Seb’s Summer by K.C. Wells

 

Main Men #3

282 pages

Buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Also available with Kindle Unlimited

 

Blurb

Steamy summer nights with a hot older man aren’t the smooth sailing Seb expects.

A mysterious older guy

Seb Williams has one plan for the hot, sultry nights of his summer vacation—to get laid. What isn’t on the agenda? Running his uncle’s fishing business. Seb has no choice but to help his family. So it’s goodbye, Ogunquit’s gay bars and hook-ups.
And it’s hello, Cape Porpoise, a quaint, quiet fishing harbor. A small town that promises to be boring AF until he meets Marcus Gilbert. His summer prospects start to look promising. Silver fox—hell yeah. Hot bod? Check. Slow sultry gaze? Oh yes!

Only one problem. Marcus Gilbert plays hard to get.

A hot distraction

Cape Porpoise is exactly how Marcus remembers it from long-past childhood, and just what he needs. A sabbatical to get his life back on track, and work on his book. Peaceful surroundings. The calm of the ocean.

Perfect—until Marcus’s boat is well and truly rocked by a hot, younger guy.

Marcus can’t ignore the lure of Seb’s lean frame and gorgeous eyes. One night can’t hurt, right?

Except one night leads to another, and another.

It’s just a summer fling—until it isn’t, and the pair are suddenly in uncharted waters.

Because now, Marcus’s past threatens to tear apart their future.

 

Review

The Main Men series has so far given me three delightful stories. While they’re all interconnected and have some similarities, each story comes with a new and fully fleshed-out dilemma. In Finn’s Fantasy, the issue was coming out at a later age, and in Ben’s Boss K.C. Wells dealt with bullying. Seb’s Summer has another, equally hefty, topic at its core. I won’t tell you what it is though. Spoilers should always be avoided and in this case even more so.

This third book in K.C. Well’s Maine Men series is as captivating and sexy as the two prequels. If I take my queue from the official blurb, my summary of the story looks something like this:

Hot men ✅

Age-Gap Romance ✅

Hot and Sexy ✅

Memorable characters ✅

Realistic ✅

But I won’t leave my review there. It won’t surprise anybody when I say I’m a huge fan of K.C. Well’s books. While there hasn’t been a single story I didn’t like, I do have my favourites, of course. Seb’s Summer has found its place among those favourites.

There’s a lot to love in this book. Seb is a wonderful MC. At first glance, he may seem a little selfish and somewhat obsessed with hook-ups, but it soon becomes very clear that he has a heart of gold and tends to put others ahead of himself. All of which doesn’t mean that he’s happy about having to spend the summer he had huge plans for in a small fishing village working on his uncle’s boat. There go all his dreams of gay clubs and steamy nights…or so he thinks.

Enter Marcus. While Seb resents having to spend his summer in Cape Porpoise, for Marcus the tiny town is a refuge, allowing him to put distance between himself and issues he has been dealing with. Seb may be looking for fun and sex, Marcus very much isn’t. He just wants to be left alone so he can sort himself out. Except that Marcus can’t deny that Seb is both attractive and next to impossible to resist, no matter how hard he tries to keep his distance.

What starts out as a summer fling for both men, soon turns into something more…something neither of them expected…something that may not have a future considering where they both normally live…and something that turns out to be all too fragile once Marcus’s secret is revealed.

I’m not going to tell you what that secret is, or how it gets resolved. What I will say is that it is a tricky and sensitive issue, and that K.C. Wells deals with it in a responsible and empathetic manner without allowing it to take over the story, turn it into a heavy read, or get in the way of the romance.

Yep. Seb’s Summer is yet another winner for anybody who loves a well-plotted romance with a powerful back story, imaginative and hot scenes, and a lot of heart. How long until we can get our hands on book four?

 

 

Finn’s Fantasy (Maine Men #1) by K.C. Wells

 

Pages: 311

Available as E-book, Paperback, and Audio book

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

 

Blurb

 

A secret desire

 

By day, Finn builds houses on the coastline of Maine. Afterhours, Finn dreams of the hot older guy who walks his chocolate lab on Goose Rocks Beach. The man of his dreams ticks all his boxes. Salt and pepper hair. Strong jawline. Blue eyes.
His dream man is perfect fantasy material. As for actually speaking to him?
As if. Their paths won’t ever cross, and the guy is probably straight.

 

A new chapter

 

Recently divorced Joel is finally living as a gay man, but he’s not sure he’s ready to jump into a relationship. That doesn’t stop him from noticing his new contractor’s muscular build, hewn from hard, physical work, or his storm-colored eyes. Or the way he wears his tool belt slung low on his hips. The icing on the cake? There’s more to Finn than good looks. Maybe he’s the perfect guy to share long walks on the beach and warm nights in front of a fire.

 

But it’s been twenty years since Joel was with a man. While he’s not forgotten how to flirt, he’s nervous about making a move.

 

Especially with Finn.

Review

 

Sighs. Finn’s Fantasy might as well have been written to meet my personal reading preferences.

 

Low Angst?                                         √

Age Gap?                                            √

Strong Secondary Characters?          √            

Adorable Dog?                                    √

 

There really isn’t anything in this story that doesn’t work for me. Quite the opposite in fact. I loved it from start to finish. While Finn and Joel both start off assuming that the other man isn’t for him (Finn thinks Joel is straight and Joel is convinced he’s too old for Finn), it doesn’t keep them apart. Because both men, prior to really getting to know each other, are happy to cultivate a friendship in lieu of anything more intimate, their relationship progresses naturally. It’s already clear they’re a good fit before they’ve shared their first kiss.

 

It wouldn’t be a romance without at least a little tension. In this case, the stress isn’t caused by any issue between Finn and Joel but rather by Joel’s past (I’m not sharing details here, I wouldn’t want to spoil this wonderful story). The issue is valid and understandable and, what’s more, it’s not dragged out but dealt with in an open and relatable manner.

 

Finn and Joel together are as adorable as they are hot. You could say they warm both the readers’ hearts and other body parts. 😊

 

This book starts with Finn spending time with his friends and ends with him and Joel meeting the same group again. Other men from this group will find the loves of their lives in subsequent titles. Since we see enough of the friends to get some idea of who they are, I’m already curious about who’s story will be next and what might happen to him. What’s more, these group scenes guarantee that I will see more of Finn and Joel in later Maine Men stories, and to me, that’s fabulous news.

                                                                                                

So:       YAY! To Maine Men #1

            BRING ON, Maine Men #2 and the rest. (Taps foot impatiently.)

 

 

Pride & Protection (Southern Boys #2) by K.C. Wells

259 pages

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Goodreads link: Pride & Protection

Blurb

What happens when an out-and-proud bear moves to a small Tennessee town, and takes a shine to the closeted cop?

Fireworks, that’s what.

When Del Walters agrees to go into business with his brother, he has one condition. Since he’s putting up the lion’s share, they’ll run the bike shop his way—and that means he gets to choose the name. And in a small Tennessee town, a business called Rainbow Racers, complete with a not-so-subtle sign, was always going to attract attention.

Unfortunately, it’s the wrong kind of attention, and after a few incidents, Del is forced to call on the local police to deal with the culprits. 

When Officer Taylor Cox walks into his shop, Del thinks Christmas has come early. An earlier encounter with the younger man left Del with a growing desire to know more about him. There’s only one problem—Taylor is in the closet, and there’s no way Del is going back into his.

When Taylor lays eyes on the sexy bear who owns the bike shop, he knows he’s walking into trouble. Not that he’s about to let Del know he’s interested: his view from the closet is just fine, thank you very much, and besides, that ship has already sailed, thanks to their first meeting. Now all he wants to do is forget Del even exists. But as time goes by, Taylor realizes how badly he is torn between protecting the persona he’s created, and giving in to his desires. And Del making it obvious that he wants Taylor isn’t helping matters.

Between an out-and-proud bear and a firmly closeted cop, something has to give. Problem is, it might be their hearts.

Review

If you’ve read Truth & Betrayal (and if you haven’t, you really should) you’ll remember Taylor Cox as the police officer who tries to look out for young Jake when he’s facing a personal nightmare as well as a difficult journey.

Now it is Taylor’s turn to find love in the not all too tolerant town of LaFolette, Tennessee. But, while being gay and out in this little town is difficult for anybody, it becomes nigh on impossible if you happen to be a cop and well aware that at least a few of your colleagues are out and proud homophobes.

Enter Del. He’s only moved to LaFolette to help his brother set up a bike shop. He has no intention of staying for long, after all, he’s used to living in an environment where few bat an eyelid at him being gay and he has no intention of returning to the closet any time soon.

When the two men meet the attraction is instant, but although the obstacles appear insurmountable their hearts refuse to be governed by their heads and it isn’t long before neither man can imagine being without the other. But, any happy ever after depends on Taylor showing his community who he truly is.

This was a wonderful, touching, at times laugh-out-loud funny romance. In fact, it is nowhere near as angsty or emotional as Truth and Betrayal was. Or rather, it is emotional and touching in completely different ways but no less wonderful or memorable.

I loved the two different Taylors we meet in this story. The difference between Taylor in LaFolette and the same man when he visits Atlanta with Del is as astounding as it is stunning. Taylor may be engaging in a lot of first experiences, he doesn’t waste time learning all Del has to show him and making it his own, much to Del’s delight and satisfaction.

I guess what I loved most about this story is that while the undercurrent of threats and homophobia are never far away, it shows in beautiful detail how things are often nowhere near as bad as we fear, that support can be found in surprising places, and that following your heart can bring you all you desire, even when you think that’s impossible.

Pride and Protection captivated me. I fell in love with Del the moment he was introduced and with Taylor shortly afterward. I was rooting for them to overcome the obstacles they faced and couldn’t stop turning the pages as a result. The fact that these two men are incredibly sexy together only served to make an already wonderful story even more addictive.

Long story short, I highly recommend Pride & Protection if you love a book featuring two memorable characters, a perfect balance between angst and happiness, satisfying and inspired sex scenes, and a story that will leave you happy and will stick in your mind for weeks to come.

Related review: Truth & Betrayal