Title: Beneath the Surface
Author: Kate Sherwood
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (200 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 20th, 2012)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Blurb: When Peter Carr’s company sends him to Southwestern Ontario to sweet-talk the town into agreeing to a gravel quarry proposal, he welcomes the challenge. Technically he’s a lawyer, but really he’s a problemsolver. He just never expected the problem to be Caleb Sinclair, the passionate but introverted artisan carpenter who lives next to the proposed quarry site.
“Know your enemy.” That’s Caleb’s philosophy. And trying to turn fertile farmland into a gravel pit earns Peter the title of “enemy.” Caleb loves that land, and if he has to make peace with his homophobic neighbors to make war on Peter, so be it. Except knowing his enemy doesn’t turn out anything like he expected. Peter’s not the fairy-tale monster—he just might be the first step to happy ever after.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3162
Reviewer: Showme
Review: Kate made me cry again! Not the blubbering kind, just a little. But, the woman got me again! This is a sweet romance but for those of you who love the steam (I do too!) don’t expect much. The MCs are on opposite sides of a fight for most of the book, but Peter loves a challenge and winning over Caleb proves to be one.
Caleb refuses to leave his small town even after receiving a brutal beating after his coming out. The town has shunned him, but he doesn’t want to leave his grandparents land, the only place that’s ever felt like home. When a company buys the land adjoined his to dig for gravel, it puts his safe place in jeopardy and the town in an uproar.
Peter is a win at all costs lawyer for a big company. It’s his job to work over the townspeople and make sure the process goes smoothly for his employer. He’s not a bad guy and he likes to find a way to make people happy. Or does he enjoy manipulating people into believing their happy? This town is just like the others until one of the guys at the meeting, Caleb, doesn’t buy Peter’s charm and smiles. Caleb turns Peter’s successful schmooze session at a town hall meeting into a problem. But, Peter loves to solve problems and Caleb just made himself one.
I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable with the exception of one I particularly despised, but that was the point. I’d have loved these boys to give into their lust a little earlier in the story. Given the circumstances under which they meet, I guess it’s understandable how Caleb would be hesitant to give into the urge, even though Peter reminds him of the hunky Clark Kent. The epilogue is wonderfully sexy and playful.
I recommend this to readers who love a good old-fashioned love story.