REVIEW BY: Christie

TITLE: What’s in a Name?

SERIES: Foothills Pride Stories, Book 1

AUTHOR: Pat Henshaw

NARRATOR: David Ross

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 2h 49m

RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2016

BLURB:

Barista Jimmy Patterson thinks it’s a good idea to get rip-roaring drunk on his birthday after he’s dumped by his boyfriend. When the burly owner of Stonewall’s Bar rescues Jimmy, the night starts to look up.

Now Jimmy just wants to know the bartender’s first name since he’s worn a different name tag every time Jimmy’s seen him. “Guy” Stone gives Jimmy seven guesses, one for each night he takes Jimmy out on a date.

While Jimmy’s trying to come up with his name, he’s distracted by the destruction of his coffee shop and what looks more and more like a hate crime.

REVIEW:

This looked like a cute, fun story to listen to as a palette cleanser between full length books, so I decided to give it a chance. Tho not what I expected, there was a sweetness in the story that came thru, after I suspended reality quite a bit more than usual.

As far as birthdays go, Jimmy’s this year has basically sucked. Literally. But sadly, he was not involved. Tho his boyfriend was, after picking up a stranger right after starting a huge fight with Jimmy at the bar they’re regulars at. Again, ON JIMMY’S BIRTHDAY. So, what would anyone do when they’ve had a fight with their significant other and essentially broken up? That’s right, get drunk. And, Jimmy does just that. Good thing that the bartender has been secretly attracted to Jimmy for ever and takes care of him, making sure he gets to where he’s going safely. Where does he go, you might ask? Well, to the bartender’s home because our birthday boy doesn’t have a home to go to anymore since the break-up scene a few hours ago.

That’s when things get a bit hinky for me…

Jimmy doesn’t know the bartender’s name, because A) He wears a different name tag every day, and B) Said bartender refuses to tell him, urging Jimmy to guess his name instead. Each date they have, Jimmy has one guess and if he gets it right, the bartender will buy him a motorcycle. The bartender also moves Jimmy into his home and expects that they will share a bed right away. Hmm…

Jimmy and the bartender have very sweet chemistry between them, and I do think that they were definitely meant to be together. However, there was barely any time between Jimmy’s birthday and when they professed their undying love for each other. Even when suspending reality much more than usual, it was a bit hard to accept. There is also some frivolous angst thrown in, in the form of Jimmy’s Coffee shop getting vandalized, that really does not make any sense, the way the story is currently. And, the part that upset me the most is there is no sex. There is a little bit of lead up, then BAM! Nothing. It is a complete blackout.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to bash the book. There are elements that really work well in it. I simply feel that it is incomplete the way it is. To be completely honest, I’d like more. Will this book stop me from reading any of the other books in the Foothills Pride series? No, not at all. I would be happy to check out the others. Is it a bad book? No, not really. It just needs more story. Will I read more by Pat Henshaw? Sure, why not? I like Pat’s concept for this book, and am looking forward to seeing what else they have in store.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Audible

Amazon