Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Featherbed
SERIES: Vino & Veritas #1
AUTHOR: Annabeth Albert
PUBLISHER: Heart Eyes Press
LENGTH: 186 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2021
BLURB:
When a bookworm on borrowed time meets a younger, free-spirited chicken farmer, sparks and feathers fly…
Harrison Phillip Fletcher, III isn’t supposed to be here. Not in Burlington, Vermont, not running Vino & Veritas, a quaint inclusive bookstore and wine bar, and definitely not still alive, at forty-two. Also not supposed to be here? An unexpected delivery of chickens.
Finn Barnes knows chickens. The burly organic farmer knows all about rare breed poultry, but dealing with a hot, older bookseller is an entirely different matter. City slicker types like Harrison never end up staying in Vermont for the long-term.
They should steer clear of each other. But the flare of attraction is mutual. And somehow amid book discussions and farm tours, they discover plenty in common. Now they’re stealing kisses in Finn’s barn, sneaking out like teens, and burning up the sheets.
What starts as a fling brings very real feelings for two lonely souls, but a future together seems as unlikely as chickens in a bookstore. Feathers may be flying, but learning to trust takes time neither may have. Can they take a leap of faith together before it’s too late?
Featherbed is a stand-alone novel in Sarina Bowen’s World of True North. This opposites attract, age gap romance features a low-angst, fluffy—and feathery—romp as a fish out of water discovers the home he never thought he’d find.
REVIEW:
Featherbed by Annabeth Albert is the first book in Sarina Bowen’s new multi-author series, Vino & Veritas. This is a sweet, feel-good book centered on the eponymous bookstore and wine bar in Burlington, Vermont. Albert’s storytelling of Burlington’s small city living and farm life in the surrounding country is leisurely, in keeping with the pace of this New England locale. It was particularly enjoyable for me because my brother’s family lives a hop, skip, and a jump from Burlington so I’m quite familiar with this lovely area.
As his name might suggest, Harrison Phillip Fletcher III is a bit uptight and perennially over-dressed. He’s a New York City transplant who gave up a high-powered position as a lawyer to become a purveyor of inclusive books. He’s helping his mother pursue her long-held dream of owning a bookstore, plus they’ve added on a gay wine bar. A meet-cute misadventure with chickens brings Harrison and Finn together for the first time. Finn is the other half of this opposites attract couple: he’s a friendly, hardworking, sixth generation farmer whom everyone loves. Interestingly, they bond over their shared interest in gay Regency romance books.
As the story unfolds, what was to be a simple fling becomes more than just a pleasant distraction. But neither is looking for a relationship, or so they tell themselves. Really, it’s fear talking. Harrison thinks he’s living on borrowed time – he’s forty-two years-old; both his father and grandfather died of massive heart attacks at age forty-two. With his risk of early death, he knows he’s a bad bet for Finn, but he longs for the burly farmer in plaid. Finn is afraid of growing too attached to Harrison because his last boyfriend, also a rich city slicker, found country life too dull and returned to the big city. He doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake, so he’s trying to protect his heart preemptively. He feels he and Harrison are just too different, but he can’t help his “naughty librarian fantasies.”
Even after they acknowledge there’s something significant between them, they continue to suffer from their self-doubt. They do actively work to better themselves, though. Harrison wants to try to be more spontaneous after Finn talks to him about living in the moment instead of constantly worrying about his uncertain future. Finn is having trouble getting past his insecurity that Harrison will hate country living and slip away, but he’s able to admit that beneath the surface, Harrison is nothing like his ex-boyfriend.
The chemistry between the characters suffers as a result of the overly cautious Harrison holding himself back. There is no easy banter or flirting for some time and it therefore takes a while for their chemistry to build. However, once this book gets sexy, it’s delightfully steamy.
There are only a few side characters, most notably Harrison’s mother and business partner, Audrey, with her new-found love of pet chickens. Tanner is a man with a past who was hired to manage the wine bar; he will star as one of the main characters in book two, Heartscape by Garrett Leigh.
I enjoyed spending time with Harrison and Finn in this very enjoyable book. Ms. Albert set the stage well for the rest of the Vino and & Veritas series.
RATING: 
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