Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: The Greening of Thaddeus Grey
AUTHOR: Jay Hogan
PUBLISHER: Southern Lights Publishing
LENGTH: 343 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2026
BLURB:
Sometimes you have to lose everything to find the one thing that matters most.
The day begins like any other—canoodling with my live-in boyfriend, making weekend plans over breakfast, and arguing about the apartment renovation list. Then my best friend and business partner texts, begging me to ditch Thad so we can meet for a lunchtime quickie in our usual spot.
Small problem: I’m Thad. Oops.
By midday, I’ve lost one ratface boyfriend, my best mate, the company I built from scratch, and the courage to hire a hitman—although I’m not ruling that last one out just yet. The future I had neatly mapped out is now toast. In its place, a laundry list of awkward questions, rumours, and pitying looks.
And so, I do what I do best. I run—my crumbling life fading in the rearview mirror. No plan. No destination. Just a road. Through a forest. In a storm. To a dog. And a shed. And a towering man who smells of pine, rain, and, mercifully, bacon.
There’s dirt under my nails, something growing in my heart, and suddenly I’m breathing again. Breathing and smiling and lying, lying, lying. To the man I’m falling for. To the people I care about. To myself, most of all.
But for every lie, there’s a reckoning. And when the truth catches up, and the heart is truly at stake, there’s no running anymore.
REVIEW:
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Jay Hogan and I definitely missed her writing. I loved all about this book: the romance, the main and side characters, the setting, it was that kind of story that you miss as soon as it’s over and you’re left wondering what happened to the MCs next.
Thaddeus lives a simple life: he works a lot and he loves that he can do the job of his dreams, he’s successful and runs his own company, he has a best friend, Phillip, who’s been his ride or die for years. He could do better in the boyfriend department, since he and Judd are not exactly the best match (Thad is a loner while Judd is a social butterfly) but he doesn’t complain.
Until he receives a text from Phillip that was clearly meant for Judd and he realises that they were having a five months long affair.
Thad’s world implodes: he kicks Judd out of his apartment, cuts ties with Phillip, hops in his car and drives away until he gets stranded in the middle of nowhere and spends the night in a chicken shed.
Ryder is a landscaper, he manages his own business and he, like Thad, lives a simple life (except that Ryder’s partner, the dachshund Ziggy, is a much better company than Judd!). Ryder has serious problems with the council regarding the land he’s renting and he’s seriously at risk of losing it.
Despite his own problems, Ryder immediately becomes Thaddeus’ safe place, he gives him the serenity and the peace to breathe and reflect on his next moves.
But Ryder doesn’t know that Thad’s internal turmoil is much bigger than getting over his friend and his boyfriend’s betrayal: in fact, it turns out that the proposal Thad was working on, the big project that could land him a lot of money and push Phillip out of his life, it’s a project that will assure the Company that’s threatening Ryder’s land to thrive and destroy the environment.
I liked very much how the author handled Thad’s conflict: I found it perfectly believable that he was torn between protecting his company and saving Ryder’s home, because the foundations of their connection are new and fragile and both of them seem to live very different lives and how will it work? Too many variables to consider during the day., especially because Ryder has his own difficulties in believing that a city boy like Thaddeus could enjoy a simple life in the countryside.
But the nights spent in Ryder’s bed have a strong pull on both of them: shutting the world out while snuggling and cuddling with Ziggy sleeping at their feet, that looks like heaven.
The physical scenes were highly intimate and it was clear from the first time they had sex that there wasn’t anything casual between them and that strong feelings were very much involved. I think that all that came next for them was necessary to the development of their relationship, even if it hurt.
I absolutely have to mention Tap, one of the best side characters ever! I hope the author will consider giving him at least a novella because he and his boyfriend’s story needs to be told!
And I found oh so very satisfying how Phillip and Judd’s lives turned out to be: finally a story where the villains get their rewards.
Lastly, the epilogue is perfection and I loved how Thad and his mom’s relationship improved with time.
This was a wonderful story, surely one of the best reads of this year.
RATING: 
BUY LINK:
