Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Flower Shop Arrangement

AUTHOR:  R. Cayden

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  283 pages

RELEASE DATE:  August 27, 2024

BLURB:

An opposites-attract M/M romance, full of heart and heat, and set in a little flower shop with enough charm to overcome any scowl.

When I inherit a building from a grandpa I’ve never met, there’s only one plan: take the money and run.

Enter Nicholas, the florist with the little shop downstairs. I’m an awkward loner of a carpenter, a straight guy who is totally out of place in this unfamiliar city’s gay district. I don’t know what to do with Nicholas’s easy smile or his hopelessly romantic worldview, so I just ignore how it makes me feel when he says my name.

But as I start on some quick and needed renovations, friendly and talkative Nicholas keeps catching my attention, and my eye wanders where I’ve trained it not to go. The future of his business lies in my hands and what I do with this old, falling-down building. I can’t afford to think about him this way, but we make each other smile, and desires I’ve buried for years rise back to the surface with every loaded silence and moment caught alone together.

Nicholas doesn’t let me grunt and trudge away. He surprises me one night with a proposal. Turns out, Nicholas with the sweet little flower shop has some desires of his own, and we might be the perfect match. With love and romance off the table, we can focus all our attention on the bedroom until I sell the building and leave town, and no one needs to know about it.

No commitment is perfect for me. I’ve spent my entire life building walls.

But the second I get my hands on Nicholas, they all start tumbling down.

REVIEW:

Nicholas is a florist in the gay neighborhood of Buffalo.  The owner of the building where his shop is located has passed away and shortly thereafter, a long-lost grandson shows up who has inherited the building.  Nicholas and the other tenants are none to happy because as they rightly assume, Clay, the carpenter grandson is planning to sell the building as quickly as possible once he assesses the state of the property.

Clay is a bit of a grumpy Gus – pretty closed off for various reasons.  Nicholas on the other hand is a ray of sunshine, wears his heart on his sleeve kind of guy.  They start off a little bit resistant (there is a rather disastrous initial meeting) but they start to work together on the building situation.  Clay admits he is bisexual, but he doesn’t do relationships and he’s not ever done anything to act on his desires.  But Nicholas is looking for love and Clay is looking for some guidance 😉

Nicholas and Clay flirt a bit and decide to embark on a sort of “friends with benefits” arrangement that will only last as long as the Clay is around to fix up the building and sell it.  Nicholas enjoys having Clay around and it’s clear that he is attracted to Nicholas despite his “keep it casual” vibe.  Turns out Clay has been let down in this past and he’s decided being a loner is the way to protect himself.  If he doesn’t get close, he can’t get hurt when inevitably he’s left behind.

Nicholas is looking for true love but so far he hasn’t found the one.  He want the whole package – love, marriage, etc.  When he and Clay get closer, you just know feelings are going to be involved.  And they are.  But there are still obstacles in their way.  Can they overcome them and make a go of things in Buffalo?

This is a cute story.  I really liked the setting and the characters.  I was rooting for these two to figure themselves out and get to the place where they could see a future.  I didn’t love the 3rd act breakup, but it wasn’t too angsty or long.  These opposite really do fit 🙂  The dual POV does a lot to fill in the gaps of these two characters who on the surface should not work.  Their flirtation and push/pull for the quarter of the book is totally believable.  The writing kept me engaged and I really enjoyed the secondary characters/found family in this little gayborhood.  Finn is a character who could use his own story (just saying).  Just a delightful romance that I think will leave readers with a smile on their faces.  Recommended!

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

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