Babe in the Woodshop

Lots of Self Doubt to Wade Through
Both of these men have similar ideas and are on the way they are making choices that work for them. Yet there is so much self-doubt they are battling. It comes from different places it still colors their new relationship. It was good to see them finally work through their angst.

***Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press in exchange for a fair and honest review***

Corporate man Bell was raised in a high-performing family that is all about succeeding. The goal is to make the most money, have the corner office, have the perfect spouse and appear to have it all. Bell decides he's had enough from his high-stress job and long work hours non-life and walks away from everything. When his car runs out of gas in front of a pizza store looking for help, he decides to stick around and live life as a pizza delivery boy. In looking for a place to rent, he meets Chris, the property manager for the apartment across the street from the pizza place. Chris also left the corporate world behind and now owns a custom furniture shop. Chris is flirtatious and full of innuendo. Bell doesn't really leave his corporate life behind as he soon starts offering marketing service to various businesses in the community and setting up an Etsy shop for Chris. He does work to not allow his marketing to take over his life again, though. His relationship with Chris is slow going and they both have to work with several different issues.

I enjoyed Bell and Chris' story. This story is a little slow paced in the first half, not necessarily in a bad way but definitely slow. The second half picked up and a lot happened between Bell and Chris and everything surrounding them. I really loved the innuendo and humor in the book. Honestly, there were times that Bell took notice of Chris' innuendo and it had completely gone over my head (that's not common)! There are several scenes that discuss the items being sold on Etsy, which is funny! And I may, or may not, have looked to see if there really are items like this on Etsy. Read the book so you know what to check out for!

This is sweet, low-angst book you read to escape your daily life! And really ends with a HEA and a little reforming of Bell's family.

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Morningstar for Diverse Reader

I freaking loved this story! The characters in this story were cute, funny, and full of sass and snark. One of my favorite things in stories is humor and Bell and Chris both have it in spades.



“Chris’s ears went red. “I can’t believe I did that in your parents’ house.”

“Me neither. Teenage me is fist-pumping right now.”



Bellamy Alexander, otherwise known as Bell, gets tired of the rat race and never seeing the sun so he bails on his Junior Consultant job in the big city and just drives. Where he lands is Pineville, a small town where everyone knows everyone and the new guy is a novelty. Oh and of course once you live there you never want to leave, or so they say. Bell is young and decides the life his parents and siblings live where it's all work and no play is not what he wants. He wants to experience life and have time to relax. One thing leads to another and he finds himself a pizza boy at Antonio’s, living upstairs from a woodshop and it’s sexy owner, and sharing a bed with Lady Frances. He also isn’t used to subtly because in the big bad corporate world you had to be straight forward so when he finds himself dating super gun shy Chris McGregor, owner of Good Wood, it’s a whole new ball game.

Watching these two dance around each other was so much fun and created a high level of unresolved sexual tension especially on Bell’s end who is not used to taking things this slow. But he really starts to like Chris and doesn’t want to push the sexy funny man too far too fast. Who knew beards were his thing?



“His libido seriously needed to chill. If he was going to start getting hard every time he saw a pile of wood scraps, it was going to be a problem.”



Chris has had a bad relationship that caused him some issues within himself and those issues cause him to very cautious and keep Bell at arm’s length especially when it comes to sex. The whole story is told from Bell’s POV but even through him we get a true sense of who Chris is. He such a gentle guy, one that is meticulous in his woodworking as he is in most everything else. He is also a work alcoholic.

When I say their relationship was slow build...I mean it! Chris is very standoffish when it comes to sex and Bell doesn’t find out the reason until much, much later. But not all things are going so well for Bell; he still hasn’t told his mother about delivering pizza’s or his new boyfriend since he knows she would not approve. A family emergency sends Bell home where he is forced to confront things with his family. Will Chris and Bell survive the experience?



“Because”...”he’s the best thing in my life right now, and I’ll be really upset if you make him feel like he’s not good enough.”



There’s funny banter, awkward naked run ins, meddling best friends, a pushy mom who just wants what’s best, and that secret tote full of goodies that Bell finds in the apartments closet of Chris’s. I highly recommend this book because it’ll have you laughing and full of love.



“Please keep putting up with me.”

**3.5 Stars**
Babe in the Woodshop suffers from a really unfortunate title. In fact, the title almost persuaded me to skip it. BUT, the book is much better than the title promises!

When we meet Bell, he’s just run out of gas and finds himself in a small town with an interesting opportunity to start over. At first, it’s a bit disorienting as to what will actually unfold – but as soon as you get to know Bell a little bit more, you quickly like him. He’s just quit his high-paying/high-powered job because he was just DONE (haven’t we all been there before?). And has gone searching to find himself… which leads up to his current situation. While delivering pizza, he meets Chris and his radar is pinged for attraction. And what follows, is a cute falling in lust then dating story.

Some things to note about this book: It was a fun and fast read – I enjoyed it, and would have rated it even higher, but as a whole, the plot line came across as hokey in many places – and not fully developed, from a character’s point of view. For example, Bell just made a huge life change – and he had literally zero angst about it. As someone who has done exactly what he did, I can’t even imagine there weren’t any crisis moments there. Also, I really liked Bell and Chris, but they seemed to come together almost because there were no other options in their small town. That wasn’t actually the case, and it’s even mentioned in the book as a joke, but it rang a bit true at some moments. Essentially, it felt like the authors were holding back in the development area – they created a light and upbeat love story, which is awesome don’t get me wrong, but wasn’t quite as believable or emotional as it could have been.

If you’re looking for a light and quick love story read, between two “normal guys” – then this is a great book for you!

*Review Copy of Babe in the Woodshop provided by Dreamspinner Press to Alpha Book Club for an honest Review.*