Thank you to Laurel Greer, Sarina Bowen, Jenn Gaffney and the rest of the team at The World of True North for the advance reader copy of Turnabout, the ninth standalone in the Vino & Veritas series.

It is time for the next batch of Vino & Veritas books, the LGBTQIA+ romances in The World of True North universe. Now its time for a second chance romance filled with sweet heroes, a meddling family, and lots of stationery.

Check out all my World of True North Reviews here.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“Auden and Carter are the swoony heroes I didn’t know I needed in my life! Turnabout is spectacular, and everyone should read it.” USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen

I don’t have time for an unplanned visit home to help out in my father’s struggling letterpress shop. My stint in Vermont will have to be short, for a couple of reasons:

One, I’m a busy executive trying to climb the corporate ladder.

Two, my ex is still my dad’s right-hand man in the shop. And I am not over him.

Nothing has changed at the Burlington shop. Auden still has his infuriatingly sexy Scottish accent. He’s still hot, and still stubborn. Between operating the antique press with his shirtsleeves rolled up, and moonlighting at Burlington’s hottest inclusive wine bar, he pushes every one of my attraction buttons.

My falling-in-love-again buttons, too. Except I’m his polar opposite. I love change, and taking chances. Everything he avoids in life.

So why am I trying to convince him to reach for more than we’ve ever dreamed of—the possibility of forever?”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Carter Prescott and Auden Macarthur are the main characters of this second chance romance. Carter has been living his life in Montreal having left Burlington to work for a big company north of the border. He left behind Auden in Burlington. Auden works for Imprescott Designs, Carter’s father’s stationery company. Carter is forced back to Vermont when his mother leaves his father and Mr. Prescott chases after her all the way to Paris. When I found out Auden was working for his ex’s family I thought he must be a glutton for punishment, when in reality they continued to treat Auden as part of the family even once he and Carter ended things. Auden and his mother are immigrants to the states and it really comes across in his character as he is extremely hardworking and values the education he got to have. Carter has a similar work ethic but he almost takes it a step too far. His fatal flaw was that he worked too hard and had sacrificed his personal happiness because of it. This is a story about finding happiness in life and not using work as a crutch to fulfill yourself.
• Setting: The story is set in the sleepy town of Burlington, Vermont. Vino & Veritas does get its time to shine in the story as Auden picks up a few bartending shifts there during the week. I enjoyed the scenes there as over the course of the story Carter kept finding himself stumbling in to see Auden and enjoy a beverage.
• Pacing: Obviously as a second chance romance Auden and Carter have a rich backstory, so much of their college life is illuded to. There are not any formal flashbacks or anything like that and I thought that really fit the vibe of this story. This book is about their relationship getting a second chance, about its future and not its past.
• Romance: The boys had electric chemistry. They sure struggled to keep their hands off each other once they collided. It is a perfect second chance romance as it really showed how sometimes it’s all about wrong or the right timing. Just post-College was not the right time for Auden and Carter to be together, but now 5+ years later the stars are aligning. I loved the various cheerleaders their relationship had, especially Carter’s Aunt and her partner. They were two of the best characters and the meddling just pushed the boys back together in a beautiful way. Plus it gave us an overnight stay in a hotel room with only one bed, and who doesn’t love that. Overall, a really great romance in the World of True North universe.

Turnabout receives four out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

https://geni.us/AmazonTurnabout

Thank you again to Laurel, Sarina, Jenn and the rest of the team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!