Reviewed by Amber

TITLE: Served Hot

SERIES: Portland Heat #1

AUTHOR: Annabeth Albert

PUBLISHER: Kensington

LENGTH: 112 pages

BLURB:

In Portland, Oregon, the only thing hotter than the coffee shops, restaurants, and bakeries are the hard-working men who serve it up—hot, fresh, and ready to go—with no reservations…

Robby is a self-employed barista with a busy coffee cart, a warm smile, and a major crush on one of his customers. David is a handsome finance director who works nearby, eats lunch by himself, and expects nothing but “the usual”—small vanilla latte—from the cute guy in the cart. But when David shows up for his first Portland Pride festival, Robby works up the nerve to take their slow-brewing relationship to the next level. David, however, is newly out and single, still grieving the loss of his longtime lover, and unsure if he’s ready to date again. Yet with every fresh latte, sweet exchange—and near hook-up—David and Robby go from simmering to steaming to piping hot. The question is: Will someone get burned?

REVIEW:

“As he pulled me toward the newly taupe bedroom, I thought, this is what hope feels like. Since David had come into my life I’d learned a lot more about hope. It looks like ivory sheets and stacks of paint cans and two pairs of shoes next to the bed. It sounds like rustling bedcovers and murmured endearments. Hope tastes like skin and soap and victory and coffee. And I can say now with absolute certainty that hope does come in a paper cup and smells an awful lot like a vanilla latte to go.”

This was a cute unique little story. I’m familiar with this author’s writing style and I was really excited to read this new series. It did not disappoint. I enjoyed this story a great deal.

Robby owns and works a coffee cart in a popular business district. He’s been harboring a significant crush on one if his customers, David. Every time Robby flirts with David, his advances aren’t reciprocated. Robby has determined that David is just not interested in him.

David, a finance manager, enjoys his conversations with the cute barista, Robby. Unfortunately, David is still grieving and emotionally healing from the loss of his long time partner. Not only is he dealing with the pain of grief he’s recently outted and trying to get his bearings as an out gay man.

After learning from Robby that Portland Pride was coming up, David decides to go. When he sees Robby there working, Robby offers to show him around since it was David’s first time. You can tell by their interactions that the attraction between these two is mutual. David wants to move on and love again; he’s just scared and doesn’t want to get hurt again. They decide to take things slow. I loved the attraction they shared. It was so different to read a story where the MC’s didn’t immediately jump in bed together. I liked that little change up. The passion they created was very hot. I really enjoyed them together.

Both, Robby and David have a lot of baggage they need to overcome to truly commit to each other. There wasn’t a ton of angst, just 2 people navigating a new relationship while battling old demons.

I definitely would recommend this novella and can’t wait for the others in the series.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Kensington Publishing

Amazon

ARe