Title: The Architect & the Barista
Series: The May/December Promenade: Book Two
Author: Caraway Carter
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 278 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: The Architect & the Barista had some really good moments. The storyline was exciting and suspenseful, and the romance was realistic and sweet. However, for me, the novel just needed a bit more polish and smoother transitions for it to be outstanding.
Reviewed By: Sammy
Blurb: A hot-shot architect. A burly barista. A second chance they didn’t see coming.
Thomas Drake has never been a relationship guy. And he’s sure not looking for his next hook-up when he stops by the Brass Lamp for coffee, and he can’t keep his eyes off the hot older guy pulling espresso behind the counter. But Brodie has secrets he’s not ready to share, and he doesn’t have time for a sexy young workaholic, no matter how much the air crackles between them when they get near each other.
Before they can figure out how to break down the walls around their hearts, though, they’re going to have to deal with a vlogger with a grudge, secrets forced into the open, and a stalker ex. With their lives thrown into turmoil, Thomas and Brodie are going to have to decide if what they are working on is worth the fight in the end.
Review: Thomas Drake is a bit of a user. He tends to make other men a conquest that, once achieved, he dumps just as quickly. He has convinced himself that he simply doesn’t do relationships, but the truth is he is scared of trusting another person with his heart, and his answer to that is to be an unfeeling jerk who uses men to his own end. Life is just that uncomplicated for Thomas until he has an affair with the wrong guy. Kyle seemed like a nice man, one who tried to act confused and naïve but who, in reality, came on to Thomas first and was a class-A manipulator who turned out to be a stalker as well. Not realizing how dangerous Kyle would turn out to be, Thomas got rid of the guy, and fast.
While Thomas is nursing his ego and deciding to go solo for a while to avoid any more dreadful complications with exes, his interest is captured by the burly barista behind the counter at his favorite coffee shop. Brodie James has a secret or two that also hides a hurting heart. A past relationship had left him with more than one problem, and he hasn’t dated since. Despite Thomas being younger than Brodie by several years, the two are definitely attracted to each other. However, Kyle is not finished with Thomas, and his life is about to explode—the fallout will not only nearly destroy Thomas but Brodie as well.
There is a lot to be said about this second novel in Caraway Carter’s May/December Promenade series. The Architect & the Barista is technically a standalone, but there is an entire group of friends that surrounds Thomas, and it would have been helpful to have read the first story in this series to get an idea of how they all fit together, I think. Nonetheless, other than the nagging feeling that I wish I knew the group a little better, the story did stand on its own and didn’t rely on too much backstory in order for it to make sense.
First, let me say that the transformation Thomas undergoes to being just Tommy was believable and lovely to read. He goes from being a real ass and nasty guy to one who you are rooting for by the end of the novel. Brodie is an excellent foil to Thomas and a key influence on making the man become the Tommy that Brodie loves and cherishes. While there was way too much discussion about Tommy wanting to be Brodie’s “boy” and the idea of Daddy/boy relationships, I breathed a real sigh of relief when the author chose not to really pursue that dynamic. Instead, it was acknowledged that what Tommy really needed was a man who would make him feel protected and safe—one he could relinquish control to emotionally. Brodie was that guy in spades and considering his own past, it was just as wonderful to see Brodie become more confident in the relationship as it grew.
Domestic abuse and stalking is not a joke, and the author is careful to treat both subjects with skill and care. Kyle is a nightmare, and the author takes great care in creating the character with enough realism that you believe everything Kyle does and are horrified as you watch the guy unravel. Character development is a strength for this author, and he gives us men who are genuine and flawed and creates a story that brings out the worst and best in them.
Unfortunately, there are also a few very real problems in this novel that kept me from giving it high marks. One is the seeming lack of transitions that often left me feeling as though I had missed some connective tissue that would help make sense of a shift in the story. I felt as though we frequently jumped from one emotion to another in the story, making it hard to capture the mood immediately and leaving me wondering if I had misread something. I must also hearken back to these friends of Tommy’s, particularly Law and Curtis. They made such intimate and blunt comments to Tommy and assumptions about his motives, often appearing to know how the guy thought and what prompted his actions—it was disconcerting to say the least. It was as if they knew some secrets about Tommy that no one else did, and it made me feel like I really needed to go back and read that first novel to find the connections.
The other plot point that left me a bit confused was the way that both Brodie and Tommy treated Kyle’s ex-fiancée. Suffice it to say that she went gunning for them both with some scathing and hurtful accusations, and they just let that fly by and seemed more interested in apologizing to her and getting their message back on point. I’m sorry I cannot elaborate this point, but to do so would give away too much of the plot and so I will leave it here by saying I thought she deserved much worse than she got from these guys. The resolution between the three of them just felt forced and unrealistic.
The Architect & the Barista had some really good moments. Who doesn’t love characters who change and grow and fall in love? The storyline was exciting and suspenseful, and the romance was realistic and sweet. However, for me, the novel just needed a bit more polish and smoother transitions for it to be outstanding.
You can buy The Architect & the Barista here:
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