Title: Two for Trust
Series: Dreamspun Desires 34
Author: Elle Brownlee
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (252 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (15 May 2017)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥ 3 Hearts
Blurb: A fairy-tale vacation—if he can get the ending right.
American nurse Finch Mason steps beyond the comfort of his orderly life and takes a dream trip to England, complete with a National Trust Pass so he can visit numerous historical sites. At the first one on his list, he’s warmly welcomed—and told he bought a pass good for two.
Finch doesn’t hesitate to offer the pass to Benedict, a handsome Brit also there on an outing. They spend a magical week touring the countryside, and while it’s too soon to get attached, Finch wishes their time together would never end.
Then Finch finds himself stuck abroad with no money, and he has no one to turn to but Benedict. Benedict is happy to help, but he also owes Finch some answers—such as who he really is and why he was at the estate where they first met.
ISBN: 978-1-63533-153-0
Product Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/two-for-trust-by-elle-brownlee-8405-b
Reviewer: Prime
Review: I’m racking my brain to figure out if I’ve read anything by Elle Brownlee before. Suffice to say I still can’t remember and so I went into this one with a completely open mind. The only thing I was expecting was the OTT drama and romance – though for some stories it is more difficult to suspend your disbelief than others – is what I’ve come to expect with the Dreamspun Desires series.
Sweet guy with a tragic past, Finch, is on his dream holiday of a life time in England. A mix up in ticketing leaves him with a double pass for one week instead of one pass for two weeks. Handsome Englishman, Benedict, happens to be at the National Trust Site Finch is visiting when he finds out this information and Finch happily invites Benedict to take on the second pass. However, this being a romance fiction, it is all too obvious that there is more to Benedict than meets the eye. After the week finishes Finch feels he is ready to part ways, though there is a definite spark between the guys. But when all his belongings are stolen, Finch has no one but Benedict to turn to – which is where he learns the truth.
OK, I really did enjoy reading this book, I truly did, but I didn’t fully connect with the characters. I think the one thing that irritated me and took away my enjoyment was that I was trying to figure out who leaves their valuables in a hostel – why not keep them on you? Seriously, that was one thing that I couldn’t suspend my disbelief for. There isn’t a lot of hot and heavy romance (in fact there was no sex), which I would expect from a love at first sight sort of trope, but it was nice to see the guys get to know each other for a week before getting all angsty. For this reason I think that while there was a connection between Benedict and Finch, it wasn’t really strong and needed more development.
If you’re into sweet, old fashioned and very English types of stories, this might be your type thing. For those that hate insta-love (and I know there are lots of you), you’d probably do best to stay away from this one, particularly since there is no actual sex going on as well (I personally find insta-tolerable in even the worst cases if there is hot sex).