Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Extended Stay
SERIES: California Crush, Book 1
AUTHOR: Mia Monroe
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 256 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 9, 2022
BLURB:
I’ve never been interested in a man before. So why do I want to kiss this one?
Promising my sick uncle I’d help fix his rundown hotel in San Diego was just the beginning of my problems. I plan to do what I can, convince him to sell, and then take off, returning to my calm and structured existence back east. I double down on that plan when I arrive to find it in worse shape than I expected.
Unfortunately, my plans go awry when I fall for the quaint neighborhood, quirky locals, and loyal employees. That’s when he enters my world. A contractor down on his luck, looking for work and a place to stay, offers me an offer too good to pass up.
He makes me feel things I never have before, and now I’m considering hanging around much longer than intended. As long days turn into even longer nights, I can’t force myself to leave him. His presence turns my carefully planned world upside down, and before I know it, my quick trip becomes an Extended Stay.
Extended Stay is a double bi/gay awakening, opposites attract, slow burn romance starring a laid back contractor and the buttoned up hotel owner who hires him. It is book 1 in the California Crush series, featuring tan lines, thick thighs, and plenty of hot guys. Book your vacation and meet the men of Hillcrest Hideaway.
REVIEW:
Mia Monroe kicks off her new California Crush series with the enjoyable Extended Stay. This opposites-attract, double bi/gay awakening romance features two men, Atlas and Rome, who are in their thirties yet just now learning surprising things about themselves and charting new paths forward in their lives.
Atlas, a seemingly uptight NYC, high-powered, wealthy financial adviser, rides in on his white horse to save his beloved Uncle Howie’s failing historical San Diego hotel when Howie falls ill. Knowing nothing about the hotel business, Atlas seeks help from the warm, welcoming employees of the Hillcrest Hideaway Hotel. They are exceptionally loyal to his Uncle (they’ve even been working without pay) and consider Hillcrest Hideaway their home. They are dedicated to keeping the hotel afloat and all-in for anything Atlas needs to make it happen.
Rome is a skilled contractor known and respected in the community for his stellar work. He’s fresh out of yet another failed relationship, having been kicked out by his longtime girlfriend and left without a place to live and little in the way of funds to sustain himself. His brother London clues him into the gossip that Atlas has taken over the hotel and may be looking for help. So in a serendipitous turn of events (or some may say fate), Rome arrives on Atlas’ doorstep seeking work and a place to stay just as Atlas realizes that he needs to do a substantial remodel of the derelict hotel.
Atlas and Rome hit it off right away, falling into an easy friendship. Rome is very laid back with a surfer dude edge to him with his long, blond, beachy waves and his flip-flops and shorts-wearing Cali vibe. He’s a complete contrast to the buttoned-up exec look and demeanor Atlas has going on. But all is not as it seems because Atlas is hiding a spicy, sexy, fun side of himself under his starched oxford shirts and dress pants. He’s got gorgeous tattoos, a healthy risk tolerance, and a willingness to explore new things, like surfing … and Rome.
Atlas falls in love with the hotel and readily takes on the yoke of responsibility for saving it and preserving the livelihoods of the hotel staff. He does this even though he’s pulled in two directions because of the demands of his NYC job, which he is attempting to perform to his usual, exacting standards, while also trying to save the hotel on the opposite coast three thousand miles away.
Mia Monroe excels at character development and she showcases that here, creating two well-rounded, multi-dimensional, highly endearing characters in Atlas and Rome. I love these two guys, but Atlas, in particular, has a magnetic draw, not just for Rome but for the reader. He’s simply perfection in his looks, attitude, kindness, generosity, respectfulness, as well as his honesty and open-mindedness in his discovery of his newfound bisexuality and attraction to Rome. Did I mention he’s also gorgeous? Yeah, so there’s that too. 😍
Extended Stay is an easy, virtually no-angst read written in Ms. Monroe’s trademark style. You’ll find plenty of hot sexy times, romantic declarations, and a rewarding HEA. There’s obvious chemistry between Atlas and Rome, although admittedly, I didn’t feel it as strongly as I have with some of Ms. Monroe’s other couples. The dialogue between them has Ms. Monroe’s hallmark clipped cadence to it, with back and forth banter using short phrases and responses that are solid and unequivocal, unlike most dialogue we encounter. Extended Stay also introduces us to an engaging found family in the Hillcrest Hideaway staff. It’s one of my favorite aspects of Ms. Monroe’s stories and she lays the groundwork for it here.
I enjoyed Extended Stay and it piqued my interest for the rest of the California Crush series. However, it surprisingly lacked the complexity and strong thematic messaging usually present in Ms. Monroe’s stories. She also left a lot of unexplored territory. Admittedly, I’m sure much of it will be developed in later books in the series. But I wanted to know more about the Hillcrest Hideaway crew in this book, or at least more than the hint of their backstories and interconnections. For example, book two, All-Inclusive, will feature Milo and Archer’s story, yet I didn’t see enough of their relationship in Extended Stay to realize they were BFFs mutually pining for each other until the last chapter, told from Milo’s point of view. Similarly, Uncle Howie, the catalyst for the events of the story, hovers in the background whereas I expected him to have a more significant role.
The pacing of the story slows down in the latter parts, which is the opposite of what you’d expect. The plot seems to narrow to sex alternating with lots of dialogue full of deep, self-aware observations and declarations that leave little subtext for the reader to glean. The story arc had a straightforward simplicity to it that, in the context of the greater story, left me wanting more.
All that being said, Extended Stay is a book I recommend, and can, without hesitation, say you will enjoy if you are looking for a sweet, sexy, heartwarming read featuring two terrific leading men. I’m eager to see what happens between Milo and Archer in book two.
RATING: 
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