The Librarian's Rake

Reviewed by Jenn for Diverse Reader

This is a story of opposites attracting with a bit of a twist! Tristan and Phillip couldn’t be more different at first glance, but that’s what makes this book so much fun!

Tristan is a librarian and a bit stuffy, his last boyfriend broke up with him for being too boring. He is very handsome and very sweet, I think he is quite perfect. You can tell Tristan wants to let loose and have fun, he just needs the right incentive. In walks that incentive in the form of Phillip.

Philip is a hair stylist who tends to spend a lot of time on his knees. He lives by the “catch and release” motto when it comes to dating. He hasn’t met anyone to make him want more and then he meets Tris.

Tris wants Phillip to teach him how to have fun and how to be more adventurous. Philip takes Tris under his wings with a new haircut and new clothes. Philip also begins to see that Tris doesn’t need to change because Tris is so special. I love the fact that Phillip understands that he's the one changing, Tris is making him more. While Phillip is scared, he can’t deny his librarians hold on him. As these two become closer, it becomes more obvious how alike they really are.

This is such a sweet and fun book with a lot of sexy too! I loved Phillip and Tris together so much, I just kept thinking how much they fit. The good boy who wants to be bad and the bad boy who needs to be good. I loved their chemistry and their honesty with each other. Such a good read and one I know I’ll read again!

“Grandfather matchmaking fantasies aside, a quick round of sex was all there could ever be between them, and something told Phillip that Tristan wasn’t that kind of guy. Whereas Phillip was. He was strictly catch and release… usually in his mouth, and he was gone before he swallowed.”

‘The Librarian’s Rake’ is my first read by Z. Allora and I can easily admit to enjoying the writing style. Seeing as I have quite the soft spot for a bad boy, I figured Tristan and I would see eye-to-eye fairly easily. I had a feeling Phillip was going to be a tough nut to crack, for both of us.

Tristan has a very solid reason for holding his fantasies in check even though the two boyfriends he has had in his life both ended it with him because Tristan is boring, never wanted to do anything fun, and was unimaginative about sex. His reason is a very good one but I was hoping, against hope, that Phillip would be the man to give Tristan the security and safety he needed to let go. Phillip, on the other hand, isn’t boring in his sex life - he’s just too afraid to risk anything more - although that certainly isn’t what he tells himself. Tristan is too afraid to take the bull by the horn and Phillip is too afraid of only being seen as an easy time.

I really enjoyed the fact that the author took the story in a direction I wasn’t expecting. What I was anticipating, and the author wrote it very well, was the miscommunication between Tristan and Phillip. Neither man feels good enough for the other, so practically everything they say to each other is misconstrued, and within their own minds simply reinforces the belief that the other could never be interested in them in “that way”. Thank goodness for meddling grandpas with a lot of common sense, way too much free time, and best friends who only want what’s best - with a lot of snark from one of them. The fact that Phillip is constantly trying to keep any tender or heartfelt emotions out of the way so his walls don’t crumble, and Tristan is trying desperately to be the “oh so suave man about town (or sex)” that he believes Phillip wants, doesn’t help the situation.

I adored my first venture into this author’s writing and ‘The Librarian’s Rake’ won’t be the last of hers I ever read. Tristan and Phillip are wonderful characters and I greatly enjoyed their slide into love and a happy ever after.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

I received this advance copy for an honest review but I have alao bought a copy for myself. I am an avid reader of Z Allora and I love her realism in her books and this one has more . . Philip and Tristan are both people who deserve a happy life but they have issues that keep them from living a happy life. They are able to help each otherwirh the help of their grandfathers and friends overcome and understand their issues. They learn to be a better self with each other and be happy. The story does srart a little slow but it picks up and is very enjoyable. I do hope that we do see the grandfathers story and catch up with Philip and Tristan in the future. I know that this is Z Allora's first adventure in this style of writing and I hope she continues to grow in this area also. I am looking forward to her next book!

Tristan is adorable and has been very unlucky in his past boyfriends.
Phillip is a bad boy in his own imagination, more likely he’s also been unlucky and his reactions are different.
Together these two are so much fun and very readable. There are also charismatic secondary characters, Monique and Chris are great, but the stars of the show are the Grandads.
I totally enjoyed this mainly feel good romance and by the end I did.

*Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.*

Phillip is supposed to be a bad boy hairdresser on a motorcycle who has no interest in relationships. Tristan is a librarian who is said to be boring and bookish. When the two first interact, Tristan is more a stuck-up snob. Their grandfathers seem to be developing a relationship and decide to push Tristan and Phillip together. The biggest problem these two men have is themselves. They have very set in stone notions about themselves and will have to grow up and come out of their comfort zones.

This novella was a little slow going, and I wasn't really a fan of either character. The grandfathers in this story seemed more interesting, and I would have loved to follow their story. ;) As I've said many times, novellas are difficult in my opinion. You have a limited number of pages to introduce characters and a relationship, especially when the two MC's don't have any prior knowledge or interaction with each other. For me, I would have liked more character development and relationship development and less time spent on getting naked **gasp**. Tristan did have his hang-ups in regards to sex, but I'd think those could have been fixed with the build-up of the relationship and getting to know each other. I just didn't get what I needed from the characters to have an invested interest in their relationship and where it was going.

This story was 123 pages and a quick read. The grandfathers in the story definitely were the highlight for me, just because they had so much orneriness on the page. I wish I had felt the same way for Tristan and Phillip! Tristan and Phillip did find love, so this had a HEA ending.

Rating: 3.5 stars