Rules to Love By Bed, Breakfast, and Beyond Series Book #4
Gay Romance, Gay Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction
Independent
June 6, 2023
Kindle
352
Amazon
Stepping into adulthood is hard enough when you have a family. But going it alone?
Marcus loses everything when his Great Aunt Iris dies. Not just the woman who raised him as her own, but his home and the Egg Basket, her diner where he worked. Lonely and grief-stricken, Marcus follows his friend to Griffon’s Elbow, desperate for a fresh start.
Eli has spent the last year avoiding telling his father he’s dropped out of college and has no intention of returning. He’s happy as a bartender, happy with his carefully arranged hook-ups, happy to spend as little time in Griffon’s Elbow as he can.
Then he meets a hot man who pushes all his buttons. But Marcus is hurting and in desperate need of a friend…or maybe something more.
One date, that’s all they need. So what if Eli has never hooked up after a first date. Or that Marcus never gets a second date after the sex is over. They can have dinner and work it out. A rule book would make things so much easier, but it looks like they’ll have to come up with their own set of rules to fall in love by.
Welcome back to Griffon's Elbow, found family, and the chance for two men to reinvent their futures with each other as their guide.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Another visit to Griffin’s Elbow and Oaks B&B aka Mildred where two more people will find love and the need that they hunger for. All the characters recur and so I would recommend starting with book one so that you are familiar with everyone and how living in Griffin’s Elbow changed their lives.
In book two we met Marcus, Tris’ best friend. When Marcus’ Aunt Iris died his uncle threw him out of the diner his aunt owned and the apartment, he lived in. With nowhere to go he went to the only person he had left in his life, Tris who was now living and working in Griffin’s Elbow. Marcus was always there for Tris and helped him to find his brother, which led him to a new life, a brother, a job at the
B&B and a lover who we had met in previous books, Ozzy.
All the characters in this series came from troubled backgrounds and have found a home and a family. Marcus is welcomed by everyone and given a room and food with no questions asked and no request for payment. Not wanting to be a freeloader Marcus takes handyman work and he helped at the B&B and now the barber has hired him to do some much needed repairs at his shop. The store is a mess, new shelves are desperately needed since they are being held on by a thread. Electrical work, painting and trying to organize supplies. Eli the barber’s son has offered to assist especially inventorying the hair supplies which are numerous, apparently when it becomes difficult to find something they just order more.
Eli is dyslexic so he can only assist in separating items that belong together and counting them. It didn’t take long before Eli and Marcus started getting close and Eli is able to help Marcus when he begins to get so flustered that he can hardly breathe. Sex is something they both would welcome but Eli has rules, no sex till after three dates, and when he has sex, he makes an arrangement it is never spontaneous.
Marcus has a different problem after sex he throws up. These two men have no idea at first how much they need each other to help them get over their fears.
With encouragement from all his friends Marcus begins to consider going after his uncle to return to the diner and his apartment. A will would make everything easier, but no one knows if there is one and he can’t get into the diner and his aunt’s apartment to search for one. Marcus is about to learn that the people of Griffin’s Elbow are always ready, willing and able to give a helping hand. He has found what he has always been missing support with no desire for repayment.
This was a series about people in need of help and a shelter for LGBTQ+ that is in the works hopefully giving kids a roof over their head and a chance for a better life, a life where they don’t need to sell their bodies, sleep in alleys or eat out of dumpsters. Most of the characters in the books are amazing and I couldn’t help loving them. Jake, who is autistic, always has someone to look after him and know what triggers an event. Lucky, who loves being around people and is always there when someone needs a helping hand, the owner of the B&B Kreed and Lucky’s boyfriend is always there with a good meal for anyone needing one. Tris, who has found his soulmate, Ozzy, who although older gives Tris whatever he needs to come to terms with his new life and having a family.
I mentioned the main characters but there are so many supporting characters available whenever someone needs something. The characters were the reason I loved this series, and I must give credit to Mildred who uses doors, windows and any other house function to show her likes or dislikes, so cute.
This book has surprises, sex, romance, betrayal and a WOW ending.