Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Style of Love

SERIES:  Gay 4 Renovations #1

AUTHOR:  AJ Sherwood

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  291 pages

RELEASE DATE:  March 4, 2022

BLURB:

Asher’s dream job: Interior design – check.

His dream boyfriend: Park Bo Gum – not check. Sadly.

Straight as a board, childhood bff Zar: check

Zar becoming his boyfriend: che–wait, what?!

Oh look a contemporary romance, GFY, Best friends to lovers, Dumbasses to lovers, not so much slowburn as two idiots standing around on fire, emotional baggage check, HGTV meets BL, family of choice, Asher needs a better family, Zar’s will adopt him, healthy choice making (and some impulsive ones), no angst here only cuddles, best friends giving The Talk, yes that one, Gage hates -coughlovescough- them, tropey tropes a lot, yaoi fangirls as co-workers leads to interesting situations, and sexy photoshoots, best supporting character goes to the dog, small town, Asher and Zar are so obvious there is a bet riding on them, Zar uses handcuffs for not sexy reasons, at least the first time, only one sledgehammer was sacrificed in the making of this book

Trigger warning:

Toxic family members

REVIEW:

Style of Love is a heartwarming, best friends-to-lovers, bisexual (or Asher-sexual) awakening love story that kicks off AJ Sherwood’s new series. Gay 4 Renovations is a home renovations business founded by four gay friends – Asher, Cohen, Gage, and Riggs – each contributing different talents to home redos. This first book belongs to Asher, the interior designer, and his best friend, Zar. They have been close their entire lives and as adults, they’re closer than average friends: lots of touching, cuddling, early morning texts. Asher is gay, Zar is straight, and despite all the physical affection, they’re strictly platonic (although, unbeknownst to them, the entire town is placing bets on when that status might change.)

Zar is a police officer in their small Michigan town. He’s an easy-going guy who has no idea what a catch he is. He doesn’t seem to care too much, either, as one woman after another dumps him because he always makes his time with Asher a higher priority than anything else.

Two employees of the business have a yaoi webtoon on the side and need male models. Asher signs up himself and Zar for what will be very intimate poses. It’s during the photo shoot that the men feel the charged air between them and a certain awareness of each other for the first time. Now what? You’ll have to read to find out but it’s not all easy peasy. Asher has trust issues and a bad track record with dating.

I’m liking the direction of this series. The reno guys are all extremely likable with a great camaraderie and fun, supportive friendships. Ms. Sherwood continues her ability to create close knit found family groups. They’re ready with advice, a lending hand, or a shoulder to cry on. Their shared love of watching Asian Boy Love series and playing DnD is cute. I look forward to each of their stories. Zar’s family is great; his mom steals the show in one memorable scene. And I can’t forget another star of the show, Asher’s big galoot of a dog, BFG, whom everyone loves.

Asher and Zar are fantastic together, as friends and lovers. There’s no denying they sizzle between the sheets. As always, I love queer awakenings and the resulting first-time gay sex. Asher just need to learn that being lovers isn’t instead of being friends, it’s in addition to the great friendship they already have.

Style of Love is an endearing romance I recommend to all contemporary readers. I can’t wait for book two, Cohen’s story.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon