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A review by ccgwalt
Tamarillo Tart by Jay Hogan
4.0
I enjoyed Tamarillo Tart from the beginning and even though I had some quibbles about the pacing, I continued to enjoy the story all the way through. It's a fairly low angst read even with some tense moments . The main characters are fun and likable, and the few side characters add both tension and interest to the story.
We met Stefan (Stef) in book 1, Powder & Pavlova, as Tanner's best friend in Auckland, giving Tanner some dubious relationship advice and wondering how in the world anyone can live anywhere outside a big city. Ethan, Tanner's boyfriend, gifts Tanner and Stef a weekend horse trek though the area where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. Stef being a bit of a LOTR fan decides he willing to endure dirt in order to see those sites. Tanner has to bail out at the last minute, but Stef decides to try it on his own. I have to admit I'm not sure I understand this, since he is really terrified of horses and doesn't like dirt...like at all. But, I went with the set up.
Cassidy (Cass) is the owner of Martin Stables Tours and is amused and intrigued by his new client. It's not a spoiler to say Cass isn't as straight as everyone assumes, and the interest sparks between the two men early on.
The pacing issues come quickly as several early scenes feel elongated? padded? It's difficult to describe. In basically the first scene of the book, Stef is on the phone with Tanner and Cass is waiting. But while the banter between Stef and Tanner, and then between Stef and Cass is amusing, the whole phone call scene goes on for pages with Cass continually telling Stef he needs to get going. Then a few scenes later Cass is getting the horses ready and talking to Dee, the woman who provides provisions, and again, the scene goes on for a longer time than necessary. Then the scene where he's coaxing Stef onto the horse...and so forth. Several times scenes just seem to circle back on themselves a few times before there is forward motion.
But even with the pacing issues and a few horsy details that made me shake my head, I really did enjoy the book! I really liked the characters and I needed a fun escapist read.
Spoiler
like when one character is seriously injuredWe met Stefan (Stef) in book 1, Powder & Pavlova, as Tanner's best friend in Auckland, giving Tanner some dubious relationship advice and wondering how in the world anyone can live anywhere outside a big city. Ethan, Tanner's boyfriend, gifts Tanner and Stef a weekend horse trek though the area where The Lord of the Rings was filmed. Stef being a bit of a LOTR fan decides he willing to endure dirt in order to see those sites. Tanner has to bail out at the last minute, but Stef decides to try it on his own. I have to admit I'm not sure I understand this, since he is really terrified of horses and doesn't like dirt...like at all. But, I went with the set up.
Cassidy (Cass) is the owner of Martin Stables Tours and is amused and intrigued by his new client. It's not a spoiler to say Cass isn't as straight as everyone assumes, and the interest sparks between the two men early on.
The pacing issues come quickly as several early scenes feel elongated? padded? It's difficult to describe. In basically the first scene of the book, Stef is on the phone with Tanner and Cass is waiting. But while the banter between Stef and Tanner, and then between Stef and Cass is amusing, the whole phone call scene goes on for pages with Cass continually telling Stef he needs to get going. Then a few scenes later Cass is getting the horses ready and talking to Dee, the woman who provides provisions, and again, the scene goes on for a longer time than necessary. Then the scene where he's coaxing Stef onto the horse...and so forth. Several times scenes just seem to circle back on themselves a few times before there is forward motion.
But even with the pacing issues and a few horsy details that made me shake my head, I really did enjoy the book! I really liked the characters and I needed a fun escapist read.