Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Architect of Love
SERIES: Fated Soulmates – Book 2
AUTHOR: John Charles
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 123 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2016
BLURB:
He could work miracles with His Hands
Lance Bartner loved working with his hands, made his living refinishing furniture. Nights out were for fun with friends and the occasional hook-up. Though the L word had never been spoken, he would have enjoyed a relationship had the right man crossed his path. But who would want a laborer like Lance? He wasn’t college educated, didn’t live in a fancy loft condo, didn’t drive a Lexus, and didn’t even own a suit.
Forrest Dentren, was an architect and city planner who had become a local name when his design for the Monroe City Center was chosen as one of the top three contenders. Well educated, extremely well built, and as both men and women put it, just plain hot. Some said he was married to his job, others said he was too picky, many said he didn’t want to share the spotlight.
One hot, uninhibited sex-filled night
When Forrest broke his routine and went clubbing on a weeknight, he spotted Lance. The attraction was immediate from both sides of the dance floor. They both felt it. A few drinks later, still feeling it, they left for Lance’s apartment.
It was never supposed to turn into anything more than one hot fuck
Two people from opposite ends of the world, no roadmap, not directions, no ideas how to make it work.
Architect Of Love is a hot and steamy, gay romance novel with no cliffhangers. It is the second book in The Fated Soulmates series and can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
This was a new-to-me author and the blurb sounded promising. Unfortunately it fell short of my expectations.
Forrest Dentren is a home-grown successful architect. He has lived his life developing his firm and hasn’t let his social life develop much because of the long hours he has put in to make himself and his business a success. Lance Bartner is a skilled craftsman. He works his magic restoring old pieces of furniture into works of art. On a rare visitation to a club on a work night, Forrest spots and picks up Lance for a little fun. On a second chance meeting at an estate sale that weekend, they decide to give it another go. But their different levels of work and social standing cause Lance to question whether they are a good idea together. “Architect of Love” is the story of these two men, in different walks of life, trying to figure out if they can possibly form a lasting relationship.
I liked the idea of two men, one white collar and one blue collar, trying to make a go at a relationship. And I liked Forrest. Lance would usually be the one I rooted for but he just irritated me for the most part. From his dropping Forrest for being too successful and self-proclaimed “out of his league”, to his jumping in bed with his ex-lover and friend, Dale, and then running back to Forrest, it was all kinds of wrong. And the whole Mayor/City Design contract plot was to far fetched and over-the-top.
There were some pretty serious editing errors in this book. I can forgive an occasional wrong word or grammatical error, but when a name is changed from the beginning of the book to the end, that is unforgivable. The estate sale was at the Albert’s estate in the beginning of the book and the Albertson’s estate by the end.
For the most part, this book had a good premise but the unnecessary angst and poor editing made it difficult for it to keep my attention and make it through. This just wasn’t the book for me.
RATING: 
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