Right Place, Right Time by H. L. Day

Title: ⟫ Right Time, Right Place

Author: ⟫ H.L. Day

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ Sometimes the path to true love twists so much that you end up right back where you started.

Ben Sutcliffe’s teenage crush on his best friend’s dad burned hotter than a forest fire. Jasper Bennet was sexy, kind, and caring—the perfect man. He was also straight and off-limits. The wrong man at the wrong time. So when tragedy sent Ben running for the hills, he never looked back… until now.

The sleepy village of Pilsdale is exactly how Ben remembers it, and so is Jasper. Only this time, there’s a glint in Jasper’s eye that says Ben might not have known everything about him.

The key to overcoming Ben’s past can be found in Jasper’s arms. But he can’t stay. He has a whole life waiting for him outside Pilsdale. But the longer he stays, the more he thinks it’s finally the right time to be with the right man.

Right Place, Right Time is a low angst contemporary, small town, best friend’s dad, age gap, M/M romance. It features a main character who had good taste even as a teenager, a main character who always puts others first to his own detriment, an animal sanctuary, not-so-secret admirers, meddling villagers, a massage or three, and a sprinkling of humor.

Review: ⟫ Right Place, Right Time is exactly as described – it’s a sweet, low-angst romance with an age gap, complete with the best friend’s dad twist just for a little more spice. Ben and Jasper were sweet, kind and both deserving of a HEA but Ben is wary especially as he doesn’t want to read into things too much. There were a few mishaps and misunderstandings, but one of the best things about the story is the fact that both Ben and Jasper made an effort to talk to each other – communication wasn’t just a buzz-word, they did make an effort to let the other person know what they were feeling.

I liked the way that they addressed the age-gap thing face-on – in fact, they went through ALL of the possible reasons why a relationship between the two of them wouldn’t work – it was lovely that the author didn’t hide behind any of that to make an artificial complication. Especially when they had a naturally occurring one!

I felt that the ending was perhaps a little rushed and a couple of the characters felt like a little too much, but that feeling will probably depend on the mood you’re in/life experiences. I didn’t grow up in a place where everyone knew who you were, so the village occupants’ actions felt a little over the top for me, but what do I know?

A nice, generally uncomplicated romance, with a smidgeon of humour and a good set of characters, this was a lovely read. I received an ARC from GRR.

Five Night Stand by H.L. Day (Snowed Inn)

Title: ⟫ Five Night Stand

Author: ⟫ H.L. Day

Rating: ⟫ 4/5

Blurb: ⟫ The advantage of a one-night stand is being able to walk away. Except, Nathan can’t.

Workaholic Nathan Nicholls hasn’t had the easiest time of late. Still reeling from his publisher’s rejection of his latest book, he seeks refuge in a remote hotel. When he’s propositioned by the sinfully sexy CJ, a man who knows exactly what he wants and isn’t afraid to go for it, why shouldn’t Nathan throw caution to the winds for once and have a bit of fun? After all, he’s leaving the next day.

When an avalanche puts paid to Nathan’s quick exit, he finds himself stuck there for Christmas. Stuck with CJ. What should be awkward, quickly becomes something else. The snow might be cold, but the time they spend together is far from it, and Nathan finds his heart warming. If only their passion and laughter didn’t have a shelf life, doomed to come to an end once the road is cleared.

Nathan Nicholls doesn’t do one-night-stands. But maybe, just maybe, if he makes a Christmas wish, this could be something more.

A sweet and steamy 43k forced proximity story which features a man who never was any good at one-night stands, a cheerful wildlife photographer who might not be as confident as he makes out, rustic log cabins, snow, Christmas cheer, and two men gaining a whole new perspective on life.

All the books In the Snowed Inn collection are standalone stories and can be read in any order.

Review: ⟫ This was such a sweet, sexy story.

The beginning – oh man, I felt for Nathan – that rejection from his publisher was painful to read. How he walked out of there not bawling his eyes out is beyond me. His time at the hotel seemed to be a bit of a wash – he was struggling to connect with what his publisher wanted and the only thing that had changed was his location.

And then along comes C.J. He was so hot, so in control and so totally owning what he wanted, it was incredibly sexy. I really loved their first interactions and their first night together, and was saddened that Nathan allowed his doubts to prevent him from saying goodbye. Then fate stepped in and wow, the story bounded along. I really loved reading the two of them opening up to each other, being vulnerable and just doing their best to enjoy the enforced proximity.

I admit, I was almost shouting at Nathan when the road was cleared and he was going to bottle it, so I was very proud of him.

I loved how honest they were with each other; how C.J. pulled Nathan out of his head and got him to see there was a world he was missing out on; how Nathan bolstered C.J. and respected what he did. They were very sexually compatible but there weren’t too many sex scenes for the size of the book – I felt that it was just enough.

This was a real feel-good book, with a lovely ending and it was all very fairytale which I guess I needed this weekend.

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Temporary Situation by H.L. Day

Title: ⟫ A Temporary Situation (Temporary #1) 

Author: ⟫H.L. Day 

Rating: ⟫ 4.5/5 

Blurb: ⟫ Please note that this is a re-release. Only the cover has changed. There are no major revisions to the story. 

Personal assistant Dominic is a consummate professional. Funny then, that he harbors such unprofessional feelings toward Tristan Maxwell, the CEO of the company. 

No, not in that way. 

The man may be the walking epitome of gorgeousness dressed up in a designer suit. But, Dominic's immune. Unlike most of the workforce, he can see through the pretty facade to the arrogant, self-entitled asshole below. It's lucky then, that the man's easy enough to avoid. 

Disaster strikes when Dominic finds himself having to work in close proximity as Tristan's P.A. The man is infuriatingly unflappable, infuriatingly good-humored, and infuriatingly unorthodox. In short, just infuriating. A late-night rescue leading to a drunken pass only complicates matters further, especially with the discovery that Tristan is both straight and engaged. 

Hatred turns to tolerance, tolerance to friendship, and friendship to mutual passion. One thing's for sure, if Tristan sets his sights on Dominic, there's no way Dominic has the necessary armor or willpower to keep a force of nature like Tristan at bay for long, no matter how unprofessional a relationship with the boss might be. 

He may just have to revise everything he previously thought and believed in for a chance at love. 

Review: ⟫ This book was a laugh riot! I absolutely adored Tristan – he was so freakin’ funny, with a straight-forward honesty, brilliant attitude and he sounded hot af! He could have been a complete disaster, coming across as too perfect to live, but the way he ate, how he dragged Dominic around and just took over his life was so much fun to read! And the fact that he was more than happy to embrace a new facet to his sexuality with a willingness to research and just dive in was refreshing! 

Dominic was a little infuriating on occasion – when he was talking to his friend Paul, there were times when I didn’t understand why Paul didn’t throttle him – but he was sarcastic, funny, honest and generally a good guy! 

This was such a fun, easy read, with the barest hint of a big-bad guy, a few hot sex scenes, but it flowed so nicely. I really enjoyed reading this one and am heading off to the next in the series happily. A nice and easy 4.5 rounded up!