Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Pines and Violets

SERIES:  Colors of Love #7

AUTHOR:  V.L. Locey

PUBLISHER:  Self Published

LENGTH: 792 Kb

RELEASE DATE:  September 14, 2021

BLURB:

Greg Mattar always had a clear path in life. The son of wealthy professionals, he and his sister wanted for nothing growing up in Montreal. His skills playing hockey led him to be picked first in the draft and a successful career as one of the premier defensemen in the league. He married his college sweetheart and within a year, they’d been blessed with twin girls. Then the unthinkable happened, and Greg’s life was turned inside out.

After losing his wife to cancer, he’s left alone to raise his daughters and at the same time balance his career. After a rough year of mourning coupled with a dismal season, Greg and his girls travel to a small vacation community deep in the Catskills. There he meets Aiden Burke, a local artisan with a past who enchants not only Greg’s daughters but Greg as well. During a vacation filled with laughter, acceptance, and morning goose parades, the two men fall for each other, which begins a journey down a winding road of revelations and romance.

REVIEW:

I’ve been very lucky lately to have read and reviewed one excellent book after another, and Pines and Violets is no exception. I’ve read several books in V.L. Locey’s Colors of Love series, and this charming tale is my favorite.

Both of the leading men have endured great hardship. Greg lost his wife to cancer and is left raising his twin daughters as a single parent. As a professional hockey player who’s often on the road for away games, he’s hired a nanny and cook to help. He’s finally ready to move on and start living again two years after his wife’s death. (I think it’s two years but the timeline is wonky. In one place it says a year, another two years, while the twins age from two to almost five during the same period, so I’m unsure.)

Greg decides to start anew by renting a cabin in the Catskills for the summer where he’ll be just down the road from his sister and brother-in-law. At the crack of dawn on their first morning, he and the girls are awoken by a parade of honking geese and two cute goats led by “the goose man”.

“It was ten after six. Fucking A. What kind of lunatic takes their geese for a walk before the sun is even up properly?!”

Greg’s an exhausted, grumpy grouch when they first meet, but soon he forms a close friendship with Aiden, the goose whisperer. Aiden has also lost someone important to him; he’s had a difficult life thus far, estranged from his parents and alone. The men bond over their shared experiences and soon their friendship melds into romance. Except… Greg is straight. Or, he has been till this point in his life.

“I was not… right, okay, maybe I was a little gay. Like half gay maybe. Judging by the way my dick was all into that wet shirt look he was sporting I’d hazard to say I was possibly fifty percent gay.”

This is a very sweet book, not in small part because of the four-year-old imps little girls, Raina and Shannal, who are front and center for the entirety of the story. Their naughty antics are so, so funny. They are full of life and love and laughter, and bring great joy to all of the adults in their lives, including Aiden. These children don’t exist on the periphery just to fulfill a single dad trope; they are integral to the plot and they are darling, particularly with the goats and geese. Don’t worry, Greg and Aiden do get time away from the twins for ample, steamy sex.

Greg and Aiden are quite lovable and wholly sympathetic characters with well-developed backstories. Aiden’s story brought me to tears – more than I’ve shed while reading in a long time. Greg is the sole narrator and he’s very amusing. Overall, Ms. Locey has a charming way with words that’s appealing and engaging.

Sometimes books feel unrealistic when a man experiences a bisexual awakening and doesn’t bat an eyelash at his newfound sexuality. Here, Greg just goes with the flow and accepts his attraction to a man, but it feels natural. I love how at ease and accepting he is with himself. The realism is all in the storytelling, I guess. Greg’s coming out isn’t a big deal, either, which is massively refreshing for a story about a pro athlete. Often, the pro or college athlete coping with coming out to his team and fans very publicly is a central focus.

Pines and Violets is a great addition to the series, yet it’s completely standalone. I encourage you to give this sweet, funny novel a try.

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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