Reviewed by Valerie and True
TITLE: A Glass of Red
AUTHOR: Sam Carlson
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 180 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2021
BLURB:
When nerdy art student Noah Andrews turned his love of wine into a way to make money during grad school, he didn’t anticipate it would lead to a summer gig cataloguing the cellars at an aging Tuscan estate.
He definitely didn’t expect to be rooming with the hunky contractor fixing up the villa.
Ostensibly, Christian Caravalli is in Italy helping his grandfather run his restoration business. In reality, he’s avoiding his parents’ divorce and the fact that he has no direction in life. When Noah lands in his lap, his summer gets a lot more interesting.
Noah’s attracted to Christian, but the man tests his boundaries. He can’t cook, he walks around half-dressed, and Noah’s bathroom, which was supposed to be ready when he arrived, is still a shambles. But what Christian lacks in direction, he makes up for in heart, and when they start capitalizing on each other’s strengths instead of focusing on their differences, the attraction blooms into more.
Unfortunately, this summer fling has an expiration date. Neither Christian nor Noah can afford to stay in the villa forever. Will their love grow into something lasting, or is it destined to be only a sweet memory?
VALERIE’S REVIEW:
Freshman MM author Sam Carlson is a strong writer whose debut novel, A Glass of Red, features solid plot development, characterization, and pacing. His protagonists are congenial, and the few secondary characters are good additions to the story. The book had amazing potential as a love story set in the beautiful Tuscany region of Italy. I chose to read this book because I love to be immersed in foreign locations and experience a strong sense of place when I read, but the book sadly fell short.
I was hoping for a more sumptuous reading experience, one imbued with Italian culture, culinary delights, the lyrical language, and proud, hard-working people. The zest for life apparent in many Mediterranean countries wasn’t on display here. It would’ve been easy to achieve with a few more Italian characters and with a focus on their personalities and lifestyles. Tuscany has an abundance of riches to build a complex literary world upon; it is disheartening that the author completely failed in this regard, whether it was an unfamiliarity with the region combined with a failure to research, or a lack of motivation to delve into the bounty and develop a beautiful world. This story could’ve occurred in any town, city, or country. I went away hungering for more.
Noah is a graduate student of art history at NYU and is studying wine as a hobby. He answers the ad of an older couple who are looking to hire someone to catalogue the wine cellar at their recently purchased villa in Tuscany, where he will live for a two-month period. He is told the home is in a bad state of disrepair and being restored by an older man who will also be in residence. Noah is, therefore, caught off guard when he arrives and the door is answered by a half-naked Adonis who turns out to be the older man’s grandson.
Christian, an Italian-American from Miami, is so grateful to be filling in for his injured grandfather when he discovers he’ll be sharing the villa with the handsome wine nerd who’s about his own age. Although they don’t mesh perfectly at first, the more time they spend together, the closer friends they become. And then they become closer in other ways, as well. Noah and Christian are nice guys, but it took a while for their personalities to stand out and I never felt strong chemistry between them. The book was at its best when Christian allowed himself to become vulnerable and bared his soul to Noah. Towards the end of Noah’s tenure in Italy, melancholy sets in with the knowledge they inevitably have to go their separate ways. Christian surprises Noah with a lovely romantic gesture in what is one of the book’s best scenes.
I can’t be convinced that a graduate student who’s majoring in art history and spending two months in Tuscany wouldn’t spend at least one day visiting Florence to absorb all the Renaissance art and architecture he could. Who better to appreciate the works of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello and more? Florence is considered one of the best cities in the world for art. Noah could tour museums, galleries, and seven-hundred-year-old cathedrals. Or enjoy a trip to a nearby vineyard since his whole reason for being in Italy is about the wine! There’s no indication that Noah ever even left the villa to stroll through the local village, stop at a street market, grab a coffee at a café. Or to simply appreciate the gorgeous countryside.
This book commits one of the biggest crimes of all – in my eyes – a romance novel without an epilogue or final chapter with a look into the future. If I don’t have confirmation of the relationship succeeding at some point in the future, I don’t receive the closure I desire. This ending doesn’t provide a permanent solution to their tenuous situation and thus only qualifies as an HFN. It’s unfortunate because Mr. Carlson wrote a good story. If this book had contained solid world building and a pleasing epilogue, I would have awarded it a much higher rating. I do think, however, he is a welcome addition to the MM romance genre and with more experience under his belt, Carlson can be a great storyteller. I look forward to how his work develops in the future.
I would like to tip my hat to the beautiful cover art!
VALERIE’S RATING: 
TRUE’S REVIEW:
Noah is a shy nerdy art student and has a summer gig, inventory the wine cellars at an old estate in Tuscany, Italy. He’ll be not alone, there will be another guy who will restore the estate.
After arriving Noah looks at a big, half-naked, covered in spats of paint, kindly smiling hot guy, who welcomes him friendly.
Christian is thirty and a bit out of course, his parents are in a divorce and he can’t handle it to be close to them, his grandfather offered him to restore the villa. Here he is, welcoming the new guy who will spend the summer with him for a few months.
They will both be working at the Tuscan villa, one in the cellar and one above the ground.
He’s happy to have the company of Noah.
Watching them get to know each other is lovely and quite endearing. Circling the other, the sexual tension is getting higher. They enjoy each other’s company. They just need the right opportunity the get even more closer. Thank you plumbers who messed up, ha!
While their lovemaking was appealingly described, I was distracted by the lack of use of condoms or PrEP. Everything was widely mentioned and described, but here, none, it was notable.
Christian had enough flings in the past, nothing serious, he was sure the right one would come along one day. Noah is the opposite, he doesn’t do one-night flings, more going too fast too serious, but here he is, saying it’s okay to have a summer fling with Christian until their ways will split again. Their connection is getting stronger by the day, there are many warm considerate gestures, it’s all really lovely to watch. They could never guess on forehand it would be so difficult and hurtful for them when it was time for Noah to leave and go back home to the US.
This was a lovely, friendly, mellow written narrative, the atmosphere was easygoing. There were some sweet emotional moments but mostly it was fun and easygoing.
I’m always impressed when someone launches their debut novel, what a courageous thing to do. I was also impressed by the author’s writing skills, it was really good and the whole story was nicely paced, enough developed, and comfortable to read. Both Noah and Christian are lovable characters.
The scenery was beautiful, Tuscany is my favorite part of Europe, I’ve been there myself a few times and it’s breathtaking. The author pictured it all well.
I’m not a wine expert, but I could feel the knowledge and authenticity of it all. After finishing the story, I read the author did quite the research about the wines and the pairings. I could tell and appreciated it very! It was convincing and impressive.
TRUE’S RATING: 
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