Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE: Sweet as Honey

SERIES: Aster Valley #2

AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 319 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 6, 2021

BLURB:

When I rode my bike into Aster Valley, it was supposed to be temporary. A quick, relaxing visit with friends. No entanglements. Zero drama.

But then I saw the bumblebee being harassed on the side of the highway.

More specifically, I saw Truman Sweet, Aster Valley’s resident botanist, spice merchant, and bee-costume enthusiast, being harassed. And the second I got involved, all my plans for a quick departure scattered like pollen on the breeze.

It turns out that Truman—adorkably shy, relentlessly sunshiny, hot as all heck, reluctantly-still-a-virgin Truman—has secrets. Secrets someone in this charming small town doesn’t want brought to light. Secrets that rouse every one of my protective instincts just as surely as his kisses rouse… other parts of me.

And before I know it, I’m thinking being entangled might not be so bad… if it’s Truman I’m tangled up with.

I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Truman from the dangers in his past, but after a lifetime of loneliness and disappointment, how can I possibly convince him to trust me with his future?

REVIEW:

Was it really possible to fall for someone this quickly? To catch an accidental glimpse into someone’s heart and suddenly recognize it as the home you didn’t know you were searching for? 

Lucy Lennox’s latest, Sweet as Honey, is a delightful story about Truman and Sam, men who are nothing alike but bring out the best in each other. A prominent theme is Truman gaining confidence and learning to trust himself with the help of Sam’s gentle support and encouragement. This heartwarming tale also contains a whodunit of several dangerous crimes. 

Truman is an immensely lovable young man, shy at times, sometimes feisty, and always effervescent when sharing his wealth of knowledge on plants and other random facts. His inner monologues are a hoot and comprise just a fraction of the plentiful humor in the novel. Truman is the proprietor of a spice shop, the Honeyed Lemon, and a farm where he grows his plants. Since his childhood, the poor guy has been vilified by many in town, including his estranged family, for an unfortunate incident in his past. He has been the victim of violent bullying and harassment many times. Life takes a turn for the better when big-hearted, sexy Sam rolls into town and rescues him from harm at the hands of one of those bullies. 

The very drool-worthy Sam is barely in town a few minutes before he encounters Truman in a field of wildflowers, dressed in a cute bumblebee costume complete with a little fuzzy butt. Sam is immediately intrigued and before long falls for the adorable bow-tied darling. Sam comes from an extremely toxic family and, andas we know from Right as Raine, his best friend Mikey’s home life was no day at the beach, either. They have been the closest of friends for many years, having bonded over their crappy families. As the owner of a successful construction company, Sam is now in Aster Valley to consult with Tiller on his plans for reopening the ski resort. 

Truman wants to be recognized as strong and capable, traits that others haven’t given him credit for. Sam, a natural born protector and caretaker, wants nothing more than to smooth the way for Truman, but he respects him and recognizes that Truman can take care of himself quite ably. Truman is emboldened by Sam’s quiet strength and his support in whatever way Truman chooses to take it. His regard is in direct contrast to that of Truman’s much older, self-appointed watchdog, Barney (barf), who tries to convince Truman “You’re young. You’re easily led astray.” (double barf) 

Sifting through the clues and piecing together the evidence becomes a group effort with an “expertly executed vengeance extravaganza” that ultimately solves the crime. Ms. Lennox dropped a few clues along the way which delighted me. I’m so proud of myself for picking up on them; I’m usually the clueless one in the theater whispering to (and annoying) my companion asking what the heck is happening. So, while this isn’t the greatest mystery of all time, it was fun and perfect for me. 

The bro love is big in this story between Sam, Mikey and Tiller. I adore men exhibiting non-romantic love for each other. In my opinion, Truman, Sam, Mikey and Tiller are among the best of Ms. Lennox’s characters. I’m happy to report that the lovey-dovey Mikey and Tiller have a considerable presence here which greatly enhances the book. The remainder of the characters are developing into a wonderful collection of diverse personalities in the Aster Valley series, which I hope has many more books to come.  

There are a few vile, manipulative characters in Sam’s life who threatened to lessen my love for this book. There’s very little I detest more than manipulation – even more so than Big Misunderstandings –and this situation is Heartbreaking with a capital H. Fortunately, it doesn’t take up much page time and resolves quickly with a big old sayonara, losers. Happily, it helps Sam cement his feelings for the future. 

OMG, Ms. Lennox knows how to crank up the heat. I got hot and bothered just by their first kiss. A kiss! Their first time together is heavenly and hot (can something be both heavenly and hot?) and the brief but debauched dirty talk almost made me swallow my tongue. 

Truman, who at the start of the book feels no sense of community, finds himself part of an LGBTQ+ patchwork of friends – a found family more than a dozen strong, a group that effuses warm fuzzies as they love and care for their own. In a time of crisis, Truman’s true friends are there for him, meaning more than he could ever express. 

In the end, Truman proves just how strong and independent he can be. He didn’t need to prove it to anyone else – his friends already saw it in him – he just needed to prove it to himself, and that he did. Sweet as Honey is one more fantastic offering from Ms. Lennox, and another five star/heart read. 

RATING:

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