Summary:
A hook-up app serial dater. A Valentine’s bar crawl. A day that will change their lives.
Carter Walsh will be alone on Valentine’s Day, and his plans include a candy sampler of hook-ups. But once he learns about the Cupid Crawl—a bar crawl covering a half dozen bars, both gay and straight—he decides on a change of plans.
At the first bar, Carter meets Harry, a divorced dad coming out later in life, and he’s far from impressed. Harry’s definitely not the type of guy Carter would ever swipe right for. But as the Cupid Crawl hops from bar to bar, the two seem to naturally gravitate toward each other, and before he realizes it, Carter’s succumbed to the magic of Valentine’s Day and ditched the hook-up app to spend all his time with Harry.
The Cupid Crawl is a funny, sweet, and steamy opposites attract, divorced bi-sexual dad, slight age gap story that takes place in the Williamsville Inn series world, and features characters from the Christmas stories Snowflakes and Song Lyrics by Hank Edwards and Snowstorms and Second Chances by Brigham Vaughn.
The Cupid Crawl is, plain and simple, a rom-com that will delight from beginning to end. Is this the kind of romantic comedy you might find on Hallmark? Doubtful. To be honest, Cupid is way better than just another Valentine's Hallmark-y cliche. "Carter the Farter" is hilarious and yet you can just feel Carter wanting the ground to open up and pull him under when it's announced in public where he's hoping to find some meaningless hook-ups. You can't help but be in equal parts laughing and wanting to wrap him up and tell him it was long ago and nobody cares.
As for Carter, well at times he's a hard pill to take but he quickly gets sucked into your heart and just want him to find his HEA. In Harry you know he just might find that HEA if everything aligns, okay you know they'll find each other to be more than just a hook-up but it's the getting there that is where all the fun lies.
I can't help but feel the more I say the less fun I make it sound, that the story appears to be cliche and formulaic and it isn't so I think I'll just end with pushing the point that The Cupid Crawl is a delightful holiday gem. So whether you read this as a Valentine's story or as a romance later in the year, you won't be sorry. I should also note that I have not yet read Hank Edwards' Christmas entry to the Williamsville Inn series but I don't feel lost in any way, is their a question of Carter's friendship with Will? Maybe but I wasn't lost, I didn't feel that anything was missing.
RATING:
Summary:
A pastry chef nursing a broken heart.
A single dad who made the biggest mistake of his life.
One guest room to sleep in.
When Adrian Cobb arrives in New York to help his brother move, he comes face to face with the worst decision he’s ever made—ghosting on a baking conference hookup a year ago. Now, he’s sharing a guest room with Ajay Sunagar, who looks as tasty as the pastries he bakes, and Adrian desperately wants to prove he can handle the heat this time.
But although the attraction’s still there, Jay makes it clear he isn’t ready to forgive and forget. As they spend more time together, Adrian begins to wonder if Jay would rather make him grovel or cover Adrian in frosting and lick him all over.
Will Adrian’s delicious treats and a little Valentine’s Day magic be enough to sweeten Jay’s mood and convince him he’s worth a second chance?
“The Cupcake Conundrum” is a sweet-treat story about a single dad, instant attraction, and falling in love all over again that takes place in the Williamsville Inn series world. It features characters from Brigham Vaughn’s "Snowstorms and Second Chances”, along with "Snowflakes and Song Lyrics" and “The Cupid Crawl” by Hank Edwards but can be read as a standalone story.
This book has sat in my Kindle library for months and unfortunately went unread. Then as February started I was looking for Valentine's Day reads when I remembered The Cupcake Conundrum and decided it was the perfect time to give it a go. I was not disappointed, not that I thought I would because Brigham Vaughn has yet to write a story I didn't like.
The Cupcake Conundrum is another sweet, fun, delightful holiday read for a holiday, that despite the romance genre, gets rarely used for a setting. As I said, this is a fun read but there is more drama("drama" may be a bit strong of a word but the easiest so I'll stick with it😉) than in Hank Edwards' Valentine entry to the Williamsville Inn series, The Cupid Crawl, but you still find yourself smiling when you ride along on Adrian and Jay's journey right from the beginning. There's more than a few times I'd love to bang their heads together till they communicate better but you have to give the heroes a few hurdles to overcome.
As always, this is a spoiler free zone so I'll just stop here before my fingers get to talking too much. I'll just end by saying, The Cupcake Conundrum will not only make your face smile brighter and your heart pound faster, it will probably leave you hungrier more than once(how can you not be with a title like The Cupcake Conundrum?😉). A real romantic gem and another winner from the heart of Brigham Vaughn.
RATING:
The Cupid Crawl by Hank Edwards
Vic, the organizer, led the way, squeezing past the men and women standing in the doorway and forging a path for Carter to follow. At first, Carter thought he was way overdressed. The men he slid past were shirtless, some wearing just white loin cloths or even cloth diapers along with feathered wings strapped around their broad chests. These men gave him a brief glance, maybe a quick smile, but were busy talking to each other or women who were also baring a lot of skin. Didn’t these people realize it was February in Boston?
When he reached the bar, Carter was relieved to see people wearing shirts and pants instead of just diapers and short shorts. Vic leaned in over the bar and said to the bartender, “Don, this is my good friend, Carter. Put his first two drinks on my tab.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Carter insisted. “I have money.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Carter,” Vic said. “The first two drinks are on me to help you relax. I’m going to make a round of the bar, but when I return, I hope to find you talking with someone, and not just leaning on the bar all alone.”
“I know how to socialize,” Carter said.
“Oh, I’m sure you do.”
Vic winked again before threading his way through the crowd, greeting people as he slid past them. Carter ordered a beer from Don, and then fished a couple of singles out of his wallet for a tip. He lifted his bottle to salute Don and had just taken a swig when a piercingly high voice shrieked from just behind him. The sound startled him so much he choked on his beer and started to cough. He turned, coughing and sputtering, and squinted through his tears at the woman standing behind him.
Auburn hair done up tall, bright green eyes that could be nothing other than colored contact lenses, a pert, upturned nose, and a broad mouth filled with teeth laser-whitened to solar flare level.
Carter’s heart stuttered with surprise and dread as he struggled to clear his airway.
“I saw you walk in and had to come over and see if it was really you!” she exclaimed.
With a final clearing of his throat, Carter managed a smile and said, “Lizzie. Hello! What a treat to see you.”
Lizzie’s smile widened even further and she crossed her arms. It was then Carter noticed she wore what looked like a sports bra with a pair of white wings strapped to her shoulders, and a sheer white shift around her waist that showed off a pair of black panties trimmed with lace.
“As I live and breathe,” Lizzie said with a shake of her head. “Carter the Farter.”
The Cupcake Conundrum by Brigham Vaughn
“Jay?” Adrian said hoarsely.
“Adrian.” The blood had drained from Jay’s face, making his normally rich brown skin tone look almost chalky. But he looked every bit as handsome as he had when Adrian had first seen him a little over a year ago.
“Wait, you two know each other?” Seth’s voice snapped Adrian out of the daze he’d been immersed in.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Jay said. His jaw was clenched and he’d gone completely stone-faced. The warm brown eyes Adrian had loved looking into as Jay fucked him sent an icy shiver down his back now. Double shit.
“What? How?” Seth asked.
“The baking expo!” Adrian blurted out. Seth blinked at his loud tone, and Adrian winced, then cleared his throat. “You remember that international baking expo I went to last year?”
“Here in New York? Yeah. I was mad because you said you were going to visit me while you were here but you punked out on me.”
Adrian had punked out on him because he’d been in bed with Jay. He just hadn’t mentioned that part to his brother. He’d never mentioned Jay at all until today.
“Yeah, you’ll apparently never let me forget it either.”
“Nope. But so … what does that have to do with Jay?” Seth’s puzzled expression smoothed out. “Oh, you met there, huh? Well, that makes sense. Cool. What a small world!”
“Yeah, sure is,” Jay said with a scowl as he brushed past.
Hank Edwards has been writing gay fiction for more than twenty years. He has published over thirty novels and dozens of short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romance, rom-com, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy. He has written a number of series such as the suspenseful Up to Trouble, funny and spooky Critter Catchers, Old West historical horror of Venom Valley, and erotic and funny Fluffers, Inc. No matter what genre he writes, Hank likes to keep things steamy and heartfelt. He was born and still lives in a northwest suburb of the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, where he shares a home with his partner of over 20 years and their two cats.
Brigham Vaughn
Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time writer. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga. She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.Her books range from short stories to novellas. They explore gay, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.
To stay up to date on her latest releases, sign up for the Coles & Vaughn Newsletter.
Hank Edwards
Brigham Vaughn
SMASHWORDS / PINTEREST / SCRIBd / B&N
EMAIL: brighamvaughn@gmail.com
The Cupid Crawl by Hank Edwards
The Cupcake Conundrum by Brigham Vaughn
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