff and a nice change to the miscommunication that usually plagues the characterisation of Romance MCs. There's plenty of humour too.

For some reason, Cora Rose has not crossed my path before - this novel captivated me but unfortunately she has no audiobooks in my libraries and this is the only one of hers on Audible Plus. show less

Lex has finally found a family with the ladies of the old folks home and he won't let anyone ruin his relationship with them as honorary grandson - not even Brenda's actual grandson, William. William just wants his grandmother to be happy and as long as Lex isn't stealing her money then he doesn't mind sharing the love.

I haven't really liked Lex in the earlier books - he was just the creepy dude with the cameras and questionable morals. And for the first 20% I still didn't like him. But I show more hung in there and found that Lex isn't so bad after all - just slightly psychotic. I did love the scene with him and Diablo dealing with William's stalker though. It was hilarious. William was okay too, even if he wasn't really memorable in any way. The relationship between them was fairly sweet and straightforwards with no real relationship angst between them once they overcame their initial dislike/distrust of one another. My biggest problem with this book was the emotional angst that came from having Brenda DIE! It hit a little too close to home frankly. What can I say - I miss my nan. And since this all happened near the end, it ruined the happy high of their relationship and just made me sad.

Overall an average read. 3 stars. show less

Sem just can't seem to shake his obsession with Magnus. The tiny firecracker defies all his expectations and he can't help being intrigued. Magnus met Sem when he drove his friend Whit to the hospital and hasn't been able to get rid of him since. But the longer Sem is around, the less Magnus wants him to go.

I loved this book. Sem and Magnus (Maggie!) were adorable. There are some similarities with the first book, but on the whole, Sem and Maggie are very different characters. Maggie is much show more more outgoing than either Caleb or Whit and Sem is reserved in a much different way to Whit. My biggest complaint was that there wasn't as much of the other characters - I adored Sem's family in the last one and I was disappointed not to see as much interaction with them.

The scene with Sem threatening Magnus' dad and brother had me in hysterics. The first book had all the feels, but this book had a lot of humour as well. The transitions between the two characters was similar to the first book, with only a few snippets of Sem's thoughts but it worked well to tell the bulk of the story from Maggie's point of view.

Also like the first book, there's not a huge amount of depth to the plot but what's there works well. The plot deals with bullying by family and others, body confidence and learning disabilities but doesn't dwell, which keeps the plot pretty lighthearted. I don't love emotional reads so it was a win for me. And the chemistry between Sem and Maggie was off the charts and the relationship that develops between them is pure sugary sweetness.

It was swoonworthy with lots of humour, fluffiness and heat and overall, a fantastic read. It's probably not a five star rating in terms of quality - maybe a 3.5/4 - but in terms of pure enjoyment it deserves all five stars.

5 stars. show less