Genre: Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Trans FTM (Romance is Trans man/cis woman)
Reviewer: Whiskey November
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About The Book
A little bit of struggle sweetens the fruit.
When Mia Torwood’s husband Tom buys a winery on a whim, she decides to make the best of it. But when he dies of a heart attack during their first grape harvest, Mia is left grief-stricken. She also finds out that the winery is in debt and she must replace her indispensable vineyard manager, Jose.
All Cal Sanders wants is to grow grapes and make great wine. When an opportunity arises to manage a vineyard on the central coast of California, he jumps at the chance—happy to get away from his transphobic, small-minded conservative town. He just wants to live the life he’s always wanted to, as the man he’s always been.
As Mia and Cal navigate the challenges of running a winery, they encounter a disgruntled employee, unravel an extraordinary mystery, and find a deep connection growing between them that takes them both by surprise.
The Review
If you are in the mood for a cis female + trans man slow-burn romance set on California’s Central Coast and loaded with winery nerdery, look no further. CRUSH is all of that.
The setup: male main character Cal arrives for an interview with female main character Mia, owner of the winery. She’s been running it on her own for a year, since the untimely death of her husband.
As a starting point for a romance, this presents two conflicts right off the bat: an employee-employer relationship, plus grief. We soon learn that Cal is trans, another potential conflict.
By allowing the relationship to grow (some might even say organically) over time, while Mia and Cal are working together and learning about each other, L. Dreamer avoids tiresome miscommunications and assumptions. Mia is a few years older than Cal, but both are in midlife: this, again, helps avoid tripping hazards often encountered by younger protagonists.
There is competence porn galore, as well as experimentation and discovery. The parallels between workplace and the bedroom are subtle but clever: these two can be good together physically because they already know how to work together.
Mutual respect, attraction, tolerance, patience, courtesy, and kindness: a mature relationship to applaud. On top of that, mutual support allows both characters to expand into their new roles.
I had a few minor quibbles on editing, and the prologue may set the wrong tone for some. However, I was pleased to read CRUSH and to recommend it.
The Reviewer
Whiskey November is an urban professional with close family & friendship ties to the LGBTQ+ community. She supports the work of GLAAD, Broadway Cares, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, among others. She reads in excess of 250 books a year (romance, mystery, science fiction, history, and memoir) and is a self-published writer of contemporary and historical romance.
