How To Hold a Hidden Pearl Rossingly Book #1
LGBTQ, Gay Romance
Nine Star Press
May 29, 2021
kindle
299
amazon
Dr Jay Sorrentino is getting married in ten days’ time to the girl of his dreams, so what the hell is he doing in a gay London club with a stupidly handsome stranger? As if calling off the wedding and alienating his friends and family isn’t enough, Jay also has to contend with starting a new job at a new hospital. So the last thing he needs is for the bloke from the club to be his prickly supervisor.
Dr Lucien Avery is a difficult colleague. He’s also the unexpected and reluctant heir to the vast Rossingley estate. Reclusive and miserable, he hates most of his colleagues, people who eat packed lunches, and supervising junior doctors. That is, until the delectable Dr Sorrentino turns up on his doorstep.
A light-hearted M/M contemporary romance, Rossingley takes place in Southern England and is centred around a fictional country house and estate by the same name. The first in the series, it can be read as a standalone.
Review by Xanthe
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This is my first book by Fearne Hill and I am looking to reading more of her work after enjoying this story so much.
Lucien and Jay are such different characters who come together when both are in need of comfort and support. Lucien keeps everyone at arm’s length, giving him quite the reputation at the hospital where he works, but Jay’s warm and caring nature is hard to deny, as is the attraction they have together ever since an, (at the time) anonymous, hookup weeks previously.
Discovering that Lucien is to be Jay’s Educational Supervisor comes as quite the shock, especially as Lucien is the only person who knows that other side of Jay. Aside from starting his new job, Jay’s world has fallen apart after calling off his wedding and meeting Lucien, getting to know him, gives Jay an outlet, a place that he can be himself and not worry about everything else.
The pain from both men, Lucien especially after losing his family months previously, is palpable as I read the story. I was drawn in right from the start and loved all aspects of it. There are several sides of Lucien to fall in love with and Jay has a lot to deal with in the life he doesn’t want anymore; friends and family who don’t know why he called off the wedding, still sharing a home and financial with his ex-fiancé.
It’s a lot to weigh on a person and he feels guilt for a lot of it and Lucien is where he gets to let go of that, him being the only person to truly understand him. Their relationship development is interesting and I like that time was taken with everything, both physical and emotional. Whilst this is quite an emotional story, there are still light-hearted moments, my favourite being towards the beginning of the book and Jay getting ridiculously drunk and Lucien looking after him.
I cannot recommend this enough. There is drama, heartache, love and heat all working together to bring two men their much-deserved HEA. Please ensure you read the trigger warnings.