Reviewed by Roberta
TITLE: Spring Break at Villa Hermes
SERIES: A Brandt & Donnelly Caper: Case File Four
AUTHOR: Xavier Mayne
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 246 pages
BLURB:
A Brandt and Donnelly Caper: Case File Four
Troopers Ethan Brandt and Gabriel Donnelly celebrate the one-year anniversary of their engagement by flying south for a week of calm relaxation at the Villa Hermes, a gay boutique hotel on the beach. But when the rest of the guests turn out to be college guys on spring break (unwittingly booked into a gay hotel by a passive-aggressive travel agent), their week turns out to be anything but calm.
Ted, one of the spring breakers, has harbored a crush on his roommate and best friend, Bark, since they met freshman year. Now, on their fourth and final spring break, Ted knows they must soon say good-bye. A lacrosse star and ladies’ man, Bark has no idea Ted has fallen for him—until a storm forces the entire group underground for twenty-four hours of stress and truth-telling. Bark doesn’t want to say good-bye to Ted at graduation either. He just didn’t know how to put his feelings into words or if he could face the consequences of speaking them. Brandt and Donnelly help the college guys through their crisis by showing them what love between best friends can grow into.
But Ted and Bark aren’t the only spring-breakers with secrets.
REVIEW:
I remember reading the first book in this series awhile ago and I remember really liking these characters. I remember buying the next book in the series, however, my TBR file keeps getting bigger and bigger and I never go around to it. I saw this book was up for review and well, let’s just say….it has allowed me the chance to catch up on Brandt and Donnelly.
Brandt and Donnelly are on this vacation to celebrate their engagement as well as take a bit of time for them to just be. These guys are just the bees knees when it comes to attracting trouble and yet, they seem to always help out those that are in trouble and this is just another fun filled adventure in Brandt and Donnelly world!! Brandt and Donnelly just do what they can to help Ted, Bark, Vic and Winnie. These are some sweet and wonderful guys and anyone who is lucky enough to cross paths with them are just so darn lucky!!
Ted, wow…I just really liked this guy. Ted’s a senior in college and he’s been in love with his roommate, Bark from the first moment he saw him freshman year in their dorm room. Ted has never had a relationship with anyone as he’s been hiding who he was and hiding the fact that he’s in love with Bark. Ted is just the sweetest guy. He’s so kind and so very sensitive. Ted has this really wonderful heart and it breaks over Bark. Ted has decided that this is it…the time to say goodbye to Bark and to FINALLY get started in on his life.
Barclay “Bark” is quite the ladies’ man, however, he has something that he wants and he’s not sure how to go about getting it. Bark has always put up such a front for everyone that truly hides this wonderful guy. Bark doesn’t know how to truly say what he wants. I love that you truly get to know Bark better as a character and I could totally see where he was coming from and why he acts the way that he does.
The secondary characters, these guys had me in stiches. Paul, Thor, Chad and Howie…the College Crew!! These guys have been friends since freshman year when they were in the dorms together and this is the last spring break that they have together before real life begins. These guys just absolutely love and support each other. Winnie and Vic are the owners/proprietors of the Villa Hermes. Vic is a really sweet guy who loves Winnie and their place. Winnie is just….WOW, I just loved him!! He is a flamboyant gay man and yet, he’s got this really great heart and he’s just about the kindest man that you’ve ever met.
This book had some really nice intimate scenes in it. Not just Brandt and Donnelly, but Ted and Bark. The scenes were steamy and really well done. I felt that it was watching the progression of this new development in their relationship and it was really beautiful to see.
I have to say that Xavier did such an amazing job with every single one of these characters. They were full-bodied characters with their own quirks and issues that they have. I fell for each and everyone of these guys. They all brought something to the table and just made my little heart beat for them.
There was just a tiny bit of suspense/mystery and it didn’t take away from the story of these young guys and Brandt and Donnelly. It just showed truly what our guys were made up of.
The very best part of this story was the time spent in the underground. It was during this time that these characters really all took off for me. We got such an intimate look into who these guys were and why they were the way they were. Beautifully done.
RATING: 
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I like you review, i have this book on my ereader and look forward to reading it 🙂
Nice review! I’m really looking forward to this one.
Sounds wonderful and this is the second great review I’ve read, but wondering, is it OK to read this one without reading the first book in the series?
Barbra, I think the books stand on their own pretty well, but they do build on each other. And because I’ve absolutely fallen in love with these characters along the way, I’d recommend that you start at the beginning–but that’s a fairly biased opinion, coming from the guy who wrote the books!
Thanks, Roberta! Love love love your review. I’m always so excited when I find reviewers who get that characters are the most important part of the book.
[…] Thanks, Roberta, for your perceptive and generous review. And if you’re not Roberta, I encourage you to read the entire review. […]