LOVER OF BOOKS

The Secret by May Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really sweet and hot read, one I thoroughly enjoyed. May Archer has built a completely contained and believable world within the real world here in O'Leary. Her writing style is crisp and clean and she is pretty darned good at the one liners, puns and zingers lemme tell you. The plot was a little formulaic but May embraced the tropes and made them really fun to read.

I admit to being enthralled by main character Constantine Ross. He's someone I can relate to in that he hides behind humor and cheekiness when faced with adversity - and he's had a lot in his life. His attitude is his armor and he wears it proudly. Underneath it all is a tender heart that's been bruised so often he no longer recognizes his own self worth. Sure he's the pretty boy and the good lay but he's so much more and he's forgotten how to be anything but what the people around him perceive him to be.

Enter Micah Bloom - sort of rival business owner to Con's family business. Micah is straight laced, by the book and in complete control of everything. He got over a decade on Constantine and has a plan, an ambitious plan that puts him in direct competition with Ross Landscaping and Florals. He sees Con as a cocky little troublemaker who breezes through life and doesn't have a serious bone in his body... until he overhears a conversation that slaps him upside the head and makes him realize there's so much more to Constantine than a pretty face. And he _recognizes_ the pain he hears in Con, the disappointment, far too well. Except he'd become Mr. Buttoned up tight and responsible instead of cocky and self-deprecating. They were far too similar for Micah's peace of mind. and Constantine was far too fascinating for Micah's libido.

Sparks fly as the two men try and find a happy medium between their Romeo and Romeo blooming romance and their family business drama. There's misunderstandings and secrets aplenty that end up blowing up in their faces but they find their happy ever after in the end.

Like I said, a bit formulaic but oh my goodness, such a fun read. This story made me smile. It made me sigh. It gave me fluffy bunny feelings along with some smoking hot loving. Plus there's that whole May/December thing that I do love.

Definitely a great read.

**Arc provided by author through LesCourt Author Services for an honest review**

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