Title: Waiting for Rain
Author: Susan Mac Nicol
Genre: Contemporary Romance with a Pole Dancing niche’
Length: Novel (280 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 24th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate to Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Tams & Cat
Blurb: The village of Stamford, the quintessential chocolate box English scene, seemed an impossible dream for foster kid Toby Prentiss. Now he’s found a home among the haystacks and village fairs as the general manager for the Duck and Drake Hotel. With the fears and demons from his youth hidden away in this bucolic oasis, he’s very protective of who he lets in. Until he stumbles across shirtless carpenter Rain Engel building the hotel’s new custom-designed bar.
Working in the countryside, Rain prepared to face his biggest fear: sheep. He didn’t expect to deal with his second biggest fear: commitment. Toby’s controlled, tough guy façade coupled with his “find happiness where you can” optimism calls to Rain like nothing before. While Rain may be an exhibitionist, his romantic history forces him to hold his emotions close. As their relationship develops, secrets from their pasts drive a wedge between them: the ex-boyfriend who tore apart Rain’s trust and Toby’s history with the law. But can the secrets hiding among the quirky villagers bring them together? With missing sheep, pole dancing at the winter festival, and a crippling drought, everyone is waiting for Rain.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4730
Tams Review: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
Toby Prentiss has been single for a long time, and he’s come to the conclusion that being alone is better than being hurt. He’s so wrapped up in his work that he doesn’t even realize his boss wants to be a little more than friends. Then he meets the charismatic and outspoken carpenter, Rain.
Rain Engel is building a bar for the Duck and Drake hotel where Toby is the manager. From the first day, that first meeting, the two have an electric chemistry that threatens to ignite and burn everything around them to the ground. They also share a very short fuse, a mutual disdain for the word trust and the inability to ask for or allow their friends to help when it’s needed. All this makes for a very explosive read.
Both men are hiding their past from the other, afraid that the truth would drive them away. But keeping their secrets is what’s driving a wedge between them, not the truth. Slowly Rain gains Toby’s trust and just as slowly, Toby peels back the layers that make Rain who he is. Chemistry is not the problem for these two. They can’t go much more than five minutes without lips on skin. Communication is what may prove to be their downfall. Or a lack there of. I said this recently for another review and I’m reminded of it again with Toby and Rain. “What we have here is a failure to communicate!”
Although I could see the ending of this story coming a mile away, Mac Nicol still did a fantastic job of painting the picture and conveying her story to the reader. There weren’t really any side characters either, except maybe the sheep. The secondary characters were as three-dimensional as Toby and Rain, and an integral part of the story. While I loved the inner workings of Toby and Rain’s relationship as it grew and unfolded, I also could have nipped one or two of them, “he slammed me against the wall while he shoved his hands….” Do NOT get me wrong, I love me some sweaty naked man on man sex, its f**king hot. But there is a thin line between wiping steam off my kindle and reading fifty shades of gay.
That being said, overall this was such a fun read. I blew through it in one setting. If you are a fan of hard luck stories, two stubborn alpha males finding their home, and LOTS of guy on guy action this is a must read for you. Oh, and pole dancing, as if the cover didn’t give that one away, it is a very erotic and well-written pole dance guys.
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews **
http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com
Cat’s Review: ♥♥♥♥ 4 Hearts
I love this title and cover. I also love this author and this book didn’t let me down.
Toby is hotel manager and has a rough background but has managed to make a respectable life for himself. He longs for love but after his past thinks it’s out of reach for him. Then he meets Rain Engel.
Rain is a contractor and does exceptional wood crafting. Simon the owner of the hotel has contracted him for a job to build a bar in the Fancy Duke and Drake Hotel. He is recuperating form a rough breakup that left him broken, devastated, and got him it no some trouble that makes him leery of relationships. He meets Toby the hotel manager and right away is taken with him. He thinks a good f**k-buddy wouldn’t be a bad thing while he is doing this job.
I loved that this story is in first person and both men’s views. I like being able to get into both men’s heads and feelings. I found the switchover very easy to follow. I found this story hilarious and loved how the humor breaks up and makes the angst easier. There is a lot going on in the story but I never got overwhelmed. I also loved both Rain and Toby a lot though I think I liked Toby even more since I felt I knew him more than Rain. I would have liked to have had a bit better feel of Rain and had more of his past like we did with Toby.
I thought this was an all-over good story with a touch of intrigue and super sexy. I loved the pole-dancing bits and could just see Rain on the pole. I had to go google the song Smoke and Mirrors.
I recommend this if you love a good romance, broken men finding love, good friends ,hot mansex and Pole-Dancing.