Consequently, what we get is an authentic story purely based on developing a relationship between two emotionally complex men who have secrets and burdens they are afraid to put down. There’s a little bit of friends with benefits, but it’s really more in the background rather than a plot driver. I could continue down the list of tropes and you’d see that this story just doesn’t fit in any of those “buckets”. There’s no age gap, nor are they opposites or grumpy/sunshine. They’re not friends to lovers, nor are they enemies to lovers. There aren’t any machinations or forced circumstances like fake boyfriends. Jamie and Briar are both out and there’s no gay homophobia at play. Turns out that Jamie and Briar are huge lovers of romance and happen to have the same favorite author. Jamie, a voracious reader, joins the book club. Briar works in the V&V bookstore and has just started a romance book club/discussion group. Jamie and Briar are two college-aged men who meet at Vino & Veritas, the titular fictional, inclusive bookstore/wine bar located in Burlington, Vermont, set in Sarina Bowen’s True North world. Instead, we just get a straightforward story with emotional complexity, a little action and suspense, and a whole lot of two guys getting to know and trust each other, and falling in love. The book really doesn’t rely on any of the typical M/M romance tropes as part of the premise or drivers of the story. Actually, it strikes me as a departure from M/M romance books in general. Birk’s Booklover is a departure from the other books in the Vino & Veritas series so far.

Sometimes, though, it takes two heroes to write a new ending. But Briar’s past was bound to catch up with him. Soon they’re turning pages long into the night. When Jamie joins Briar’s romance novel book club, they both feel an instant connection. And that includes a gorgeous farm boy with soulful eyes and too many obligations. But Briar knows not to trust anything or anyone. He’s got a great job at a bookstore, and he lives in a city that puts maple syrup on everything. So the last thing he needs is distraction in the form of an irresistible bookseller with a mysterious backstory.īriar Nord has a lifetime of experience proving that happily-ever-afters only happen in his favorite books. He’d rather be reading than milking, but he can’t let his family down…not the way his brother did. Jamie Morin’s college GPA drops every time a cow breaks through a fence, but he’s determined to get his degree and keep his parents’ Vermont dairy farm afloat. Soon they’re turning pages late into the night… Two guys meet over a stack of romance novels.

Booklover by J.E. Birk