Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Flare

SERIES:  Style #1

AUTHOR:   Jay Hogan

PUBLISHER:  Southern Lights Publishing

LENGTH:  422 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 21, 2021

BLURB:

FLARE
My own fashion label. The shiny new sign above the door means everything. My dream. My life. Worth every gruelling hour I’ve spent making it happen. Nothing can stop me now. Not the fear. Not the nightmares. Not my sad excuse for a love life. And certainly not Beckett Northcott, the sexy English professor who wouldn’t know a fitted shirt if it slapped him in the face and who has flannel down to an art form.

I don’t date for a very good reason, and yet Beck makes me want to break every damn one of my rules. But with my debut at Fashion Week looming, my business in trouble, and Beckett Northcott peeling open my terrified heart to a future I’ve never imagined, the threads of my carefully woven life are unravelling at the seams.

I could walk away. Or I could take a chance that Beck and I might just have what it takes to fashion a new life, together. A fresh design from a new cloth.

This book contains references to past sexual assault.

REVIEW:

Jay Hogan’s new series, Style, debuts with Flare, an opposites attract romance set in the world of high fashion in Auckland, New Zealand. Leading men Rhys and Beck meet when Beck’s nephew Jack is caught shoplifting from Rhys’ boutique.

Fashion designer and shop owner, Rhys, is a smart, uber-talented, snarky man who hides a deep secret and emotional scars from an incident when he was a teenager. (The prologue may be difficult for some readers.) As a result, he doesn’t date or get involved with men at all. In fact, he’s only had one boyfriend in seventeen years. His first Fashion Week is fast approaching and he’s putting all his efforts into creating a successful label.

Beck is a big, broody, brawny bear, an English professor who’s passionate about his work and poetry. He’s now the guardian of sixteen-year-old Jack whose only parent, his mother, is in jail. Jack is far from home, his friends, and his school, and he’s not an easy kid. Beck doesn’t know how to suddenly be a quasi parent to an angry, moody, sometimes delinquent teenage boy.

Jack’s attempted theft is the catalyst for Rhys and Beck meeting. Even though Beck’s introverted, he takes a chance to ask out Rhys, but Rhys is uncomfortable with the idea despite the mutual attraction and flirting. They have crazy wild chemistry that Rhys keeps trying to ignore. He wants Beck but knows he can’t have a normal relationship because of his past trauma. Beck wears him down, though, and convinces him to give it a chance. Rhys wants a normal life with a partner and family but want may not be enough. He’s worried how long Beck will tolerate the restrictions he places on sex.

Along with the developing romance are Rhys’ preparations for Fashion Week and an interesting subplot about “fashion espionage” that threatens Rhys’ Flare label, his boutique, and his reputation.

I enjoyed this well-crafted book with its exciting storyline, a touch of mystery, and an outstanding supporting cast. But I didn’t fully engage with Rhys and Beck as a couple, even though I liked both characters. I was more invested in the lives of several side characters, including transgender teen Drew, shop assistant Kip, and fashion photographer Hunter. There’s even Leon, proprietor of the neighboring tattoo parlor, an intriguing guy whom we don’t get to know well but he’s clearly (hopefully) being set up for his own book, as are a number of the other characters. I think there’s great potential for subsequent books.

Overall, this was another successful novel by Ms. Hogan and an auspicious start to a new series. I look forward to more.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

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