Island House

Title:  Island House

Author:  Bru Baker

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  200 pages

Rating:  B+

Quad Shot of Love

Blurb:  Unable to move on after the death of his lover, British expat Niall Ahern clings to Nolan’s dream of living in the Caribbean by moving to Tortola. Once there, he finds that not even the beauty of the island can fill the hole in his heart. Broke and spent in nearly every way imaginable, Niall wants out of the lonely, miserable, guilt-ridden life he’s carved out for himself.

When Ethan Bettencourt, a wealthy tech guru, shows up in British Virgin Islands looking to purchase a second home, he gives Niall hope that he can move on. Both men fall hard and fast, but Niall finds piloting his yacht in the midst of a hurricane is nothing compared to weathering life’s simple misunderstandings. As their troubles come between them, Niall is left to wonder if he and Ethan are over before they’ve begun.

Review:  I really liked this one. There was a little bit of unnecessary drama that stemmed from misunderstandings due to a lack of communication, but overall it was a sweet and fun story.

Niall is so very sad when we first meet him. I wanted to give him a big hug, then a smack, then another hug. There is a quality of penance to his move to and life lived on this beautiful tropical island. Something has held him back from really embracing life since the death of his lifelong best friend and partner, Nolan. He is living another man’s dreams with little success or happiness.

Then he meets Ethan and it is like the sun parting the clouds after a long and seemingly endless storm. He feels full of life and certain parts of him wake up and take notice. Not just his libido, but pretty much all of him is engaged. Laughter, teasing, flirting, joking, anger and annoyance flood him in turns. He is alive, and even more importantly, for the first time in years he is living. It was marvelous.

Everything happens at once and both men are swept up in this whirlwind of fun, flirting, and danger. They go through a lot together in a very short amount of time. And both of them are freaked and completely smitten.

Then come all of the misunderstandings, miscommunication and just plain stupid. They each start to panic and overreact to everything. Which of course leads to more of the same. This was definitely smacking time for them both. Luckily they have some people in their lives who help them with this.

I had a really good time with this book. There was a good level of angst and drama. There were a couple things that stretched the credulity of the reader, but not too far. It was sexy, romantic and fun, with some sad and achy. A very good read.

Reviewed by Nina