For something on the, oh, spicy side, Caraway Carter had me read the beta version of his newest May/December romance.
A hot-shot architect. A burly barista. A second chance they didn’t see coming.
Thomas Drake has never been a relationship guy. And he’s sure not looking for his next hook-up when he stops by the Brass Lamp for coffee, and he can’t keep his eyes off the hot older guy pulling espresso behind the counter. But Brodie has secrets he’s not ready to share, and he doesn’t have time for a sexy young workaholic, no matter how much the air crackles between them when they get near each other.
Before they can figure out how to break down the walls around their hearts, though, they’re going to have to deal with a vlogger with a grudge, secrets forced into the open, and a stalker ex. With their lives thrown into turmoil, Thomas and Brodie are going to have to decide if what they are working on is worth the fight in the end.
The Architect & The Barista is a standalone novel with a happily-ever-after ending. It’s the second book in the May/December Promenade series — stories that give non-traditional couples a second chance.
I was delighted with Carter’s characterizations of the characters involved. He turned a world-weary cafe owner and an over-scheduled architect into people that we cared about. And this being a romance novel, Carter wasn’t shy about diving full into the sex scenes. Which, I’m happy to add, were also well-constructed, lending emotional weight to the characters’ journeys.