Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Zest
AUTHOR: Clare London
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 134 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2019
BLURB:
Donnie’s new romance with silver fox veterinarian Will looks like a real recipe for love. But first he has to deal with the problems of his job, his friends’ demands, and worries about Will’s privileged background. To say nothing of Donnie’s thwarted dreams of a catering career—and baking something that doesn’t come out a disaster.
Will is fascinated and entranced by Donnie. A mature, professional businessman, he’s far less confident in romance—and in the bedroom. Yet his eagerness to look after Donnie and show him a better life are misguided, and have a disastrous effect of their own.
Donnie is everyone’s friend. He’ll help anyone out. But who’s there to help him when he needs it?
Read about Donnie and Will’s first meeting in The Accidental Baker – and the other couples whose stories will follow in this series.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the second story in this series and our two MCs meet in Book #1. While this can certainly be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading the story that sets up a number of the relationships in this book as they are a bit spoilery for the first one.
Donnie and Will have been seeing each other since their fateful meeting the day of the Community Center Easter party. Donnie is completely smitted with Will and the feeling appears to be mutual. Donnie still has a full plate and has his annoying job, but he’s definitely happy. Will is content to spend his free time with Donnie as well, but he does think that there are lot of folks who tend to take advantage of Donnie’s good nature and accommodating personality. He encourages Donnie to stand up for himself more – but that comes as a surprise to some.
When Donnie’s employment situation changes, Will again wants to step in and rescue/help Donnie. While Donnie appreciates the sentiment on the one hand, he also begins to feel like maybe he’s not the potential partner for Will if he can’t take care of his own life. They do come to an agreement and things move along well. But then the facts of Will’s previous life present themselves and again, Donnie feels like maybe he’s just not good enough – or maybe just not enough for Will.
Will for his part is concerned for Donnie – that he’s been too anxious to help everyone else, but hasn’t taken his own priorities seriously. He wants Donnie to be happy and fulfilled, but he’s been a bit heavy-handed in trying to make that happen. Donnie begins to feel like Will won’t be satisfied with just good ole Donnie at some point – since he obviously needs more ambition, etc. But Will has his own demons – including a past work issue that has plagued him and caused a rift with his own life. And he’s also worried about the age difference. But it all comes crashing down after Donnie declares he needs some time to himself. The question is will he decide he still wants to try to make a go of it with Will or should he try for something else?
These two were so cute! Each of them trying to do for/protect the other – but without a lot of guidance and some overstepping and assumptions are made. Will truly is a protector, but he’s also self-conscious about his age and frankly he’s been burned in the past. Donnie has learned in life that it’s a waste of time to buck the trend, so he’s become very accepting – perhaps too much so when everyone expects him to just be there for them. During the story he grows up a lot – learning to take his own desires seriously. Also the supporting cast of his neighbors and friends learn that Donnie isn’t the pushover he once was. Will learns a lot about dealing with people as well in this story. Compromise is the Key! I really enjoyed getting to be with Will and Donnie on their journey through the ups and downs of daily life and the way they each tried to make life better for the other. They are so complementary and they make a good team. I can’t wait to read the stories of the other couples in this world 🙂
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