Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Lake Steamy
AUTHOR: R. Cayden
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 194 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2021
BLURB:
I absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, fall in love with a hunky, straight lumberjack.
Even if he does save me from a bear.
Sure, Chase is the perfect small-town combo of sexy and shy, and he doesn’t seem to mind my shameless flirting.
But I’m just visiting Lake Steamy for the summer. I don’t have time to swoon over men or any other distractions.
I’m here to launch my vlog, a sex-positive, body-positive, and very personal video series, and my new career requires all my focus.
I can’t imagine a reserved mountain man like Chase would be into a guy who overshares for a living, anyway.
Plus, I’ll be moving back to the city soon, and he fully intends to spend the rest of his life in these mountains, caring for his family and friends.
Not to mention the pesky little fact that he’s straight.
Basically, Chase is my total opposite, and a bad idea too.
A rugged, sexy, bad idea with a surprisingly gentle smile.
A bad idea with the light of the campfire flickering across his beard and a look in his brown eyes like he’s about to kiss me…
Lake Steamy is a small-town M/M romance with a flirty city boy and an earnest mountain man who finds his world turned upside down. It features a pink paddleboat, s’more-play, and lots of steamy discovery on the way to a guaranteed HEA. Enjoy!
REVIEW:
A light, fluffy romance with low angst.
Cubby is living his dream. The committee city boy has recently graduated with his masters in gender and sexuality studies. Now he’s with his workaholic best friend Meg at her family’s lake home on Lake Steamy. He’s here with one plan…launch his vlog on healthy sexuality and his gay journey. He’s also out there to show that just because you appear one way doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy nature and all the activities associated with it. Like hiking, fishing and camping. You can even chop wood if someone takes the time to show you how. When Cubby is saved from a bear by the local lumberjack looking local shop owner Chase, Cubby immediately starts to flirt with the ruggedly handsome straight man. But when Chase starts staring and actively hanging out with Cubby is he a straight as Cubby thought?
Chase is wonderfully yummy! I fell for him immediately. Just about as fast as he did for Cubby. He’s sweet, kind, loving and looks out for every one. Well everyone but himself. I was on guard most of the book with Cubby though. I was worried that he would break the gentle giant’s big heart. He was fun and flirty but just couldn’t commit. His career was always first and foremost.
It took me quite awhile to actually get into the book. When Chase finally decided to try casual it finally started working for me. I did like that Cubby wasn’t all about sexuality titles and let Chase explore at his level and timeline.
I did enjoy the side characters. Meg kept Cubby grounded which he seemed to need. Sully had been Chase’s best friend growing up. When Chase went to him with questions I know he was surprised by Chase’s sudden interest in the same sex but was open and encouraging with his friend. And Chase’s family were open and welcoming which served as a stark contrast from Cubby’s.
All in all I liked this book. It started out slow but grew on me.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: