Home in Hollyridge #2
Publisher: Dirty Dog Publishing
Pages: 78
Characters: Jeff/Zach
POV: 3rd
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Series.
Blurb:
Jeff Morgan is rebuilding his life; Zach Brown is trying to keep his from falling apart.
After being disowned by his parents Jeff leaves the city to start over again, hoping to reinvent himself as a winemaker in the small town of Hollyridge. Why not dream big?
Zach is struggling to keep his boutique winery afloat and the summer intern is one more body which will help that happen—and oh, what a body. The only thing is, he’s sworn off men.
Until he met Zach Brown Jeff knew he was gay—but he’d never kissed a man.
One look at Jeff, and Zach knew it was going to be a long, hard summer.
Jeff doesn’t know much about wine and even less about love but maybe he’s just what Zach needs to save his winery and heal his wounded heart.
A standalone in the Home in Hollyridge series, a dual POV about a man learning to live his own life; and a winemaker who needs a little help from a friend.
Review
I loved this sweet short read about two men who complement each other, and fit perfectly. And a dog! Jura plays a very important part in this story, and is definitely a character in his own right. The title is very clever in the way it ties into the plot.
I’m very happy that Jeff, whom I met in the first book in the series, got his own story. His parents are horrible with their reaction to him finding the courage to come out and admit his sexuality to them. I love how he and Zach hit it off immediately, and want each other, yet Jeff really is terrible at winemaking. I liked the resolution to that, and how it worked out in the end, and although I guessed what would happen, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Zach is a nice guy too, and his ex is a nasty piece of work. I was very happy that said ex got what was coming to him. From his first appearance in the story, it was obvious that Zach would be better off without him. Go Jura!
I liked seeing the other characters from the first book again too, and the banter, family feel of the scenes they’re in. The ending of this story was perfect, not just in catching up with Jeff and Zach months later, but in with the part resolution with family members too. I hope we see more of those newly introduced characters in another story.
I also enjoyed the descriptions of the vineyard and wider Hollyridge. It felt very real and like a place I’d like to visit.
I’m very happy that this isn’t the last of this series as I’m enjoying it, and would highly recommend it as a go-to pick-me-up, sweet contemporary read.
5 out of 5 stars.
