Series: States of Love
Author: Wendy Qualls
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht
Publication Date: August 2, 2019
Length:97 pages
Reviewed by Jenn
Synopsis
Love isn’t rocket science… or is it?
Julian Barlow has finally landed his dream job working for NASA. The catch? He has to move to Huntsville, Alabama—a daunting prospect for a gay pescetarian from Los Angeles who’s never been south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Fellow engineer Cody Ewing is an Alabama boy through and through, and Julian’s casual assumptions about the South in general and Southern homophobia in particular makes it dislike at first sight. Then NASA throws them together on a months-long project, and they have to make it work.
Forced to rely on each other, the two men develop a tentative friendship that becomes something more as Cody shows Julian Alabama’s good side. Julian’s insistence on secrecy and Cody’s hot-and-cold act could scuttle their chances before they ever get off the ground, though.
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Review
Rockets and Romance is the fish out of water tale about finding
everything you ever wanted in the last place you ever expected.
California native, Julian
Barlow, has dreamed of working for NASA, he just never thought he’d end up in Huntsville,
Alabama to do it. Julian is an out gay man and is very nervous about moving to
Alabama, he assumes no one will accept him. Julian definitely buys into all the
stereotypes about the south and shows up with a bit of an attitude. This
attitude doesn’t go over well with Cody, the man there to show him the ropes.
Cody has lived in Alabama for
years, his family moved there when he was a child. He works for NASA and has a
nice life. He is also openly gay and is treated with care and respect by his
colleagues. He and Julian definitely get off on the wrong foot, but after apologies
are made, the two try being friends. What begins as a day of showing Julian the
hidden wonders of his new home, quickly escalates to a passionate encounter. Cody
and Julian like each other, but Julian seems reluctant to live out in the open
with his feelings. This begins a slow burn relationship that we can see has
amazing potential…if Julian can get out of his own way a bit.
This was a very sweet read,
it’s comforting to need a character like Cody. He is so willing to lend a hand
at work, be a friend and be patient as Julian figures out what he wants. He is
full of charm and really is the whole package. I loved seeing his more laid-back
approach next to Julian’s easily ruffled feathers. Don’t get me wrong, Julian
is very likable, just a bit high strung. Coming together with Cody and opening
himself up to his new home will be the things that help make Julian discover
mot just his dream job…but his dream life.
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A few of the best books I read in July are The Fire by May Archer, A Breath Apart by Christina Lee, How to Run With Wolves by Eli Easton and Maz Maddox's Stallion Ridge series.
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