Title: Between the Frescoes
Series: N/A
Author: Kay Berrisford
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 149 pages
Publisher: Loose Id (September 9th, 2014)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5 Hearts
Blurb: UK grad student Mark is taking a huge step in his life. After years of suffering from anxiety and depression, he’s summoned the courage to travel to Florence and give his first public lecture. Distraction from his nerves comes in the unexpected form of Doug, an American guy who sweeps him up into a whirlwind romance on the journey to Italy. But after a scorching one-night stand, Mark discovers Doug is not just a fellow student, but a fierce rival, and everything falls apart.
Doug is studying in Europe, but his commitments are back on the other side of the Atlantic. He’s attracted to Mark yet soon decides Mark’s hang-ups and competitiveness are more than he can handle. The idea of a holiday fling sours further when he hears his younger brother has gone missing. He just wants to get home to Minnesota and be with his mom.
But the magic of Italy keeps pulling Mark and Doug back together. As the passion between them rises, they must find a way to put aside their enmity and help each other through their troubles —a difficult journey, even in the most romantic city in the world.
ISBN: 9781623004958
Product Link: http://www.loose-id.com/between-the-frescoes.html
Reviewer: Kenna
Review: I enjoyed the hell out of this book. The blurb was intriguing to me. I love the whole enemies to lovers trope. I also love stories that are short, sweet, and to the point. Boy meets boy. Boy likes boy. Boy and boy get hot and heavy. Boy has issues with boy. Boy and Boy make up. So, “Between the Frescoes” made me a very happy woman.
The summary is pretty simple. Two men meet in an airport and discover they’re heading to the same conference in Italy. Mark has been holed up doing nothing but pursuing his advanced education. He’s written a paper about his research he’s quite proud of.
One of the reasons he’s closed himself off from the world is his depression, anxiety, and sadness over a humiliating review of his work several years back. He bears a hatred of this man, but he’s decided it’s time to get out in the world. Doug is heading to Italy to present a paper about HIS work as well. He feels an instant connection with Mark, just as Mark felt connected with him.
They get to know each other a bit on the long flight, and by the time they get to Italy, Mark has offered to let Doug stay in the apartment he’s rented because Doug will be too late to get to his hotel.
The story really takes off from there. Mark and Doug are SO hot together. Their first makeout session was fantastic, and it only get better from there. Yes, there was the inevitable conflict, but the resolution came about quickly enough I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the angst. The background characters were well written and contributed to the book, rather than detract from it.
The bad guys were sufficiently bad, and the good guys (or girls) were awesome. Other than Mark and Doug, the best character was Italy itself. It’s obvious Kay Berrisford has been there herself, or at least done a LOT of research. Her descriptions of the locations were vibrant and detailed. I could close my eyes, and I could “see” in my mind what was happening.
All in all, this is an excellent read. As I mentioned, it was short and sweet. I read it in a little over and hour, and I was very satisfied with it.
I highly recommend you pick this one up.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *