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A review by apappashorii
Cup of Joe by Annabeth Albert
3.0
Cup of Joe by Annabeth Albert is the first of the Bold Brew series which centers on the romances of employees and patrons of Bold Brew, a LGBTQ+ and kink-friendly coffee shop. Switching between the first-person POV of Levi, a young Bold Brew barista, and Joe, an older and regular client of the coffee shop, the novel is written in a very smooth and easy-to-read manner.
Though Levi and Joe weren't a couple I felt particularly connected to, I really enjoyed how Albert developed their budding love and introduced kink into their story. To be honest, when the brat/daddy-dom side to Levi and Joe's relationship was first introduced, I wasn't quite sure how to react. This is a kink that is overall subject to quite a bit of stigma and that I am personally not the most comfortable with. That being said, I think this book does a great job at encouraging people to put their judgement aside by offering a representation of how this dynamic truly works in a healthy and consensual relationship. While I cannot speak definitively on whether Albert's representation was 100% accurate, it definitely pushed me to be more open-minded and reconsider some previously held conceptions. The reader gets to learn and explore this kink with the characters in a delightful and thoughtful manner. I also loved the inclusion of Joe as a male character who is self-conscious of his body. It was beautiful watching him learn how to trust Levi's admiration for his clear beauty and become more comfortable in his own skin.
Aside from this praise, the reason for the 3 stars is because I wasn't absolutely blown away by this opening book. I wished for a bit more tension and build-up between Joe and Levi. The book felt a bit short and rushed at times. Levi sometimes came across a little too beagle-like for my liking, which has probably more to do with my overly-introverted self than Levi being an obnoxious character.
That being said, this book was overall a good start to the series and I'm excited to continue with the rest of the books, each of which are written by a different author. So far, I'm loving the close-knit Bold Brew community and I can't wait to meet the other cast of characters! Suffice to say, I'm already wishing there was a Bold Brew in my neighborhood!
Though Levi and Joe weren't a couple I felt particularly connected to, I really enjoyed how Albert developed their budding love and introduced kink into their story. To be honest, when the brat/daddy-dom side to Levi and Joe's relationship was first introduced, I wasn't quite sure how to react. This is a kink that is overall subject to quite a bit of stigma and that I am personally not the most comfortable with. That being said, I think this book does a great job at encouraging people to put their judgement aside by offering a representation of how this dynamic truly works in a healthy and consensual relationship. While I cannot speak definitively on whether Albert's representation was 100% accurate, it definitely pushed me to be more open-minded and reconsider some previously held conceptions. The reader gets to learn and explore this kink with the characters in a delightful and thoughtful manner. I also loved the inclusion of Joe as a male character who is self-conscious of his body. It was beautiful watching him learn how to trust Levi's admiration for his clear beauty and become more comfortable in his own skin.
Aside from this praise, the reason for the 3 stars is because I wasn't absolutely blown away by this opening book. I wished for a bit more tension and build-up between Joe and Levi. The book felt a bit short and rushed at times. Levi sometimes came across a little too beagle-like for my liking, which has probably more to do with my overly-introverted self than Levi being an obnoxious character.
That being said, this book was overall a good start to the series and I'm excited to continue with the rest of the books, each of which are written by a different author. So far, I'm loving the close-knit Bold Brew community and I can't wait to meet the other cast of characters! Suffice to say, I'm already wishing there was a Bold Brew in my neighborhood!