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swamphag's review
5.0
Review originally posted on JustLoveReviews: https://justlovereviews.com/2017/11/08/highballer-by-ava-hayden/
This book is part of the World of Love series which is described as “Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.” This book featured Alberta, Canada as its setting and it is a featured part of the story. Tree planting is a “popular” summer job to get in Canada (as in a lot of people do it to make money not because they love it) and Hayden used it to show the reader how beautiful Alberta’s wilderness is. Although the forests were the main location featured, Hayden also showed Edmonton (bigger city), and Eden Pax (small town) to give readers a good slice of what Alberta is like.
The characters ended up getting fleshed out a lot more than I expected, especially the secondary characters. Remy was my absolute favorite in the book. He’s apparently super gorgeous but he’s a really sweet guy who wants to be a nurse to help people. However, he also has a spine when it comes to his boundaries and I really liked that he didn’t turn into a doormat. When Levi won’t give him what he needs then Remy puts his foot down and it made me like him even more. He wants to be a nurse even though his parents disowned him for it. Instead of going the easy route he goes for a hard summer job to pay off his upcoming student fees. He’s the quiet type but he’s really competent and determined.
I don’t hate Levi, but he really had to work to make me like him. He had a father who was incredibly homophobic and emphasized being a man/not being weak so we can really see why Levi holds himself back with Remy. It also makes sense because Levi got emotionally burned before but given how much I LOVE Remy it made me like Levi less until he stepped up. Levi didn’t handle his emotional baggage very well but he wasn’t really purposefully being abusive to Remy. He was trying to hide their relationship and Remy didn’t want that. Hayden did a good job of showing Levi change throughout the book and although Levi is kind of impulsive with his decisions at the end of the book we can see why he did what he did. It makes sense.
Neither one of them want to get involved with anyone, so for a good chunk of the book, we get deliciously built up sexual tension and them getting to know each other better. I love slow burn romances because you get to see them get to know each other before they get into a relationship/sleep together and it helps to show why they are a good couple. It also helps them get over some of their baggage before the book turns into an angst-fest. Sometimes angst is good but with a short novella, it would eat a lot of the book (in my opinion!).
Overall I really loved this book. It was novella length but had a complete story that didn’t feel rushed or like anything was missing from the story. I wanted more of the story or another book about these characters but that’s because I didn’t want it to end. The writing and pacing were good and I think that Hayden did a good job giving the characters enough depth to get to know them in such a short amount of time. There also wasn’t a lot of drama but there was some believable conflict that added depth to the story.
I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book is part of the World of Love series which is described as “Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.” This book featured Alberta, Canada as its setting and it is a featured part of the story. Tree planting is a “popular” summer job to get in Canada (as in a lot of people do it to make money not because they love it) and Hayden used it to show the reader how beautiful Alberta’s wilderness is. Although the forests were the main location featured, Hayden also showed Edmonton (bigger city), and Eden Pax (small town) to give readers a good slice of what Alberta is like.
The characters ended up getting fleshed out a lot more than I expected, especially the secondary characters. Remy was my absolute favorite in the book. He’s apparently super gorgeous but he’s a really sweet guy who wants to be a nurse to help people. However, he also has a spine when it comes to his boundaries and I really liked that he didn’t turn into a doormat. When Levi won’t give him what he needs then Remy puts his foot down and it made me like him even more. He wants to be a nurse even though his parents disowned him for it. Instead of going the easy route he goes for a hard summer job to pay off his upcoming student fees. He’s the quiet type but he’s really competent and determined.
I don’t hate Levi, but he really had to work to make me like him. He had a father who was incredibly homophobic and emphasized being a man/not being weak so we can really see why Levi holds himself back with Remy. It also makes sense because Levi got emotionally burned before but given how much I LOVE Remy it made me like Levi less until he stepped up. Levi didn’t handle his emotional baggage very well but he wasn’t really purposefully being abusive to Remy. He was trying to hide their relationship and Remy didn’t want that. Hayden did a good job of showing Levi change throughout the book and although Levi is kind of impulsive with his decisions at the end of the book we can see why he did what he did. It makes sense.
Neither one of them want to get involved with anyone, so for a good chunk of the book, we get deliciously built up sexual tension and them getting to know each other better. I love slow burn romances because you get to see them get to know each other before they get into a relationship/sleep together and it helps to show why they are a good couple. It also helps them get over some of their baggage before the book turns into an angst-fest. Sometimes angst is good but with a short novella, it would eat a lot of the book (in my opinion!).
Overall I really loved this book. It was novella length but had a complete story that didn’t feel rushed or like anything was missing from the story. I wanted more of the story or another book about these characters but that’s because I didn’t want it to end. The writing and pacing were good and I think that Hayden did a good job giving the characters enough depth to get to know them in such a short amount of time. There also wasn’t a lot of drama but there was some believable conflict that added depth to the story.
I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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