Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Born for Leaving

SERIES:   New England State of Mind

AUTHOR:  Jude Munro

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  238 pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 2,  2020

BLURB:

“A Match Made in a Want Ad”
When they say be careful what you wish for, do you pay attention?
Neither did Oliver Tunstead.

Oliver wishes for nothing more than to get his mind off his crappy bartending job, pile of debt big enough to swallow him whole, and playboy ex-boyfriend/boss who refuses to back off. Too bad distractions, like the hot little convertible he has his eye on, cost megabucks. And Oliver is flat broke. Renting the spare bedroom in his rundown beachfront cottage is his only option to pick up the cash he needs–a risky proposition, as Oliver is the polar opposite of a people-person. When he responds to a bizarre ad in the Waterfront Gazette seeking summer housing, he gets more than he bargained for. But Oliver can cope… After all, how much harm can a single quirky tenant do to his tightly guarded life in three short months?

Where Oliver is a loner by design, urban cowboy Bodie is a loner by necessity. A family dispute long ago dropkicked him onto the path of a lifelong wanderer. This changes when Bodie moves into the tiny beachfront cottage and starts working the door at Oliver’s bar.

Despite Oliver and Bodie’s nearly paralyzing instinct to avoid commitment, they fall into a wary romance. And to their surprise, life as a couple is sweetly satisfying; that is, until their jealous boss devises a cruel plan to destroy the tentative bond they’ve built. True to form, Bodie hits the road, leaving Oliver to lick his wounds alone.

Can these wounded souls defy their urge to flee and fight for love?

**Trigger Warning: discussion of childhood sexual molestation of adult character, graphic physical violence, off-page coerced sexual relationship

REVIEW:

Oliver keeps to himself.  He’s a bartender, well the de facto manager, of Surf’s Up bar.  In the past, he made the mistake of having a “relationship” with the owner, Jack, but it was really more of a hookup with Jack doing whatever the hell he wanted with whoever he wanted whenever he wanted.  But he still keeps trying to get Oliver back – at least to sleep with.  Oliver however, is having none of it.  He looks out for the rest of the bar staff, but without a bouncer just as the summer season is taking off, he’s got a lot of bruises and bumps to show for it.

Oliver really wants to get a car, but he’s maxed out with his mortgage on his adorable rundown cottage and his student loans. But he’s got his eye on a cute VW convertible.  He just needs some cash for a down payment so he decides to rent out his 2nd bedroom for the summer.  He sees an add for a guy looking for a room to rent for the summer and decides to go for it.  What he does not expect is that the ad placer is also the new bouncer at the bar.  Their first meeting is a bit of a surprise and their second even more so 😉

But Bodie is a really good guy and great at his job.  Too bad Jack can’t stop himself from blatantly harassing him as well.  Bodie is not having it.  He’s watchful over Oliver but he’s not in the least interested in Jack.  When we find out the whys and the wherefores of Bodie’s protective nature and his lack of past relationships, it’s heartbreaking.  It’s a sadly familiar story of a child whose welfare and protection did not come from those who should have made that job 1.

As Bodie and Oliver get closer, Jack becomes more obsessed, erratic and nasty. Then there is the little issue of another patron who has been harassing Oliver as well.  And when Bodie has to step in again with him to protect Oliver, it definitely changes things between them.  As they continue to fall in love, things get both better and worse.  Their days are spent together, but the nights at the bar can be OK or excruciating to get through.

When things come to a head with Jack, all hell breaks loose.  And both Bodie and Oliver have some hard decisions to make.  But Oliver has finally learned that he can let people in and maybe it’s worth the risk.

I have to say this book really wasn’t at all what I expected – but that’s because I guess I didn’t know what I expected.  And if this is any kind of a window into what working in a bar in a summer beach town is like, I’d have to say no thank you!  I really really loved Oliver and Bodie.   They each had a lot to overcome and get through to trust each other and to be candid with one another.  Bodie hasn’t ever let anyone in.  Oliver is also a “keep people at arm’s length” kind of guy due to his upbringing.  Both find it difficult to do that with the other though 🙂  Something feels right about them being together, but there are a lot of obstacles.  There is pain and there are tears.  There is a tentative truce and a lot of patience for what they’ve been through as they learn to communicate when neither of them has a lot of experience with trust or honesty.  This is the first in a series apparently planned by the author.  I hope that we get to see more of this group – well minus Jack and Dale 😛  Both of them I’d like to see take a long walk off a short pier!  This really is a book that is packed with a lot of emotion and more than a couple of gut punches – but it’s worth it 😀  Highly recommended.  I’m excited to see where the author will take us next!

RATING: 

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