Reviewed by Valerie 

TITLE:  Hand Picked

SERIES:  Sunday Brothers #2    

AUTHOR:  May Archer

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  299 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 11, 2022

BLURB:   

Once upon a time, I moved to Vermont… and wound up accidentally sort of married. Webb Sunday is the straight single dad next door. He’s lumberjack-gorgeous, Strong and steady as the trees in his family orchard, A grumpy fairytale prince…

And entirely off-limits.

Or so I thought.

Until the drunken night the two of us walked into a bar… And landed ourselves in the middle of small-town history. Who knew hand-fasting was still a thing? The town of Little Pippin Hollow did. And once this bunch of meddling Vermonters gets wind of our accidental betrothal, they are determined to see us seal the deal. But while the chemistry between us is hot enough to melt the winter cold, Webb isn’t interested in a relationship…

And I’m not sure how long I can keep pretending I don’t want our hand-fasting to be real. Because while the man might not be the happily ever after I came to Vermont for… He’s looking more and more like the one who’s been hand-picked for me.

REVIEW:   

The Queen of Comedy is back with the second book in her Sunday Brothers series. Hand Picked is a fantastic, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy starring Webb Sunday, who runs the family’s apple orchard, and newish-to-town school teacher, Luke Williams.

You may remember Luke as the poor guy caught up in the snafu with Webb’s son, Aiden, who was unexpectedly picked up from school by his deadbeat mom who disappeared with him. That event is the catalyst for this book. Webb fully blames Luke for the distress the family endured while Aiden was missing. He hates Luke and everyone in the tiny town of Little Pippin Hollow knows it. Luke’s a naturally cheerful and kind person, but if Web doesn’t like him, no one else will out of small town loyalty. The townsfolk avoid or ignore Luke who feels unwelcome and lonely.

Luke moved to the eccentric little burg when he won a supposedly elegant and historical farmhouse and its idyllic land in a writing contest. He should’ve heeded the adage “too good to be true” but he wants to live up to his mom’s fairy tale ideals for him so he naively packs up and moves to Vermont. What he finds is a decrepit, money-sucking hovel (read: uninhabitable disaster) plus a crumbling, piece of junk trailer where he’s forced to live.

One drunken night at the local bar finds Webb and Luke running into each other. They are both completely sloshed and the result is one of the funniest scenes in the book. After arguing about apples, Webb puts his animosity behind him and declares they should be friends. In that inebriated state, they accidentally partake in a historic tradition involving an antique bugle that handfasts them together. In short, that means they become betrothed. The catch – and the impetus for the romance to come – is that the marriage will only be valid if a number of conditions are met. No problem! They’ll just avoid Commingling their Flocks of Livestock in Gracious Union and the other ridiculous requirements.

As they spend more time together, there’s obvious sexual attraction but Webb has no interest in becoming involved with anyone. He’s exhausted from the stress of all the work Sunday Orchard requires, worrying about Uncle Drew, the impending custody battle with his ex-wife, and raising Aiden. No, he’s not interested in Luke, not at all, even if sexy Luke is constantly on his mind and getting under his skin. Plus, Webb’s straight, right? Probably. Possibly. Luke can’t stop thinking about lumbersexual Webb, either:

“Holy son of a beaver, I would like to lay myself out in the snow like a buffet and beg this man to lick me up.”

Speaking of, the sexy times are wonderfully good. For them, I mean. Not me, of course.

As I’ve often said in my reviews of May Archer’s books, she’s the master of small-town storytelling and creating memorable, quirky characters. She develops a world so amusing you’ll want to visit it to experience it. From the over-eager mayor intent on drawing tourists through the promotion of the handfasting, to clueless Jack, the diner owner, who doesn’t realize he’s in love with Webb’s brother, Hawk. Plus, there’s the rest of the Sunday family – brother Knox and his boyfriend, Gage (from Pick Me), sister Em, their Uncle Drew, and little Aiden who desperately wants his dad and favorite teacher to complete the handfasting tasks.

And then there’s lovable Luke and Webb. They are endearing and adorable together. I couldn’t get enough of them and would’ve happily read another hundred pages of their love story. This is one of Ms. Archer’s best books: romantic, heartwarming, and hilarious. Don’t hesitate to grab a copy and discover all the shenanigans Luke and Webb go through that accidentally bond them together for all eternity.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon