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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've given this a B for narration and a B- for content at AudioGals.
The Vino and Veritas series is one of four new series of contemporary romances set in the world created by Sarina Bowen in her True North books. Each of the series is multi-authored, and the books are all standalones; although some characters do cross over between books, the stories in each are self-contained, so you can dip in and out without missing anything important. The V&V books are all queer romances – mostly m/m, but there are some f/f ones, too – and there’s a fabulous line-up of authors, some of whom are personal favourites. One of them – Annabeth Albert – kicks things off with Featherbed, a sweet, sexy, low-angst romance that, for all its cuteness and strong characterisation, needed a bit more oomph.
A former lawyer, Harrison Fletcher has left the bustle of New York and relocated to Burlington in Vermont where he’s about to open his new venture – a combined bookstore and wine bar he’s named Vino and Veritas. Part of his reason for moving is to because he wants to make mother happy; ever since she retired from her job as a librarian, she’s been at something of a loose end and he knows that owning a bookstore has long been a dream of hers. But he knows he needed a change, too, especially as he thinks he won’t have much more time to spend with her; both his father and his grandfather died before reaching the age of forty-three, and with his forty-second birthday approaching, Harrison can feel the ticking of the countdown clock. Still, even though it’s a move he wanted to make, it’s been something of a culture shock – something brought home even more strongly when one of the deliveries he’s expecting for the bookstore half of V and V turns out to be a box of chickens rather than a box of books.
Harrison’s new store assistant helpfully points out that the address on the box is similar to the address of the V and V – and even more helpfully says that it should probably have gone to the farm run by the hot chicken guy (as in the guy is hot, not the chickens!). Harrison makes a phone call and sure enough, the chickens were meant for Puddlebrook Farm. Harrison is rather taken with the deep masculine voice on the other end of the line, and after a brief discussion as to what Harrison should do – and not do (under no circumstances should the chickens be let out of the box) – he agrees to sit tight and wait for Finn Barnes to arrive to collect them.
No prizes for guessing what happens next. Yep. When Finn arrives to collect his rare, heritage-breed Ayam Cermani chickens at the end of what has been a really frustrating day, he’s not best pleased to see a few of them running around loose in Harrison’s storeroom. He takes one look at Harrison, and immediately pegs him as a useless city-type –
…what with his fancy pants and white shirt that had undoubtedly started the day pristine and ironed.
– who thinks he’s far too good to be doing something as mundane as handling chickens.
Tempers are fraying, but thankfully Harrison’s mother Audrey arrives to smooth things over a bit, and by the time Finn leaves, he’s calmed down enough to realise that he never thanked the pair of them for their help, so the next day he goes back to take them a gift basket of some of the farm’s produce as a peace offering and a thank you. By the end of the short visit, Finn has issued an invitation for Harrison and Audrey to visit the farm – and both men are trying hard not to be attracted to each other.
Harrison and Finn are great guys and complete opposites. Finn is big and muscly where Harrison is tall, lean and elegant, and their backgrounds and life experience are very different. But no matter how hard they try to convince themselves otherwise, the spark of attraction between them is impossible to ignore, and soon, they’re becoming friends and bonding over a shared love of queer historical romances and good food. Needless to say, it’s not long before they to start to fall for one another, but both of them have reasons for holding out against love; Harrison because he thinks he’s a bad bet as a long-term partner, and Finn because he was burned by an ex who dumped him because he hated the farm life that Finn loves.
I’m a big Annabeth Albert fan, and I’ve really been looking forward to listening to Featherbed; in fact, I deliberately opted not to read it when it came out in print in March because I wanted to wait for the audio. Maybe I’d built my expectations too high, but in the end, I wasn’t as invested as I’d hoped I’d be. Don’t get me wrong; it’s quiet and sweet and sexy and lovely, the two leads have great chemistry and the author does a great job of showing them – and us – how their differences complement each other and how perfect they are for one another. It’s just a bit slow and uneventful for my taste. There’s a very small amount of conflict introduced near the end to add a touch of uncertainty, but it’s not particularly convincing, and I was a bit uncomfortable when Finn persisted in calling Harrison “Harry”, even after he’d asked him not to.
Kirt Graves and Alexander Cendese are very experienced romance narrators and they both deliver expressive, well-paced performances here. Mr. Graves reads the chapters from Harrison’s PoV and his soft, husky tones are a great fit for the character, while Mr. Cendese’s brighter sound and upbeat delivery provide a nice contrast and work equally well to delineate the extrovert, more gregarious Finn. I know that for some, having two voices of such different tone and timbre can be problematic – I see reviews complaining that “X’s version of this character is too different to Y’s so it sounds like a completely different character “ – but that doesn’t generally bother me; two different people = two different voices and as long as (in the case of m/m) the performers can agree which of the leads is going to use a higher pitch and which a lower, and can make them sound sufficiently different to one another, I don’t expect one performer to attempt to impersonate the other. (If they do and make a good job of it, it’s an added bonus!) Both narrators characterise and differentiate the secondary cast well, and although Mr. Cendese’s female voices can sound a bit caricature-ish, he doesn’t use falsetto or go wildly over the top, and I don’t generally mind it. He can also speak a bit too quickly at times; he doesn’t mangle or trip over words, he just sounds a bit rushed. Also – advance warning – there are a couple of places in the text where Finn whistles; Mr. Cendese actually does whistle, and even though it’s supposed to be quiet, it made me jump both times!
I did enjoy the characters and performances in Featherbed, but even though its running time comes in at just under five and a half hours, it feels a bit overlong and the romance, while very well-written, was a bit too low-key for me. But YMMV- I know a lot of people have gravitated towards less complicated, gentler stories over the last year or so, and if that’s you, this might be just what you’re looking for.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals.
The Vino and Veritas series is one of four new series of contemporary romances set in the world created by Sarina Bowen in her True North books. Each of the series is multi-authored, and the books are all standalones; although some characters do cross over between books, the stories in each are self-contained, so you can dip in and out without missing anything important. The V&V books are all queer romances – mostly m/m, but there are some f/f ones, too – and there’s a fabulous line-up of authors, some of whom are personal favourites. One of them – Annabeth Albert – kicks things off with Featherbed, a sweet, sexy, low-angst romance that, for all its cuteness and strong characterisation, needed a bit more oomph.
A former lawyer, Harrison Fletcher has left the bustle of New York and relocated to Burlington in Vermont where he’s about to open his new venture – a combined bookstore and wine bar he’s named Vino and Veritas. Part of his reason for moving is to because he wants to make mother happy; ever since she retired from her job as a librarian, she’s been at something of a loose end and he knows that owning a bookstore has long been a dream of hers. But he knows he needed a change, too, especially as he thinks he won’t have much more time to spend with her; both his father and his grandfather died before reaching the age of forty-three, and with his forty-second birthday approaching, Harrison can feel the ticking of the countdown clock. Still, even though it’s a move he wanted to make, it’s been something of a culture shock – something brought home even more strongly when one of the deliveries he’s expecting for the bookstore half of V and V turns out to be a box of chickens rather than a box of books.
Harrison’s new store assistant helpfully points out that the address on the box is similar to the address of the V and V – and even more helpfully says that it should probably have gone to the farm run by the hot chicken guy (as in the guy is hot, not the chickens!). Harrison makes a phone call and sure enough, the chickens were meant for Puddlebrook Farm. Harrison is rather taken with the deep masculine voice on the other end of the line, and after a brief discussion as to what Harrison should do – and not do (under no circumstances should the chickens be let out of the box) – he agrees to sit tight and wait for Finn Barnes to arrive to collect them.
No prizes for guessing what happens next. Yep. When Finn arrives to collect his rare, heritage-breed Ayam Cermani chickens at the end of what has been a really frustrating day, he’s not best pleased to see a few of them running around loose in Harrison’s storeroom. He takes one look at Harrison, and immediately pegs him as a useless city-type –
…what with his fancy pants and white shirt that had undoubtedly started the day pristine and ironed.
– who thinks he’s far too good to be doing something as mundane as handling chickens.
Tempers are fraying, but thankfully Harrison’s mother Audrey arrives to smooth things over a bit, and by the time Finn leaves, he’s calmed down enough to realise that he never thanked the pair of them for their help, so the next day he goes back to take them a gift basket of some of the farm’s produce as a peace offering and a thank you. By the end of the short visit, Finn has issued an invitation for Harrison and Audrey to visit the farm – and both men are trying hard not to be attracted to each other.
Harrison and Finn are great guys and complete opposites. Finn is big and muscly where Harrison is tall, lean and elegant, and their backgrounds and life experience are very different. But no matter how hard they try to convince themselves otherwise, the spark of attraction between them is impossible to ignore, and soon, they’re becoming friends and bonding over a shared love of queer historical romances and good food. Needless to say, it’s not long before they to start to fall for one another, but both of them have reasons for holding out against love; Harrison because he thinks he’s a bad bet as a long-term partner, and Finn because he was burned by an ex who dumped him because he hated the farm life that Finn loves.
I’m a big Annabeth Albert fan, and I’ve really been looking forward to listening to Featherbed; in fact, I deliberately opted not to read it when it came out in print in March because I wanted to wait for the audio. Maybe I’d built my expectations too high, but in the end, I wasn’t as invested as I’d hoped I’d be. Don’t get me wrong; it’s quiet and sweet and sexy and lovely, the two leads have great chemistry and the author does a great job of showing them – and us – how their differences complement each other and how perfect they are for one another. It’s just a bit slow and uneventful for my taste. There’s a very small amount of conflict introduced near the end to add a touch of uncertainty, but it’s not particularly convincing, and I was a bit uncomfortable when Finn persisted in calling Harrison “Harry”, even after he’d asked him not to.
Kirt Graves and Alexander Cendese are very experienced romance narrators and they both deliver expressive, well-paced performances here. Mr. Graves reads the chapters from Harrison’s PoV and his soft, husky tones are a great fit for the character, while Mr. Cendese’s brighter sound and upbeat delivery provide a nice contrast and work equally well to delineate the extrovert, more gregarious Finn. I know that for some, having two voices of such different tone and timbre can be problematic – I see reviews complaining that “X’s version of this character is too different to Y’s so it sounds like a completely different character “ – but that doesn’t generally bother me; two different people = two different voices and as long as (in the case of m/m) the performers can agree which of the leads is going to use a higher pitch and which a lower, and can make them sound sufficiently different to one another, I don’t expect one performer to attempt to impersonate the other. (If they do and make a good job of it, it’s an added bonus!) Both narrators characterise and differentiate the secondary cast well, and although Mr. Cendese’s female voices can sound a bit caricature-ish, he doesn’t use falsetto or go wildly over the top, and I don’t generally mind it. He can also speak a bit too quickly at times; he doesn’t mangle or trip over words, he just sounds a bit rushed. Also – advance warning – there are a couple of places in the text where Finn whistles; Mr. Cendese actually does whistle, and even though it’s supposed to be quiet, it made me jump both times!
I did enjoy the characters and performances in Featherbed, but even though its running time comes in at just under five and a half hours, it feels a bit overlong and the romance, while very well-written, was a bit too low-key for me. But YMMV- I know a lot of people have gravitated towards less complicated, gentler stories over the last year or so, and if that’s you, this might be just what you’re looking for.
This review originally appeared at AudioGals.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
5 learning how to live stars
”You’re more than your heart”
“Yeah, well, it might not be mine anymore anyway.” I tried for a tease but it came out hesitant and soft.
“How so?” Finn was back to sounding perflexed.
My face became so warm as one of Finn’s chick inbucators, and my voice lowered even further. “It’s kind of yours now.”
“I’ll take good care of it.”
I really wanted to read this one but I kept putting it off because I have been in a really weird mood lately and I have been really stressed because of university and that made it so that my regular books don’t really work for me anymore. So I was scared that I wouldn’t enjoy this book. But damn did this book surprise me. Turns out it was everything I needed at the moment, this book felt like a warm hug that never stopped for the entire length of the book. It was so conforting and it made me feel so damn good. I had some small niggles about this book but it made me feel so good while I was reading that i’m still giving it 5 stars.
Brief summary: Harrison is 42 and he was a lawyer in New-York. He moved to a small town in Vermont to open a bookstore with his mom. He meets Finn, one of the local chicken farmers. They start by only having sex, but they end up falling in love.
The things I loved
First, I really loved how well developed the sertings were. I really loved all of the descriptions of the farm and how the chickens were a really big part of the story. I felt like I was actually living in the town and I loved it so much. I also loved the vibe of the bookstore. It felt really lively too.
Second, I adored the vibe of this book. It was so much fun to read and I had an absolute blast reading this book. It was such a feel good story and I loved it very much for that.
Third, I really loved both Finn and Harrison. I loved how Finn was such a strong and really nice too. I loved how he was always there for everyone. Also, I really loved how he was out and his sexuality wasn’t an issue. Most of the time when we get the farmer/city boy trope, it always includes a closeted farmer. I was so happy to see it wasn’t the case here. I also really loved Harrison. I loved how he had the typical city boy look but he still fit so good in the small town setting and how he was eager to fit in more and to help everyone around. He was a really good guy and I really loved that about him. Also he was so understanding, he knew that Finn was busy with the farm and he never got mad about it, just made sure to be there for Finn when he had a minute. Harison always took care of Finn. He was a really good partner. I really loved both of these guys and I also loved them together, they were a really good match.
Fourth, I really loved how they had to fight a little to be together but mostly they just naturally found their way to each other. I enjoyed how the book was low angst but there was still some conflict there. I liked how everything wasn’t easy for them. I really loved how the romance unfolded and how well these two fit together. I loved how they both had issues but they were willing to fight them to be together. I loved how clearly you could tell that they were commited to the other. These guys were really solid together.
Fifth, god the sex. Annabeth Albert always writes really good sex scenes and they were damn hot in this book. I really loved the sex scenes, they were so good and complimented the story really well.
My small niggles
Clearly these didn’t bother me that much, as I still gave it five stars but I still want to mention them.
How hard is it to communicate? Harrison was fucking 42 years old and he kept secrets from his man. Just talk to your man, it’s really easy and will prevent very unnecessary fights.
Also, there was a break up at 80% that I would have prefered to not be there (which wouldn’t have needed to be there if they talked to each other). But I really loved how they got back together. Bonus points for the both of them admitting how they were wrong. I loved that very much.
I absolutely adored this book and had such a good time reading it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion
”You’re more than your heart”
“Yeah, well, it might not be mine anymore anyway.” I tried for a tease but it came out hesitant and soft.
“How so?” Finn was back to sounding perflexed.
My face became so warm as one of Finn’s chick inbucators, and my voice lowered even further. “It’s kind of yours now.”
“I’ll take good care of it.”
I really wanted to read this one but I kept putting it off because I have been in a really weird mood lately and I have been really stressed because of university and that made it so that my regular books don’t really work for me anymore. So I was scared that I wouldn’t enjoy this book. But damn did this book surprise me. Turns out it was everything I needed at the moment, this book felt like a warm hug that never stopped for the entire length of the book. It was so conforting and it made me feel so damn good. I had some small niggles about this book but it made me feel so good while I was reading that i’m still giving it 5 stars.
Brief summary: Harrison is 42 and he was a lawyer in New-York. He moved to a small town in Vermont to open a bookstore with his mom. He meets Finn, one of the local chicken farmers. They start by only having sex, but they end up falling in love.
The things I loved
First, I really loved how well developed the sertings were. I really loved all of the descriptions of the farm and how the chickens were a really big part of the story. I felt like I was actually living in the town and I loved it so much. I also loved the vibe of the bookstore. It felt really lively too.
Second, I adored the vibe of this book. It was so much fun to read and I had an absolute blast reading this book. It was such a feel good story and I loved it very much for that.
Third, I really loved both Finn and Harrison. I loved how Finn was such a strong and really nice too. I loved how he was always there for everyone. Also, I really loved how he was out and his sexuality wasn’t an issue. Most of the time when we get the farmer/city boy trope, it always includes a closeted farmer. I was so happy to see it wasn’t the case here. I also really loved Harrison. I loved how he had the typical city boy look but he still fit so good in the small town setting and how he was eager to fit in more and to help everyone around. He was a really good guy and I really loved that about him. Also he was so understanding, he knew that Finn was busy with the farm and he never got mad about it, just made sure to be there for Finn when he had a minute. Harison always took care of Finn. He was a really good partner. I really loved both of these guys and I also loved them together, they were a really good match.
Fourth, I really loved how they had to fight a little to be together but mostly they just naturally found their way to each other. I enjoyed how the book was low angst but there was still some conflict there. I liked how everything wasn’t easy for them. I really loved how the romance unfolded and how well these two fit together. I loved how they both had issues but they were willing to fight them to be together. I loved how clearly you could tell that they were commited to the other. These guys were really solid together.
Fifth, god the sex. Annabeth Albert always writes really good sex scenes and they were damn hot in this book. I really loved the sex scenes, they were so good and complimented the story really well.
My small niggles
Clearly these didn’t bother me that much, as I still gave it five stars but I still want to mention them.
How hard is it to communicate? Harrison was fucking 42 years old and he kept secrets from his man. Just talk to your man, it’s really easy and will prevent very unnecessary fights.
Also, there was a break up at 80% that I would have prefered to not be there (which wouldn’t have needed to be there if they talked to each other). But I really loved how they got back together. Bonus points for the both of them admitting how they were wrong. I loved that very much.
I absolutely adored this book and had such a good time reading it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange of my honest opinion
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who doesn’t love a cute bookseller and a farmer with a truck full of ducks?
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Dude, fuck Finn. He spends the whole book convinced Harrison is going to leave because he isn't from town, despite Harrison being a business owner and his only family living in town. He makes shitty offhand comments to Harrison throughout the book, and his internal monologue about Harrison is often rude and presumptuous. He makes it clear that he and Harrison aren't "serious" despite hanging out all the time and treating him like a full boyfriend. But then he was so shitty to Harrison for not divulging everything to him, despite Harrison having been very clear to him that he had personal issues regarding the problem. Harrison just constantly had to bear the burden of Finn's baggage and Finn expected Harrison to be perfect. Even when Harrison apologizes, Finn is kind of a dick EVEN THOUGH HE HAD REALIZED HE HAD BEEN HASTY IN THEIR FIGHT. Harrison says he's working on his issues and Finn is all "oh will you still be here in the winter" and just fuck off Finn. I bet Finn's ex left town because Finn was so goddamn insufferable. Harrison should have told him off like 10 different times.
The characters were shallow and so "small town Americana" I wanted to roll my eyes. Also Alexander Cendese reads like he gets paid by words per minute and it was hard to keep up with his part of the book.
The characters were shallow and so "small town Americana" I wanted to roll my eyes. Also Alexander Cendese reads like he gets paid by words per minute and it was hard to keep up with his part of the book.
I’ve never seen two men so oblivious to the fact that they’re dating. It was cute.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this series to come out, and here we are, on book one. This book sets up the rest of the series by establishing the bookstore, Vino & Veritas—it also gives the series its name. We are casually introduced to future main characters, too, but shhhhhh! I’m not saying who. Read the blurbs.
This book is full of a lot of likable characters, especially Finn and Harry—I mean, Harrison. I felt like they were good for each other. It didn't take me long to get lost in their story. What a sweet, and oftentimes funny, love story it was!
While these books share a lot of things, including people, I have a strong suspicion that they will have no problems standing on their own. This book was a great beginning; it was well written, had great banter, and was just a lot of fun to read. I was grinning more times than I can count. I cannot wait for the next book.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure. A review wasn’t a requirement. ***
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this series to come out, and here we are, on book one. This book sets up the rest of the series by establishing the bookstore, Vino & Veritas—it also gives the series its name. We are casually introduced to future main characters, too, but shhhhhh! I’m not saying who. Read the blurbs.
This book is full of a lot of likable characters, especially Finn and Harry—I mean, Harrison. I felt like they were good for each other. It didn't take me long to get lost in their story. What a sweet, and oftentimes funny, love story it was!
While these books share a lot of things, including people, I have a strong suspicion that they will have no problems standing on their own. This book was a great beginning; it was well written, had great banter, and was just a lot of fun to read. I was grinning more times than I can count. I cannot wait for the next book.
***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure. A review wasn’t a requirement. ***
Really nice story and cool characters.
This is one where I'm glad I stopped listening to the audiobooks and picked up the ebook in KU instead because the narration was really not doing it for me, and I kept getting pulled out of the story.
It turned into a win once I did, and Finn and Harrison were so good
This is one where I'm glad I stopped listening to the audiobooks and picked up the ebook in KU instead because the narration was really not doing it for me, and I kept getting pulled out of the story.
It turned into a win once I did, and Finn and Harrison were so good