Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Flat Whites and Chocolate Fish
SERIES: Southern Lights #3
AUTHOR: Jay Hogan
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2020
LENGTH: 346 pages
BLURB:
ADRIAN POWELL has a secret, a secret he’s guarded for 17 years. But it’s come at a cost—few friends, fewer lovers and a lifetime of loneliness. If he’s a bit grumpy and a tad pessimistic, who can blame him? So, exactly how he’s ended up with a bunch of nosy friends, a beautiful lakeside cottage and a successful business, is beyond him.
It’s a life he never imagined, and one that includes a problematic new neighbour, NIALL CARMICHAEL–an irritating, equally grumpy, sexy as hell silver fox, who kisses like a dream, shakes every one of Adrian’s walls, and who might just prove Adrian’s undoing.
But secrets have a way of catching up with you. And when Adrian’s past comes knocking, it might just threaten everything he’s built.
REVIEW:
I think we all remember Ethan from Powder and Pavlova, Book 1 in this series. Well, Adrian Powell, one of our main characters in this story is his partner in business and one of his closest friends. We remember him as the mysterious Barista in Ethan’s Mom’s Café back then. After the café went bankrupt back then, Adrian came clean to Ethan and Lucy that he writes children’s books, but that his passion has always been coffee, grounding coffee and coming up with mouth-watering ground coffee beans.
Adrian lives in a cottage far from any neighbors, he likes it that way because he loves quiet. He is a Barista first before a writer and has been travelling for quite a while before deciding to settle down in one place. When he landed in Queenstown, met Ethan’s Mom, helped in her cafe until it closed down for bankruptcy. He finally decided to stay. When he saw the cottage, with a front and center view of Lake Wakatipu, it made him feel at home which is something he hasn’t felt in a long time, if ever!
Niall just bought the property next to Adrian’s and he is planning to build a luxury B&B and add a few more cottages or suites for those who want peace and quiet. In other words, he will cater to rich people who wants anonymity when they are trying to lay low and willing to pay the price for this out-of-the-way vacation spots.
As first meetings go, theirs left a lot to be desired, so to speak. And as prickly and arrogant neighbors go as well, theirs were off to a great start!
I love the dynamic that goes on when two people meet in not so ideal circumstances, where first impressions are at its worst. The circumstances that goes between that and finally realizing that the other person is actually not as bad as you first thought they were promises to be epically eventful. I love to learn what it would take for a person to change his first impression and how he would own up to it. We each have our own baggage to carry, we should never perceive to know a person unless we know what he has gone through to get to where he is at right at this moment of his life.
What Adrian went through when he was just a child could be debilitating for almost anyone. It was inconceivable that a young child should go through what he did and still come out strong, clean and determined, although wary of trusting and letting others in. Trusting others is still very hard for him, and I really couldn’t blame him, not after what he went through. Up until meeting Niall, he has been able to derail the attraction of friends and family given by his own set of friends led by Ethan, Tanner and Stef.
A lot can be said about having really good friends to have your back and to watch out for you! Ethan, Stef and Max totally give me life! We all need an Ethan, a Stef and a Max in ours too, believe me! They have no inhibitions of being subtle when it comes to protecting and caring for their friend. They will go through fire for you.
Adrian brought me to tears, I was literally sobbing, when he confess his love for Niall, his desire to say the words in case he doesn’t get the chance ever again. He never thought he will be able to say it to another person, so it is something totally attenuate for him! And he wants to be able to express it to Niall without obligating Niall to respond.
But as they say, things get worse before they can get better right? When your dreaded past comes back with a vengeance, what do you do? Deep in your heart you know that you need to do whatever it takes to protect the people you love! Whatever it takes! We will never know how strong we are until it gets tested, not until we are brought to our knees in pain. It is up to us in the end to get up and fight back. This tale is about all that and more, so much more!
Ms. Jay Hogan, once again you have left me amazed and so in love! I have learned so much from this tale, and that includes all the unique and new words. This series has been one amazing love story after another. I cannot wait for more!
RATING: 
BUY LINK: