This was such a great installment in the World of True North. The story was heart-achingly beautiful like I bawled like a baby through this one. Plus if you are a sucker for animals you are gonna love Unguarded.

Check out all my World of True North Reviews here.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis…

“Another rollicking Vermont romance is coming your way!

I fled Boston, and my cheating jerk of an ex, with three hundred dollars and a lip gloss in my pocket. Waking up the next day in Burlington, Vermont, with a crick in my back and a frozen ass hadn’t exactly been my plan. If there was one. Which there wasn’t. Story of my life.

Three hours later, I’ve somehow got myself hired as temporary help in the local veterinary and grooming clinic. I might know zip about animals—but I do know I’m crushing on the sexy, absent-minded vet I work for.

My life is a hot mess, and the last thing I need is another relationship. Emmett pushes all my buttons, but he isn’t out. He’s overwhelmed with a business to run and a son to look after and the kind of domestic life I never thought I wanted.

I should walk away. But Emmett believes in me, and I’m beginning to believe in myself. As different as we are, is it possible we’re exactly what the other needs?”

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…

• Characters: Tai is your classic flamboyant gay man, but he is a little broken inside. He is fresh out of a toxic relationship and what Tai needs is someone sweet and swoony; to sweep him off his feet. Enter Emmett, the local veterinarian and a single father to a ten-year-old. His wife died in a car accident some years ago and he has been struggling ever since. Emmett has known that he is bisexual for quite a while, he was out to his wife but had never told his family.
• Setting: Naturally the story is set in Burlington, Vermont where Vino & Veritas is located. Tai’s first impression of Vermont is the bar & bookstore and it was so wonderful to see the boys take him in and help him find work with Emmett. Emmett is the vet so we spend a lot of time at the vet office which was great because there were so many cute dogs and cats. Being the vet brought with it some awesome side characters like their coworker Ivy who was their biggest champion. She was such an important mother figure to both of them especially to Emmett as he was navigating when to come out. The other great character was Jasper, he and Emmett have a little bit of history but really Jasper is feeling lost after the death of his husband. I believe his story is coming from another author in this series and I cannot wait to read it.
• Pacing: The pacing was pretty great and I was surprised at how much this book surprised me. I do not know if I just let my guard down about any sorta sinister plot points because I was reading a contemporary romance. But I guess I did. And so all the twists and turns surprised me from time to time.
• Romance: I just adored how Tai and Emmett fell in love. Their love languages are definitely acts of service because so much of their journey was associated with falling in love while working together and helping each other. These guys just made me cry so much because they were both so deserving of happiness after all the suffering they had gone through. The best scenes took place when they were forced to stay overnight at the vet and I do not want to spoil that for you but damn all of that pulled on my heartstrings.

Unguarded receives four out of five stars.

You can pick up the story below…

https://geni.us/AmazonUnguarded

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

The post Jay Hogan’s Unguarded ARC Review appeared first on ClaryNathanWill.