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A review by endemictoearth
Home Grown Talent by Sally Malcolm, Joanna Chambers
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This was a breath of fresh air. Originally, I actually read this before the first book in the series, but immediately went back to read Aaron and Lewis's story.
This is a slight twist on the fake dating trope in that they are already aware of each other and are intrigued, but haven't really been thrown together much. So, instead of their relationship being allowed to grow organically (lol), they then start working with each other almost immediately, and the waters get very muddied indeed. I liked how honest Mason (mostly) was about how he had to publicize aspects of their relationship, while still trying to let Owen know he really does like him. This book didn't follow the typical beats, but made sense to me. It was more, “How much of this is real/how much of my heart am I willing to risk?”
Having both characters getting to know each other while we get to know them worked really well and I was pretty enthralled (which is not a word I use often to describe my reading experience.) I must admit I also like seeing the evil industry types get their comeuppance in these books . . . very cathartic.
Audio review April 2024: Simon Goldhill is a wonderful narrator, with a casual style that has a lot of emotion behind it. Mason is deliberately given a couple of different intonations, which matches his character putting on a shallow/cheery front to hide his more complicated past with hidden depths. And Owen is more consistent, as is to be expected of someone so solid and straightforward.
I was eagerly awaiting this audio version ever since I listened to the first one, and now I am fairly feral for the audio for the third book, which was narrowly my favorite of the series. Fingers crossed that it also gets an audiobook soon!
I received a copy for review from Gay Romance Reviews and these are my honest opinions.
This is a slight twist on the fake dating trope in that they are already aware of each other and are intrigued, but haven't really been thrown together much. So, instead of their relationship being allowed to grow organically (lol), they then start working with each other almost immediately, and the waters get very muddied indeed. I liked how honest Mason (mostly) was about how he had to publicize aspects of their relationship, while still trying to let Owen know he really does like him. This book didn't follow the typical beats, but made sense to me. It was more, “How much of this is real/how much of my heart am I willing to risk?”
Having both characters getting to know each other while we get to know them worked really well and I was pretty enthralled (which is not a word I use often to describe my reading experience.) I must admit I also like seeing the evil industry types get their comeuppance in these books . . . very cathartic.
Audio review April 2024: Simon Goldhill is a wonderful narrator, with a casual style that has a lot of emotion behind it. Mason is deliberately given a couple of different intonations, which matches his character putting on a shallow/cheery front to hide his more complicated past with hidden depths. And Owen is more consistent, as is to be expected of someone so solid and straightforward.
I was eagerly awaiting this audio version ever since I listened to the first one, and now I am fairly feral for the audio for the third book, which was narrowly my favorite of the series. Fingers crossed that it also gets an audiobook soon!
I received a copy for review from Gay Romance Reviews and these are my honest opinions.