Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Rick
AUTHOR: Stella Shaw
SERIES: Love @ the Haven #2
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 139 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 11, 2021
BLURB:
A gift of a man for one night. A promise of so much more.
When Rick Thatcher’s beloved aunt leaves him the run-down Haven Hotel, he’s amazed to find a group of young men running an escorting business out of it. Intrigued and impressed, he allows them to stay. But sacrifices have to be made to keep the hotel running. The hotel is always short of funds, and the guys… they’re sexy, they’re fun, they’re loyal friends. But they can also be a bunch of trouble. Rick has no time left for romance.
Until the night Eliot Walker arrives at the Haven, naïve but brave, looking to discover what it’s like to be an openly gay man at last. He wants to spend the night with a man, one who can excite and guide him. But an escort? He’s nervous of what he’ll find.
He finds Rick. Just the kind of man he’d choose to have his first experiences with, if it was possible. And from Rick’s point of view – on this one special night, and for this one special man he can’t take his eyes off – why shouldn’t it be?
If only this could be more than one night. But their potential happiness and the Haven’s security may already be under serious threat.
REVIEW:
A sweet and sensual rent boy story sounds incongruous, but that’s what Rick is. This is another great story in Stella Shaw’s Love @ the Haven series. Rick has recently inherited the Haven hotel from his aunt. He had no idea the decaying building housed rooms rented nightly by escorts to entertain clients. After meeting a handful of the escorts, Rick decides he would like to renovate the ramshackle building, live there, and allow the escorts to continue their work. The escorts are fun characters, including Arne, Tom, Micah, Liam, and Pyotr. All of the guys pitch in to help Rick with the work and eventually the boutique hotel is restored to its previous elegant self with a refined lobby, a welcoming bar, and warm hotel rooms with en suite baths. Ms. Shaw does a lovely job with world building.
The Haven is a “hotel of tasty but troublesome boy tarts,” an establishment that promotes sex positivity and only accepts single men who must make a reservation. No cheating is the mantra. The men take time in the bar to put their clients at ease, determine their wants, desires, and needs before adjourning to a room. Be sure to read the novella, Dante, which serves as the precursor to Rick. It will provide you with a better understanding of the origins of the Haven and more insight into Rick and the escorts.
As luck would have it, Rick is alone in the lobby one night when Eliot nervously walks in with a gift card given to him by his best friend/ex-fiance Lizzie. When their relationship faltered, it was Lizzie who urged Eliot to explore his sexuality and perhaps admit to himself that he was bisexual. Eliot finally plucks up the nerve to visit the Haven. One of Rick’s first thoughts was the wish that he was an escort. Eliot has the same thought, apparently, because after Rick takes Eliot into the bar for a relaxing drink and an explanation of the services provided on premises, he requests Rick for the evening, assuming he’s an escort.
Rick is a large, muscly, bearded man about a decade older than Eliot, a cute, dark-haired banker in his mid twenties. When they find their way upstairs to a room, Rick discovers Eliot is largely inexperienced with men, but they’re a perfect match in bed. They are sultry, seductive, and sensual together. They don’t so much burn the house down as slowly melt it. The sex isn’t perfunctory, it’s a dance, a symphony. The men fall for each other quickly. I generally prefer a slow burn and despise Insta-love, but since this sex was transactional – yet sexy as hell – it somehow felt different and I enjoyed it immensely. Oh who am I kidding? It got me hot and bothered. But it was so sweet, too.
The conflict arises because Rick is behind in his loan payments and is rapidly running out of funds. He doesn’t know how he’ll keep the Haven open, and will be devastated if he needs to close and take away the escorts’ livelihood. But also, the men have become his found family and he doesn’t want to lose that. Dante, an accountant and former escort from book one, returns for a short while to assist Rick with his financial problems. Since Eliot is a banker it’s easy to see what direction the story is going.
I enjoyed Rick thoroughly. Happily, the story resolves with little angst, secrecy, or subterfuge. What you will find is a whole lot of sexy, highly likable characters, and a sweet story. I look forward to the next installment featuring Micah. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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