Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: You Spin Me ‘Round
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: Declan Winters
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 2 hours and 45 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2025
BLURB:
Forget the jelly doughnuts. Hanukkah’s about to get spicy….
Benji Roth couldn’t be happier. His bakery in the small town of Serenity, Pennsylvania is thriving, and he doesn’t even mind being the only Jewish person in town. Except when his cousin, Issac, comes to visit, of course. Everyone is friendly—well, almost everyone. Gorgeous Gil Navarro, the owner of the spice shop across the street, comes in every morning for a muffin but barely looks at him and never says a word.
Benji’s parents worry about him being alone, so Benji reassures them—he’s serious with his boyfriend, and they’re in love. One little problem: the boyfriend doesn’t exist. But it’s no big deal; a little white lie never hurt anyone. Besides, it makes them happy and takes the pressure off him. They’ll never know.
Then a Thanksgiving storm finds him and Gil stranded together and having dinner with strangers. Even stranger is the kiss they share later that night. And the next morning.
Gil is funny and charming and in the weeks following, Benji is falling head over heels with a real, potential love. Now his parents are pressuring him to come home for Hanukkah, but he’s hoping to spend the holidays with Gil.
Cue the parents showing up unexpectedly at his front door. And wanting very much to meet the boyfriend he’s been with for almost a year. Whose name is not Gil.
Uh-oh.
REVIEW:
This is the absolute sweetest novella! There are so many heartfelt things in this story. Two men who are lonely and have been through it find that maybe there is love out there for them again afte rall.
Benji has left his finance job in the city and bought a building and started his own business – a bakery. He’s been wanting to do this forever and his finance job gave him the ability to do it. He had a cheating ex that didn’t treat him right, so he’s moved to smalltown Pennsylvania to restart his new life.
Gil has a specialty food shop across the street from Benji’s business. He stops in for a muffin every day but doesn’t really talk to Benji. Turns out that Gil’s husband was killed 6 years before and he’s not moved forward into any new relationship – despite the constant asking by his family about “when is he going to date” again and again. Benji is going through the same things with his family. He’s made up a fake boyfriend to keep them off his back even 😉
Benji is curious about Gil. He’s a good looking guy who just seems to work and go home. He asks around but nobody seems to have the answer. When Benji makes some specialty items for the holidays and asks Gil’s opinion, they find common ground in food. Gil’s husband had been a chef (which Benji also doesn’t know) and so Benji tries to win Gil over with food 🙂
The holidays come along and Benji is stuck due to storms. He can’t visit his family in FL so his cousin Isaac sets him up to have Thanksgiving with some friends. When Benji finds out the Gil has nowhere to go either, he invites him along. Things begin to thaw. But Gil is still reluctant to move forward. He hasn’t felt anything for so long.
Things get a little bit tangles and there are a few brief assumptions that are dealt with. And then Benji’s family shows up unexpectedly and there is Gil. Not the fake boyfriend, but a real guy 😉 Uh-oh.
This was totally delightful! I love this team of Felice and Declan 🙂 The story is realistic and contemporary and I love how so many traditions are included in the story. There are sexy times, some laugh out loud moments and some really beautiful heart to heart moments of intimacy that made me smile. If you’re looking for a wonderful story with smart and authentic characters with some fun surprises and a real happy ending then I think this audio is for you. Declan Winters voice is so lovely and I love his performance here as I have everything I’ve listened to from him. This is author/narrator pairing perfection 🙂 Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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