Secrets and High Spirits (Secrets, #4)

secretsTitle: Secrets and High Spirits (Secrets, #4)
Author: Lou Harper
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Release Date: October 27th 2015
Genre(s): Gay & Lesbian, Paranormal
Page Count: 170 pages
Reviewed by: Belen
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

Blurb:

Their love is an explosive cocktail—stirred, shaken, and served with a twist.

Secrets, Book 4

Teag and Bruce dream of opening their own bars, but that’s where the similarities end.

Teag, a popular bartender at West Hollywood’s hottest club, is willful, opinionated, and likes to take charge. He envisions his future bar as a boozy oasis for craft cocktails. Unfortunately, while he’s big on ideas, he’s short on funds.

Bruce, on the other hand, is a tower of pirate-tattooed muscle with a laid-back attitude. While he’s good with people, he’s a walking paradox—a wannabe boss with a weakness for bossy men.

Their partnership is a natural fit, but every time they meet, sparks fly as they rub each other the wrong way. Or is it the right way? In the heat of the moment, it’s hard to tell.

Between renovation pitfalls, meddling friends, and miles of police tape, Teag and Bruce struggle to keep their venture—and their budding relationship—from going up in flames. And not the good kind. More like the one on the top of a B52 shot.

Warning: Contains a whipcord-lean and whip-smart bartender who knows what he wants—and how hard he wants it—and a go-with-the-flow bar manager who secretly likes to be told how hard to give it.

DNF at 63%

I gave this a good shot but I cannot continue. I have absolutely no connection to the characters. Bruce was okay, but so laid back it was as if his personality was muted and Teag’s defensiveness and prickly exterior just never lightened up. I kept waiting for their “romance” to heat up…or for them to have more of a conversation than a few words…neither of which had happened by the 63% mark.

Once you add in a mysterious previous owner of their building from the sixties, a possible ghost, a cocktail shaker buried under the floorboards, a body in the bar, and…just…what?

Huh Confused

Perhaps it’s that this is the fourth book in a series I’ve never read? Even though we are assured this is a standalone novel I never felt like I was in the loop. I didn’t feel like I really got to know the group of secondary characters and how or why they were there.

Bye Now

I think readers of the series will enjoy this and catching up with the characters they already know and love. As a new reader I just felt like I was never really brought into the fold.

Not recommended for new readers.


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Advanced Review Copy

Advanced Review Copy generously provided by Samhain Publishing, Ltd. in exchange for an honest review.

Plot
Chemistry
Pacing
Ending
Editing
OVERALL
Fans of the series may love this installment, but newbies might feel left out. Recommended for lovers of the series, but not recommended for new readers.
, DNF, Lou Harper, , , Secrets series, Slow Burn

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