Title: Powder & Pavlova
Series: Southern Lights Book One
Author: Jay Hogan
Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: MM Gay
Publisher: Self
Reviewer: Maryann
Get It On Amazon
About The Book
ETHAN SHARPE is living every young Kiwi’s dream—seeing the world for a couple of years while deciding what to do with his life. Then he gets a call. Two days later he’s back in New Zealand. Six months later his mother is dead, his fifteen-year-old brother is going off the rails and the café he’s inherited is failing. His life is a hot mess and the last thing he needs is another complication—like the man who just walked into his café,
a much older…
sinfully hot…
EPIC complication.
TANNER CARPENTER’s time in Queenstown has an expiration date. He has a new branch of his business to get up and running, exorcise a few personal demons while he’s at it, and then head back to Auckland to get on with his life. He isn’t looking for a relationship especially with someone fifteen years his junior, but Ethan is gorgeous, troubled and in need of a friend. Tanner could be that for Ethan, right? He could brighten Ethan’s day for a while, help him out, maybe even offer some… stress relief, no strings attached. It was a good plan, until it wasn’t.
The Review
I have read both books in Jay Hogan’s “Auckland Med” series and really liked them but she outdid herself with this new start for the “Southern Lights” series.
I was intrigued with both Ethan Sharpe and Tanner Carpenter’s stories as they both struggled and came to realize, somehow, someway they had to make decisions that were difficult. This is more than a story of a May/December romance. Tanner is much older than Ethan and I sympathized with him quite a bit. He not only considered but based some important decisions on the age difference of him and Ethan. He often has fears that even if he and Ethan had a chance at a serious relationship, Ethan would find someone closer to his own age.
Jay Hogan creates such a sweet, funny, and clumsy moment for Ethan when he first takes time to talk with Tanner. There’s also the moment when Tanner attempts the slops again. Ethan hates skiing but joins Tanner and he makes an attempt at skiing and it really brings out the support they both give to each other.
I found this novel to be a very well written and constructed romance novel that takes place in Queenstown, New Zealand with beauty and charming wintery moments. The storyline has a variety of emotional scenes; heartbreak, drama, humor, romance and special friendships. The emotions between Ethan and his brother Kurt were heart wrenching at times and my heart went out to both brothers. The beauty of this story, that really stood out for me was the physical relationship between Ethan and Tanner, it was just right, not so many explicit scenes and some just left to the imagination.
There’s a wealth of secondary characters: Kurt, Elle, Luce, and especially Adrian whose somewhat of a mystery. Tanner’s very interesting friend Stefan, who will be in the next upcoming “Southern Lights”, “Tamarillo Tart”.
I highly recommend this for everyone that loves an emotion filled romance novel.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights.
Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read. I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book! As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb peaks my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading. I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre.
Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended. But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
