Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Time-Out:  A CEO MM Romance

SERIES:  Business as Usual

AUTHOR:  Vinni George

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  228 pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 15, 2023

BLURB:

Work hard, play harder? Not when it’s my name on the side of the building and my family’s legacy. Unfortunately, my parents think I need a break, specifically in the form of a nonrefundable, nontransferable, nonnegotiable forced vacation.

Which sounds awful until a handsome hipster drops into the seat next to me on the plane.
He isn’t my type, but there’s something magnetic about him, and in a totally out-of-character move, I ask him to stay with me for the week.
Cole thinks everything is an adventure and wants to pull me along for the ride, but when things heat up between us, I wonder if maybe the risk I took asking him to stay is actually a hazard to my heart.
Can a vacation fling turn into more once we’re back to business as usual?
I guess there’s only one way to find out…

The Time-Out is book one in the LGBTQ+ Business as Usual series and features Oscar—a CEO who has forgotten to make time to live, Cole—a data analyst who treats everyday like an adventure, and a chance meeting that leads to a week of discovery and a happily ever after.

REVIEW:

Oscar has had an intervention from his parents.  They have booked him on a two week non-refundable vacation in Belize on a private island.  His assistant is also in on the deal and he’s not allowed to do any work.  They are worried that he is going to work himself into an early grave.  Truly all work and no play have turned Oscar into a dull boy.  And they are genuinely worried for him.  There is no way out of it 🙁

At the airport, he sees this intriguing guy with a backpack with travel patches and a man bun – not normally Oscar’s thing.  When the run into each other several times it seems a bit like fate.  Then the man, Cole, ends up in the seat next to Oscar on his flight to Belize.  He’s stunned that Cole has no plan and has flown standby to wherever for his week of vacation.  But Cole recognizes some things in Oscar – which starts with his nerves with flying.  They chat a bit more and Oscar very uncharacteristically invites Cole to stay with him at his rental – certainly better than potentially camping on a beach!  Cole agrees but Oscar has to agree to try things and not talk about work 😉

They settle into the villa and Cole does convince Oscar to try things even though Oscar is definitely reluctant at first.  He is able to whittle away at Oscar’s fears and convince him that trying new things will make him feel alive.  Of course there is also the growing attraction.  Cole doesn’t do relationships though and they have a holiday fling.

When Cole has to leave though, Oscar missed him. He gets some advice on not missing out his chance from unexpected quarters.  Neither man has much history or experience in trying to have a real relationship, but maybe it’s time for both of them to accept some change in their lives 😉

This is a really wonderful kick off to a new series from Vinni George.  I really loved her Open Doors series and am happy to report that the quality of writing and storytelling is consistent with what has become a favorite reread series for me.  Oscar and Cole couldn’t be more different.  I appreciated the story told from alternating POVs here since these two characters truly are opposites in so many ways.  It was great to see Oscar let someone else take control and cajole him out of his comfort zone.  His highly successful work persona of the in control CEO was great for work but left him lonely in his personal life.  Cole was a breath of fresh air for him.  Their adventures in Belize were so beautifully written – and it’s on my bucket list of places to visit 😉  What I think sets this apart from the more typical holiday fling romance is that a good portion of the story does take place after they are both back in San Diego.  This sort of view of the real life challenges that two working professionals face when trying to build a relationship while have a lot of responsibilities is really well done and sets a more realistic tone to the book.  The “meet cute”, “honeymoon” and sort of fairytale parts of the story were really well written and a lot of fun, but I loved that we got “the rest of the story” as it were.  I thoroughly enjoy this author’s writing style and her stories always leave me with a warm and happy feeling.  Highly recommended.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon