Lost in the Florist
By Riley Long & Marie Cole
Blooming Hearts, Book 1
A fast-paced, sexy romance in the woods that will make Smokey Bear come running.
Jax fled his small hometown eight years ago to make it big in LA. His music career took off and he hasn’t been back to see his childhood best friend Emmett–his first, unrequited love — since. No man has lived up to that first love, though Jax has certainly tried.
When he finally gets a vacation, Jax decides to put his playboy ways behind him, surprise Emmett with a visit, and finally lay his feelings on the line. But Emmett has a few surprises up his sleeve, too–including one big secret. Emmett is a virgin.
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What happens when your best friend who you haven’t seen in almost a decade comes back to town to visit you? Jax has been off being a superstar for years, avoiding his alcoholic father back home. But by never going home, he hasn’t seen his childhood best friend Emmet in years. Jax doesn’t know how he will get along with Emmett after so many years apart, but he knows he can’t stay away from the first man he ever fell in love with any longer. He needs to know if that spark was real or not so he can finally move forward in his life. What he doesn’t know is that Emmet had feelings for him too, but he has had less luck in dating since Jax has been gone.
I came into the story looking for a cute florist/rockstar bad boy romance. I got some of this, but less focused on the florist part and more focused on the small-town boy part, which I enjoyed equally as much. Emmett hasn’t done much to leave the town as he is living with his Grandmother and wants to keep tabs on her. Jax is trapped in a star life but he can’t get out of tours and big cities to see Emmett for years. Both boys are entirely trapped, and they start to break through each other’s barriers in this novel.
The strength of the romance tended to waver from chapter to chapter. Sometimes I felt like Jax and Emmett were a match made in heaven, other times they were so emotionally constipated that I felt like they should just give up and go home. I especially felt this over the last few chapters, but I was still satisfied with how the book turned out. I just wish that both Jax and Emmett were better at expressing their true feelings,
Even though they weren’t the best at communication, they still had a spark that could be seen throughout the novel. I was rooting for these childhood best friends turned lovers to win this entire time, and I wish that there was a sequel/followup with these characters! I also like that the conflicts in this novel were not simply pulled out of thin air like “a childhood misunderstanding that broke the friendship” but were instead grounded in more real family issues that can occur in regular life. This makes the characters a lot more relatable to read about.
Overall, this adorable gay romance did not blow me away, but it was still a sweet story that kept me occupied for a few hours as I rooted for Emmett and Jax to open up to one another. I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a new adult romance novel to read!
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 books.
Excerpt
Jax
The second Jax placed his can in the cup holder, his phone started vibrating. His heart leapt a little, but when he flipped the phone over, he saw that it was just his manager, not his best friend Emmett calling to tease him with more mental imagery of the blow job he’d always dreamed of–not that Emmett knew that. Jax had kept that little fantasy very close to his chest throughout high school. Their small town wasn’t exactly the gay man’s safe haven and the jocks had a reputation for being extremely anti-queer. Jax hadn’t thought Emmett was anti-queer, but he was on the football team, and Jax knew if there was even a sniff of male on male activity that it would spread like wildfire through the school. Part of him still regretted not saying “Fuck it” and kissing his best friend when he’d had the chance. He’d come close once.
He swiped the screen to answer the phone and scooped it up. “Hey, Ron.” In his free hand, he picked up the remote for the TV and turned it on, quickly muting the volume and switching it over to the internet browser. He pinned the phone between his ear and his shoulder.
“Jax, hey. Just calling to tell you everything’s all arranged.”
“Uh, what’s that now?” Jax was already only half-listening to Ron, attempting to navigate the TV’s browser to pornpornporn.com at the same time.
“The R&R you asked for. The time off. We’ve got it all arranged. You’re going to be staying in a little cabin about a thirty minute drive outside of Camellia. The cabin is already reserved. Do you need me to send someone to stay with you? Sophia maybe?”
The double-meaning was thick in Ron’s tone, catching Jax’s full attention. “Ron, there was only one time that the paparazzi took pictures of me with her. And I told you, we didn’t actually do anything. It was all just coincidental. Uh, circumstantial. Whatever that word is. It just looked compromising. There’s no actual evidence that we hooked up because nothing happened.” He let his gaze travel across the screen, thumbnails of naked guys in all sorts of configurations, waiting for him to choose. “Besides, I’m going there to surprise my best friend, not to get laid.”
“Sure, sure, whatever you say. Listen, it’s none of my business, I’m just trying to keep you happy.” Ron cleared his throat. “The cabin is all yours in a little over a week.”
“This time off is all I need to stay happy. A couple of weeks of rest before the wolves start howling at my door again.” He spotted an image of a muscular man with short brown hair and a beard, frozen in mid-kiss with a guy with a lean, sculpted body, and clicked on it. Immediately, the video took up his full screen and started playing, the two men on a couch, wearing nothing but underwear and making out. “Listen, Ron, I gotta go. Something’s just come up and I need to take care of it. Thanks again. Bye.” He pressed the button to end the call without waiting for a confirmation from his manager and tossed the phone on the bed next to him again.
Enter the Giveaway
To celebrate the release of Lost in the Florist, we are giving 2 lucky winners the chance to win an e-copy of Lost in the Florist and an e-book of their choice from Riley Long’s published backlist.
Enter here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cc0f2a5714/?
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About Riley:
Riley Long is a wife and mother living a quiet life in Virginia, with her husband, son, and one goofy pit bull. She passes her evenings writing, reading, and watching bad television (or not so bad television). For fun, Riley participates in NaNoWriMo, GISH, and reads with her book club, the BAMFs. She likes things with silly acronyms. The craziest thing Riley has ever done involves whipped cream and hugs. Riley writes sweet and sexy romance, with a special place in her heart for hipsters and musicians.
Connect with Riley:
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/riley-long
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13515411.Riley_Long
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01578N1BO
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writerrileylong
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Website: https://rileylongwrites.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WriterRileyLong/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/RileysReaders
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About Marie:
Marie Cole is the author of the contemporary romance #JustFriends Series. Lost in the Florist is her very first boy/boy romance and she’s super excited to be stepping into the m/m arena beside her writer bestie, Riley Long.
She is currently living in Virginia, is a self-professed Kwave addict, Karaoke Queen, and social binge drinker. When she’s not writing she’s taking photos of everything from her fluffy cat Dustpan to birds conversing on her porch. She loves to show them off on her Instagram account.
Connect with Marie:
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/authors/marie-cole
Goodreads: goodreads.com/mariecolebooks
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Marie-Cole/e/B00RZXSYBC
Twitter: http://twitter.com/mariecolebooks
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/mariecolebooks/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mariecolebooks
Website: www.mariecolebooks.com
