Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Barkeep and the Bookseller

SERIES:  Campo Royale

AUTHOR:  V.L. Locey

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  180 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 5, 2022

BLURB:

Can two men move past their shattered dreams and create a new future together?

Corduroy Lopez is a hard-working man. He has to be. There really is no alternative. He’s a single father with a beautiful special needs daughter to support. His mother and grandmother help when they can but he’s a proud Pan man who is determined to make it on his own. When his daughter is accepted into a prestigious developmental education preschool Cord needs cash and he needs it yesterday. When the cute owner of the new bookstore mentions wanting to start a drag story hour Cord leaps at the chance. He’s done drag before. Once. Performing on stage at the Campo hadn’t really been his thing but donning a wig and dress to sing children’s songs while strumming a ukulele should be a much more enjoyable experience. Also, the bookshop owner is adorable, newly single, and spending a great deal of time sitting at Cord’s bar sipping virgin piña coladas after the bookstore closes.

Jagger Collins never meant to end up here. He’d been a happily married man with a swanky job in a Philadelphia bank just two years ago. Then the bottom fell out of his life. His marriage combusted, his job quickly followed, and he found himself with only his dog Hamish, his brother, and half the cash from the home he thought he would be starting a family in. Taking the advice of his elder sibling to heart he left the big city and bought a small brick building in downtown Wilmington. Trading in ties for tomes, Jagger is now embracing the simpler things in life. Reading, biking, knitting, and admiring the lithe bartender at the Campo Royale. Cord is ticking all the right boxes in a big way but Jagger’s not sure if he’s ready to put his heart on the line again.

The Barkeep and the Bookseller is a single father guy next door gay romance that features a hard-working dad, a learning-to-love again bookdealer, a precocious preschooler, high heels, loving family, flashy floral fashions, and a ukulele rich happy-ever-after.

REVIEW:

Corduroy Lopez is a bartender and single dad.  He does other jobs too – like Ride-share driver and sometimes drag queen.  He needs the money. He’s a single dad of a special needs child and he and his family – his mother and grandmother – do the best that they can for his little girl Paloma.  The child’s mother is out of the picture as is her family.  So Cord and his are doing double duty.  Cord gave up on his dream of playing baseball professionally and finish college on scholarship once he became a dad.  He’s mostly Ok with it except when he can’t provide what his daughter needs.

Jagger Collins is recovering from a terrible divorce and a mental breakdown after extreme domestic abuse.  His ex-husband was horrible and he’s still recovering.  He was a gaslighting asshole and Jagger has a lot to over come. He’s got a therapist and now his new venture, a bookstore which is right across the street from Campo Royale.  After his successful opening, he has a drink there with his best friend Nate and his brother Wattly and meets Cord.  Cord is smitten but he senses that Jagger is nervous and anxious.  So he makes nice with him.  When he brings his daughter to the bookstore and Jagger talks about doing a kids dragqueen story hour, Cord volunteers.  He really wants to get to know Jagger and they become friends.  But it ends up being so much more 🙂

Oh how I loved this story!  Cord is such an adorable and wonderful guy.  He loves fiercely and he does his best to do the right thing.  His daughter is the cutest and she adds a lot of comic relief to the story – which is great for Jagger who has had a lot of sad and bad in his life.  Cord is a real breath of fresh air – not at all like anyone he’s known before.  His mother and grandmother are also wonderful to Jagger and he needs that as well.  Cord is also incredibly patient and understanding.  It’s clear Jagger has issues.  And it’s a hugely big deal when he shares them because yeah, they are seriously heavy.  Jagger’s brother and bestie Nate have been there for him, but Cord is really the person who is able to bring him back to life.  One of the most sensitive parts of the book is the very matter of fact way that Jagger deals with his issues and relies on his therapist the help him when he needs it.  It’s not always easy going and it’s hard for him to share these things with Cord.  But it’s so important to normalize mental health care as health care.  The domestic abuse that Jagger suffered was horrible and it’s taken him some time to get back to himself.  But he’s well on his way.  This romance is sweet in the best possible way and my favorite in the series so far.  I cannot WAIT to see what happens next with Nate and Clarice in the next one 🙂  Brava and well done here!  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINK:

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