Rustic Moment (Lily G’s Review)

Title: Rustic Moment (Rustic 3)
Author: Nic Starr
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 15, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 150
Reviewed by: Lily G Blunt
Heat Level: 3 flames out of 5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

The last few months have been tough on Grant Parnell. He discovered his boyfriend was having an affair and it’s taken its toll, both emotionally and financially. With his business facing ruin, Grant could lose everything.

Dave Monroe is excited to start a new phase of his life. He’s following his dream and pursuing an exciting career opportunity. When Grant visits his friends in the country and finds out Dave might be moving to Melbourne, he offers him a place to stay. For Dave, life’s looking good.

Dave had only met Grant a couple of times before moving in with him, but the simmering sexual attraction is undeniable. As he settles into Grant’s home, deeper feelings develop. It’s hard not to fall for Grant’s gorgeous exterior, but it’s the strong man underneath who captures Dave’s heart.

Grant always craved success. His business and his home are testament to just how far he’s come, proving his family wrong and making something of himself—or he had. Now everything is falling apart. As Grant’s world spirals out of control, Dave is the one sure thing in his life.

But if they are to have any chance at happiness, Dave will need to teach Grant what’s really important

I enjoyed reading the first two books in the Rustic series, and if anything, I enjoyed this one even more. There seemed to be plenty of ‘on-screen’ action between the main characters with them interacting and spending time together, so I got more of a sense of their relationship developing. Being set in Melbourne rather than Armidale made a pleasant change too. I was glad we still got to see some of the other characters from the previous stories. It was nice to know that Ty and Mac are still happy together.

I love the way Nic introduces two guys to each other who need to deal with past issues before they can move on and be happy together. Dave and Grant are definitely two men with very different personalities, although connected through their work in interior design. Dave crafts furniture from wood using his hands, whereas Grant uses his brain to design and organize the work for various interior projects. But when they are together those differences don’t matter. They just clicked from the start, with hardly any awkwardness.

Dave is a gentle giant. He’s the easy going, practical type, good with his hands, and very soon becomes protective of Grant.

Grant is a workaholic and slightly obsessed with material gains as a means of showing his success. Unfortunately, he is striving to keep his company in credit. His business is struggling because his treacherous business partner, Douglas, had stolen from the company. And to make matters worse, Grant’s ex boyfriend—John—cheated on him with said business partner. As a result, work contracts and his beautiful home are at risk. Grant could have thrown in the towel, but he perseveres to find a solution on his own. In addition to his professional misfortunes, Grant’s personal life isn’t particularly happy either until Dave arrives in Melbourne. Grant has an uncaring family, a particularly nasty and abusive brother, and not-so-nice nor loyal friends. Each pop up to cause more grief just when you think things are on the up for Grant. I particularly liked how both Grant and Dave deal with these people in later scenes.

To me as a reader, Dave and Grant appear the perfect match despite their differences. They start out as friends and get along easily. There’s sexual attraction from the beginning and their love rapidly grows as they spend time together. Both are a little reluctant to dive into a relationship because Dave is only staying in Melbourne temporarily while employed on a short term contract and Grant is worried about the fallout from his business nightmare. Dave supports him and is understandably hurt when he believes Grant fails to trust in him or lean on him for advice or support.

There’s some angst, mainly from outside elements, yet softly applied in Nic’s wonderful style of writing and all resolved very nicely. As always, I was greedy for these lovers to spend more time together, especially after they truly become a couple. I liked the epilogue and how it made both their relationship and future their own.

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