TEST
Jay Hogan takes the number of books in the Vino and Veritas series into double figures with Unguarded – the story of a closeted, repressed bisexual veterinary surgeon and an ex-pat Kiwi running from an abusive relationship – and it’s the best book of the series (that I’ve read) so far. If you haven’t picked up any of the earlier entries, don’t worry; all the Vino and Veritas books are standalones so you can jump in here and not feel like you’ve missed anything.
When Tai Samuels walked in on his long-term boyfriend Dion and found him having fun being the filling in a twink sandwich, he stormed out – of Dion’s life and of his life in Boston, where he’s lived for the past three years. It’s not the first time Dion has cheated on him, but it’s the last – Tai is done. He hightails out of there with nothing more than the clothes on his back – which are far better suited to a night out clubbing than to a night spent by the side of the road in freezing Vermont, which is where he’s ended up after getting in his crappy car and driving just about as far away as he could get.
Next morning, when he goes to the nearest bakery to get some breakfast, he realises the situation is even worse than he’d thought. His payment cards are declined – Dion has cleaned out all his accounts – and Tai has just three hundred dollars to his name. He knows how stupid it was to allow Dion to control every aspect of his life, but hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself before now; it was easier to look away and believe everything was okay. And now – broke, homeless, alone (and fucking freezing) – all he’s got is time to mull over his foolishness. Which he figures he might as well do in the warmth of the Vino and Veritas bookstore with a hot cup of coffee.
After a couple of hot drinks and a chat with Briar, the store clerk – who gives Tai a few tips about the local amenities – Tai’s attention is caught by another customer, a tall, blond, mouth-wateringly gorgeous man wearing a harried expression and carrying an empty cat-carrier. Tai can’t help watching as Mr. Gorgeous heads off into a hallway – and then reappears, the carrier now full of yowling grey cat. To Tai’s surprise, the man approaches him and introduces himself as Emmett Moore, the local vet – then asks him if he’ll keep an eye on the animal while he goes to the bathroom. Which is how Tai ends up dissing crappy boyfriends in conversation with a huffy feline.
Emmett is pretty much run ragged between running his practice and caring for his ten year old son Leo. His wife was killed in a car accident four years earlier, and he’s never really managed to get things back onto an even keel; a situation made worse by the fact that his receptionist has just quit, leaving him even more short-handed than he already was. So he’s relieved when Briar tells him he’s sending someone over who might be able to help out until Emmett can find a new receptionist – and then flustered when it turns out to be the beautiful young man with the cute accent he’s been fixated on since he left the bookstore. And that’s a can of worms he really wants to keep well and truly unopened.
There’s an instant spark of attraction between Emmett and Tai, but both men have their reasons for trying to ignore it. Tai isn’t planning on sticking around, and has just got out of an abusive relationship, while Emmett is a single dad and… well, it’s complicated. He’s always known he’s bisexual, but he’s not out; after he fell in love with his late wife – who knew about his sexuality – he never looked at anyone else and never thought he’d need to say anything about it. He hasn’t been seriously interested in anyone since Lu died, so he’s been content to continue to keep his queerness under wraps. Until Tai.
It isn’t just Tai’s looks that have captured Emmett’s attention, it’s everything about him; his vibrant personality, his sense of humour, his easy charm and intelligence – and the way he can be so brashly confident one minute and so quietly insecure the next intrigues him. But even though get on like a house on fire – they enjoy each other’s company and work together really well – both of them need to think seriously about next steps. Tai knows Emmett is nothing like Dion, but he needs to make his own way on his own terms, which might mean taking a bit of time and distance to make sure being with Emmett is what he wants; Emmett has to work out how to tell his son that not only is he dating someone new, but that he’s dating a guy. He hasn’t deliberately kept the truth about himself from Leo, but in the wake of their grieving and putting themselves back together after Lu’s death, Emmett… just hasn’t got around to it.
The romance between this unlikely pair progresses quite quickly, but it’s so superbly written and developed that it never feels rushed or as though any steps have been missed out. The chemistry between them is off the charts and there’s a definite opposites attract vibe going on – Tai is a force of nature, Emmett is quiet and considered – but somehow they’re each exactly what the other needs. Tai has spent most of his life feeling like he never measured up, and then his ex really did a number on him, seriously denting his self-esteem and sense of self. He’s used to being thought of as just a pretty face and nothing else, but Emmett quickly sees the kind, gentle man beneath the layers of brittle snark and doesn’t let him get away with talking himself down. Giving Tai the chance to work at the clinic makes him feel useful for the first time in ages, and Emmett provides the support Tai needs in order to re-locate his inner strength and to move towards realising his true potential. In return, Tai brings vitality and colour back into Emmett’s life, making him realise he’s just been going through the motions and that it’s time to start living again for real, that he deserves more in his life than work and a kid he’s crazy about – a loving relationship and to be proud of who he is. One of the things I absolutely loved here is the way Emmett is so sure of who and what he wants; he might not have had a relationship with a man before, but he knows himself, he knows what it feels like to fall hard for someone, and once he’s in, he’s ALL in.
Jay Hogan’s inimitable sense of humour, her talent for creating strong, relatable characters who are easy to fall in love with, and her ability to achieve a superb balance between light-hearted snark and thoughtful introspection make Unguarded a fantastic read in every way. Tai and Emmett are complex and fully three-dimensional, with real-life problems that are dealt with in a believable way, their romance is funny, tender, sexy and emotional, and Emmett’s relationship with Leo is just lovely. There’s a strong secondary cast, including Emmett’s colleague Ivy, who is wonderfully forthright and won’t let him get away with anything and Jasper, a friend who is also a widower (his story is coming soon in Kate Hawthorne’s Daybreak). You’ll laugh, you’ll tear up and everything in between; Unguarded is a contender for my Best of 2021 list, and I’m more than happy to recommend it.
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Grade: A
Book Type: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 06/05/21
Publication Date: 05/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
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I had this on pre-order and it landed last night while I was finishing up something else, so it’s my Thursday Night Read. I’ve loved everything by Jay Hogan and (since I’ve not read everything else in the V&V series) am not concerned about repetition of premises. Let’s face it, repetition of premises is a building block of romance publishing. They are called tropes for a reason. :-)
Re: multi-author series: world-building is HARD. If someone who’s put a lot of time into it, and has had some success with a given fictional setting, wants to see more stories in that setting but can’t (for whatever reason) devote the time zirself, I can totally see why they might open it up. The branding for the V&V series is well-done and helps distinguish the fact that these are all Not Straight Stories. Without knowing what parameters the outside authors were given, or what building blocks (timeline, map, character chart – I assume all of these) I’d guess the world originator is probably applying a fairly light guiding hand.
I was told the authors were given fairly free rein – the Vermont setting was the only real stipulation.
Nice. :-) The multi-author series concept is a huge gift to the lesser-known writers who are invited to participate. Automatically puts Sarina Bowen in the ‘righteous’ category for me – boosting other writers and their visibility is a good and kind thing.
I’ve loved the previous books that I’ve read by Jay Hogan, particularly Off Balance, and this one does sound interesting, but I’ve been holding off getting involved in this series.
I struggle to understand why authors who have created successful ‘worlds’ of their own would want to write in another author’s ‘world’. It must be very constraining and perhaps contributes to the repetitiveness that others have mentioned.
I’m still undecided about whether I’ll go for this one or not.
I suspect that for some of them – and perhaps especially the m/m ones – it gives them greater exposure to a wider audience.
I was told by one of the authors involved that they were actually not constrained at all; they weren’t told which characters they could write or what stories they had to set up; the only constant had to be the Vermont setting. I imagine there was some collaboration between some authors who have used certain characters in common, but from what I understand, there were no edicts from above!
I thought Sarah Mayberry did a terrific job of blending the True North world & characters into SWEETHEART (which is published by Sarina Bowen’s Heart Eyes Press, which is also publishing the Vino & Veritas books, but is part of a different series called The Busy Bean). Of course, Mayberry is a very good writer and she & Bowen have collaborated on books before, but I felt the merging of Bowen’s universe with that of Mayberry’s story was handled seamlessly.
Yep, Busy Bean is one of the other mini series set in this world. There’s also Moo U (which is NA) and Speakeasy, which I think is launching at the end of June. It’s quite a sprawling project!
After reading the post that Manjari linked to, I guess you’re right that greater exposure is the driver as so many authors wanted to take part.
I’m so new to reading contemporaries that I hadn’t realised that Sarina Bowen was such a big name – I’ve read more of Jay Hogan and Garrett Leigh’s books!
I wondered if authors might enjoy being able to do something different from whatever series they are on. Like if they have stories running around in their heads sometimes and no place to fit them into their own worlds. Who knows! :-)
Since none of the books build on each other, you can still jump in and read this book as a standalone. If you want some introduction to the Vermont town, I’d recommend Roommate by Bowen, which kind of finishes her True North series, and it’s a good book.
I think there’s one more True North book to come: WAYLAID, which is scheduled for publication in July. It’s Daphne Shipley’s story and, if I’m reading the synopsis correctly, the hero has amnesia.
I’m still not sure if I’ll go for these as I feel no particular draw to the Vermont setting. My problem is that if I get started on them, I’ll probably have to read them all!
I think most will also be available in audio, too – Heartless by Garrett Leigh is already out (I liked the book – I gave it a B+, but won’t be going for audio as I’m not wild about the narrators). Annabeth Albert’s Featherbed is out later this month (I just got my review copy) with quite a few more (including this one) coming out in June. The setting isn’t something I’m especially bothered about and it isn’t obtrusive. So far, this and the Leigh are my favourites, although I decided to split my ‘reading’ between print and audio, so I still have some to catch up with
Here’s a link to a post on Sarina Bowen’s blog about the world of True North. It doesn’t touch on the various authors’ motivations for writing in a new world but rather Ms. Bowen’s perspective. I found it interesting. There certainly was a lot of interest by other authors as less than 20% were accepted!
https://sarinabowen.com/blog/2021/2/19/your-questions-about-the-world-of-true-north-answered
Thank you, I found that post interesting too. 250 applicants, wow!
That doesn’t surprise me. Sarina Bowen is an auto-buy author for many contemporary romance readers, along with Vi Keenland, Penelope Ward, Lauren Blakely, etc. It’s huge business now. I’m on a couple of the FB sites (mainly for audiobooks) and I don’t get the impression a lot of these readers visit traditional review sites much and instead are active on FB groups to share books and new authors. I can see new authors wanting to draw in this group of readers would scramble to be able to write a book in Bowen’s popular setting, and be promoted on the author’s website and FB groups. There are four series being set in this world and a lot of Bowen’s fans are going to read them because of her.
This sounds fun. I’ve not read anything by Jay Hogan except a couple of short stories, so this might be a good place to start. I’ve read reviews you’ve written for several books and I’m excited to give them a try.
I admit I shake my head at the idea that someone wouldn’t take a few minutes to pack a suitcase and secure funds before traveling, but it does seem to be a relatively popular trope in contemporary novels. I’ve read several with some variation of this in the past year.
Yeah—storming out of the house with nothing but the clothes on your back? I don’t think so! I’d stick around at least long enough to dump a pot of water on my boyfriend’s head!
Also, this set-up sounds so much like the one in Sarina Bowen’s ROOMMATE (which introduced the Vino & Veritas universe): a person running away from an ex, homeless, broke, freezing cold, and in need of a job & a place to stay. I know there are only so many ways to get MCs together, but two almost identical premises in essentially the same series within a few months of each other seems a bit overdone.
There’s at least one more in the series (which is around 18 books in total now, I think) that uses a similar premise. I think that because all the books are coming out in quick sucession, it’s probably more obvious than it might have been had the releases been more spaced out.
I was thinking the same thing!
I enjoyed this too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get on board the Tai-train. He doesn’t have ANY friends in Boston? After living there for three years??!! We know about ex-Dion and we know about his family in New Zealand. THERE’S NO ONE ELSE? And yet he makes friends with nearly every person he meets in Burlington? And they all want to help him? I liked this character, but I struggled to simply go along with him winding up in Burlington w/only Briar and Emmett (and their friends) to support him. STRUGGLE BUS.
Iirc, it was the same in ROOMMATE: Roderick had been with his (closeted) boyfriend in Nashville for several years, but had apparently made no friends who could help him—but then he makes a bunch of fast friends at the Busy Bean, so obviously he doesn’t have difficulty making friends.
The no friends in Boston thing is touched on though; Tai naively (stupidly) left home for Dion, who then (and I read him as a classic abuser) deliberately stopped Tai having a job or friends of his own.
This is still the best in the V&V series so far IMO.
I just finished the book last night and I really liked it.
I didn’t have a problem with Tai’s dilemma. He wasn’t at home when he found his boyfriend cheating. They were at his boyfriend’s club. Tai’s car was there and he made an impulsive, emotional decision to get in the car and drive as far away as he could. It was dumb but he did have cash in his pocket as well as credit/debit cards (he had no way of predicting that his boyfriend would cancel the cards/accounts). I found it believable that he didn’t have anyone in Boston to turn to. He left his friends and family in New Zealand and it sounds like the only people he met in Boston were his boyfriend’s scumbag friends as his boyfriend persuaded him that he didn’t need to work. I agree with Caz that his boyfriend was a classic abuser and kept Tai isolated. Tai was also too ashamed and embarrassed to call his family for help.
As for people in Burlington willing to help him, this is where I think it helps to have read the previous books. I know they are all standalones but I decided to read them in order and am happy I did. For this particular book, it was really helpful to know Briar’s backstory (from Booklover, which I also enjoyed). Briar came from Massachusetts and had a period where he was homeless. I think this gave him a lot of empathy when meeting Tai, given Tai was also from Massachusetts and was obviously struggling. It felt realistic to the character that Briar would help him. I also had read the story of Cody’s father Jon in Aftermath (a book I liked but which dragged on a little too long in my opinion). Cody and his mother Ashley were really helpful to Emmett and it pleased me to understand how they were in exactly the right position to support Emmett and Leo.
One other thing I want to mention that I really liked was that at the end, Tai didn’t just pack up and leave town. He realized things were bad, that all parties needed space and time to think, and removed himself to a nearby motel plus kept in contact with Emmett. That is just so much more sensible and adult than I have seen in many romances where the same type of situation occurs. Shout out to Jay Hogan!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it – I think it’s the best of the series, so far. I honestly didn’t have a problem with the way Tai left either; as you say it was an impulsive decision which was maybe a bit dumb, but then impulsive decisions sometimes are!
What you say about the ending was something I really appreciated as well (although I had to keep the review spoiler free!). It would have been easy at that point to go for the big break up, but JH doesn’t do that and arrives at a sensible, mature solution which, I agree, doesn’t always happen in romance novels!
Yes, this is a standalone, so it’s a good place to start. Or maybe Off Balance, as that’s the first book in a series (and the second isn’t out yet).
I think I’d definitely take stuff with me if I was storming off, but then I don’t live in a romance novel! (I’m way too practical!!)
Haha! I’ve enjoyed the V&V stories, and it’s been a great way for me to get familiar with several new authors. Thanks!