Reviewed by Kat
T
ITLE: Two for Trust
SERIES: Dreamspun Desires #34
AUTHOR: Elle Brownlee
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 252 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2017
BLURB:
A fairy-tale vacation—if he can get the ending right.
American nurse Finch Mason steps beyond the comfort of his orderly life and takes a dream trip to England, complete with a National Trust Pass so he can visit numerous historical sites. At the first one on his list, he’s warmly welcomed—and told he bought a pass good for two.
Finch doesn’t hesitate to offer the pass to Benedict, a handsome Brit also there on an outing. They spend a magical week touring the countryside, and while it’s too soon to get attached, Finch wishes their time together would never end.
Then Finch finds himself stuck abroad with no money, and he has no one to turn to but Benedict. Benedict is happy to help, but he also owes Finch some answers—such as who he really is and why he was at the estate where they first met.
REVIEW:
If you are looking for a book with never ending vivid description of England, it’s local customs and foods and it’s historical sites, then this is the book for you.
Finch Mason, an American nurse, is visiting England alone on a shoe-string budget after Chad had left him high and dry. He should have known that Chad wouldn’t follow through after he surprised him with tickets for Chad’s weeks off. He then realized he was just a “stopgap—someone to break up the long hours at the hospital between Finch’s nursing and Chad’s residency rounds.” So Mason sets off on his own traveling aboard to discover all there is to offer his nerdy historical buff self. After he discovers that he mistakenly purchased the wrong National Trust Pass, one week for two instead of two weeks for one, he meets and invites a tall, handsome British stranger to accompany him at the first site. When he unexpectedly keeps meeting up with the stranger, Benedict, they make it a week of fun exploring the rich in history countryside. When an unfortunate event occurs Finch is forced to take in Benedict’s hospitality. “Two for Trust” is the story of these two men getting to know and learn to trust each other.
Although I liked both of these men I never really connected with them. They were a bit too staunch and reserved for my taste. I know that each of them were very guarded with their emotions and feelings but they were just a little too distant. I needed them to interact with each other on a more personal level. It was obvious that they were becoming friends but it was way to guarded.
In my humble opinion, this book took way too long getting to the point of the men expressing that they even liked each other let alone had feelings for the other man. It is extremely full of detailed descriptions of the historical sites and common foods in the rural England setting but the actual relationship took way too long to come to an open point. And having a virtual stranger lavish you with very expensive gifts from Harrods was a bit over the top. I would have preferred that the author got to the part of the men opening up on their feelings much sooner and then go from there but it just ended as soon as they did. And it was like wham-bam…I have no idea how you feel about me to almost instantaneous-love. What this book lacked was romance. The thrill of getting to know each other and fall in love. That was very disappointing.
If you like a no sex book, with only a couple kisses, and lots of full description about the English countryside, history and local customs then this is for you. Unfortunately it fell short on my expectations. It felt more like a travel book than a romance to me.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: