RELEASE TOUR – Building Home by J. Mackenzie

Length: 262 pages

Series: Home in the Berkshires Book 1

Genre: contemporary

Tropes: Low-angst, Dual hurt/comfort, Found family, Renovation, Lots of pretzels, Even more dogs

Trigger/Content Warnings: Emotionally abusive relationship (off page and not between MCs), Parental death (off page), Nonmonogamy (MCs have sex on page with people who are not each other)

Spencer Lim has a good life—a decent apartment, a job renovating houses with his best friend, and a dog who’s the goodest boy on the planet. So what if he hasn’t slept with the same guy twice since he moved to Pittsfield? It’s not like he’s looking for a relationship, anyway.

Then he gets a call from Ian Collier, who has a wreck of a house and no idea what to do with it. This should be just like any other job. Except that Ian is quiet and serious and looks at Spencer in a way that intrigues him like nothing has in a long time. There’s a reason Spencer doesn’t do repeats, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember the more time he spends with Ian.

When Spencer volunteers to help Ian clean out the house’s basement, he starts to understand why dealing with the place has been so hard for Ian, and he’s tempted to share in return. Will opening up to Ian be a mistake? Or is Spencer finally ready to put himself out there again?

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Ian wrapped his arms around him, pulling their bodies together and kissing him indulgently, and it was suddenly like it had been out on the sidewalk. Spencer felt like things were happening in slow motion—Ian’s hands on his ass pulling him close, his heart thumping against Ian’s chest, Ian’s teeth nipping into his lip like he wanted to devour him. When they pulled apart, Ian’s eyes were on him, wide and intent, and he had that air of confidence about him that he’d had when he’d asked Spencer on this date, like he knew exactly what he wanted. “Spencer.” Fuck, the way Ian said his name, breathy and reverent, made his knees buckle. “I’d like to get in your bed. If that’s something you want.” “I want,” Spencer managed. His mouth was suddenly very dry. “I want to strip you naked and make you feel good,” Ian whispered in his ear. “Okay,” Spencer croaked, already imagining how Ian’s confidence would play out once there was no more clothing between them. Ian laughed, a huff of breath against Spencer’s oversensitive skin. “Okay?” “I mean, enthusiastically yes.” Spencer slid his hands under Ian’s shirt. “Is this okay?” “I’d also like to be naked, if you don’t mind.” Spencer bit his lip to hold back his moan. Serious Ian was sexy. Playful Ian might be the death of him. He pulled Ian’s shirt over his head. “I’d prefer it, actually.” They stripped each other between kisses as Ian walked Spencer toward the foot of the bed, exploring each other’s bare skin with their hands. Spencer had spent a lot of time thinking about Ian’s eyes, his smile, the timbre of his voice. Now he was suddenly very aware of the body under all those preppy clothes, and he wanted to touch every inch of it. He brushed his fingers down Ian’s sharp shoulders and collarbones, over the softness of his stomach and around to his ass, where he dug his fingers into Ian’s flesh. Ian was looking at him like he wanted to consume him. “Tell me what you want.” Ian had him by the hips and was speaking into his neck as he gently sucked right under Spencer’s jaw. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” Spencer clung to Ian in an effort to keep himself upright. He’d been too consumed by his date anxiety to even think about what being with Ian like this would be like. That must be why he so suddenly felt like he was going to float away into the ether.  

J. Mackenzie is an avid reader and writer of queer romance. Her favorite tropes are friends-to-lovers, second-chance romance, and found family. Her new novel, Building Home, is coming March 21.

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