Thank you to Aria Wyatt, Sarina Bowen, Jenn Gaffney and the rest of the World of True North team for the advance reader copy of Afterglow, the tenth story in the Busy Bean series.
Read all my World of True North reviews here. Time for the final World of True North book!!
“I’m a numbers girl.
Or at least I thought I was, until my formula fell apart. Back home in Vermont, with my dream on hiatus, I’m working at the Busy Bean and taking online classes. As long as I keep my focus, I’ll be back in New York City next semester. Hopefully.
When Declan O’Shaughnessy storms into the café, all muscles and tattoos, wielding his sexy Irish brogue like a weapon, the only equation I can solve is one that lands me in his bed. Even more dangerous, is my growing affection for his cherub-faced little boy.
But Declan has complications of his own. He’s cagey, but I’ll win him over.
Yeah, about that focus… mine is all on him. Can we have a harmless fling without getting hurt?”
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: Our female protagonist is Solana. Solana gave up a scholarship to a university in NYC and decided to settle in Colebury for a semester. She plans on enjoying the slower pace of life and reconnecting with her brother. She is doing school online while working at the Busy Bean. The story opens with us nearing the anniversary of her parents’ death and she is still very much struggling with it. I really like her character and how the struggle was depicted. Our male protagonist is Declan. An extremely Irish, recovering alcoholic, single dad who is completely enraptured by Solana. He is such a caring man so I really liked him too.
- Setting: The story is set in Colebury, Vermont. Solana is settling there to enjoy the slower pace. While Declan is kind of stuck, as he would love to go back to Ireland. But his son James keeps him tied to Colebury. I do really love this setting though and I am gonna miss it. This was another great instalment when it came to incorporating Sarina Bowen’s characters that I love such as Audrey, Zara, Alec and May. I love the special role May played.
- Pacing: The pacing of this story was quite wild. When I thought I knew what was going on, I really did not. I was shocked by reveals multiple times. So I really wanna applaud Aria Wyatt for keeping us on our toes.
- Romance: I love how infatuated these two were with each other. The other thing that dictated the early parts of this relationship was Solana’s virginity. Delcan did not have the best initial reaction but it was because he wanted to do right by her. Wanted to ensure that for her everything was good and that he was the right one for her first time. Once they got into bed together, which was not too rushed which I loved. He was a gentleman and then when Solana did not want him to be he delivered. There was a scene with a tie that was so incredibly hot. This romance was much more than the sex though. They are dealing with a lot more roadblocks than an age gap and I loved how they fought so hard for each other.
Afterglow receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
Thank you again to Sarina, Jenn and the rest of the World of True North team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
