It was a Good Samaritan thing gone horribly wrong.
She heard two men talking about killing some poor guy named Alastair. She only wanted to warn him--to save his life--but she soon found herself embroiled in his mess.
He might be drop dead gorgeous. She might be forming a real attachment to his dog. But is any man worth this?
Running for her life with a truly delicious hero, the help of his seven equally yummy brothers and one adorable dachshund named Jaws? Okay, maybe he is worth it.
USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Sam Cheever writes mystery and suspense, creating stories that draw you in and keep you eagerly turning pages. Known for writing great characters, snappy dialogue, and unique and exhilarating stories, Sam is the award-winning author of 100+ books.
A Honeybun and Coffee was free on Amazon so I thought I'd give it a try. It started off well. I was in the mood for something lighthearted, and after reading a few pages, I thought this was just the thing. It started off with a couple of cute lines. I immediately liked the characters. I was intrigued.
By the 20% mark, the book began to drag. There wasn't enough depth to keep the story going. Instead, the author led us through one chase scene after another, with little differentiation between them other than the location.
The main problem, however, was the implausible storyline. The hero witnesses something which makes him the target of hired hitmen. The heroine comes to his aid and becomes embroiled in the whole mess as well.
The two leads decide not to go to the police - a decision which bothered me through the entire book. Rather, they enlist the aid of the hero's seven brothers. One of the brothers has a girlfriend who is a detective. Once she learns of the case, she also decides that it's best not to take this to the police. They persist in trying to handle the case themselves even though they are outsmarted at every turn. And each time they actually are safe, the leads do something stupid like sneak away from the safe house to go to the mall.
The brothers appear numerous times throughout the story but never long enough to make us care for them. We learn little about them other than their occupations and a few embarrassing childhood stories. I suspect their inclusion was merely a setup for future books. And that would be okay. I love series! But it would have been more successful if the the author had concentrated on just a few of the brothers and fleshed them out more. As it turned out, they only served to find new places for the leads to hide, or to conveniently save them after the latest fiasco.
I would also like to have had more intimate time with the hero and heroine. They were always running or being interrupted by one of the brothers. When they did have time alone, their conversations were anecdotal. They never really connected. It was like watching two strangers on a blind date.
The story needed real conflict and greater character development.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My Review: This was a crazy, fast-paced introduction to a series with EIGHT brothers. The romance was sweet. The crime solving was hectic and absolutely not by the book. But the men are sexy and the women forgive them. Full review coming on the blog.
Yes, eight brothers and they are all sexy and have their own book. So, if you like this one, you have lots more reading to do! This bro is named Alistair, "Stair" for short. He's 6'2" and well muscled with red hair and a dachshund named Jaws. He's tired of the singles scene and doesn't like going to Hooters with the guys.
Angie overhears the threat to his life while accidentally trapped in the men's room of her coffee shop. She's a good doobie and she's trying to warn him his life is in danger. It takes him a while to really accept that she's serious. In the meantime, trouble has arrived. Share the ride from his place to safe house to apartment, family home, and army base before the bad guys finally bite the dust. Each brother gets to step in and lend a hand, too! Angie and Alistair find some time for hot, steamy sex in all of this, as well. Though the scorpion sort of spoils the mood.
This was a really fun read and I look forward to reading the brothers' stories. So why isn't it a five-star review? Well, I wanted to slap Angie for chewing her fingernail all through the book. That's a really nasty habit. Okay for a secondary character, but not for your main female character. Plus, I got tired of the really corny names - Cinnamon Parker, Bones & Louie, Mr. Bigg, Mr. Bratz and Private Jeeves. But it's a twisty plot of who done it - keep your eye on the relatives! And a really great introduction to the Honeybun family, which seems to go back a generation or so, be full of great looking men, and bake good chocolate cake. Yes, I recommend this book!
A Honeybun and Coffee was a Book Bub offering. This is my honest review for which I am not being compensated in any way. All opinions are fully my own. ~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review
This offbeat romance is a little hard to classify. At the core, it's suspense with our heroine, Angie, pulled into danger when she tries to help a stranger. There are a fair number of plot twists and lots of action to keep it exciting with enough relationship development and steamy bits to definitely meet the 'romance' criteria. That the hero goes by the unlikely name Alistair Honeybun and Angie runs a coffee shop are the setup for more than one moment of silliness. And there are plenty including a great cast of secondary, most the eccentric alpha males of the Honeybun clan. Yes, this is definitely a series featuring Honeybuns. (Come on, you know you're thinking it). Fun, light-hearted, romantic and well-paced, this is a great diversion and perfect when for when a little laughter is needed with the read.
Bland. No substance. There was no depth. Every action was 'go, go, go.' There was not a moment to really connect to the characters. I wanted a cute, romantic, suspense but this had poor execution. Did not work for me. You may love it. Disappointed since I loved the premise.
I liked the start but then all the POVs and add-ins made for an overwhelming plot line that went here, there, everywhere. Lots could've been cut out. Found several editing errors as well, along with a lot of repetition. Was hoping things would be fixed as the story went on, but the pacing dragged. Could've been a great read had it gone through some further developmental editing.
I wanted to like this. But it just wasn't for me. The plot felt forced, and the main characters seemed ridiculous at each situation. I might try again but for now it's 2 🌟.
With the ladies room in her coffee shop temporarily out of order, Angie pops into the men’s room and in a stall she over hears two men come in and then discuss how they have to kill a man called Alastair Honeybun to make sure no witnesses remain. Remain to what Angie wonders and then realizes she needs to warn Alastair honeybun, who she supposes is an ancient Englishman based on his name. She finds him in the phone book and rushes to his house to arrive only a few minutes ahead of the two men. And he is not an ancient Englishman! They escape on his motorcycle and thus begins a very exciting adventure! And Alastair has a number of brothers who all chip on to help he and Angie escape and finally solve a mystery and catch the killers. I look forward to the rest of the series.
This book was OK. I had a difficult time getting into it and found some of the plot points a little hard to believe. I don't think I'll continue with this series.
DNF at 45%. Not for me. I had higher hopes for such but though the writing wasn't bad it just didn't keep my attention. Snagged it as a freebie on Amazon.
Angie Peterson is minding her own business, (The Dunk and Run coffee shop) when she takes a restroom break. Having to use the men's instead of the ladies due to a plumbing problem. She overhears two guys talking about killing someone because they saw something they shouldn't. She finds his address and before she can leave she is running for her life with this stranger who she just wanted to give a warning to.
Pros: This is a fun fast paced story with well developed characters, lots of humor, and plenty of suspense. Cons: There is a bit of unbelievability in the first scenes where Angie and Alistair Honeybun need to escape. There was no satisfactory solution as to how the bad guys knew where Angie and Alistair were, even before they knew themselves.
Great contemporary read with an action plot. To sum it up in a phrase: No good deed goes unpunished...
Angie Peterson takes a break from the counter of her coffee shop and has to use the men's room due to plumbing problems. The person she asks to 'guard the door' gets busy and two men enter. Embarrassed, she hides her presence - only to overhear them planning to kill someone with the unlikely name of Alistair Honeybun.
Once they leave, she rushes to call the only listing in the phone book and finds him at home - sick with bad cold and in no mood for what [he assumes] is a prank phone call. He hangs up. She decides to go to his house to make him listen - she just can't face finding out about his death on the news. He listens this time and they're about to leave when the baddies show up - and now both of them are running for their lives. Make that all three of them, as they take off on a motorcycle that Angie is terrified of [and that's before he even starts it up], complete with Alistair's pet dachshund, Jaws, in a one-dachshund-sized pouch.
Along the way they repeatedly hide out and then are found and attacked by the bad guys, spend a lot of time trying to figure out why someone wants to kill Alistair, and repeatedly terrify Angie by driving too fast, too recklessly and much too dangerously.
I found the dialog laugh-out-loud funny, the suspense was good (although the hero and heroine do occasional really dumb things), and the characterization was strong. The Honeybuns could be the poster family for overachievers everywhere, but they are people you'd like to know - especially if you're having problems with bad guys.
It's charming and it's funny - and I immediately went out and picked up the next two.
I loved this story about Angie overhearing two men talking about killing someone. She felt she needed to tell the man that his life was in danger so calls him. When Alastair got the call, he thought it was a prank so hung up. Angie didn't stop there and went to his house to explain she had heard men saying they were going to kill him. Turns out Alastair didn't know he had witnessed a kidnapping which is why they were after him. Tension rises when Alastair is just about to phone the police and the bad guys arrive. Angie and Alastair ran out the back door and kept going.
This great story has many of the Honeybun brothers helping the pair stay hidden and contact the police. They are all very skilled in their various professions but I loved that all the brothers put family first, never hesitating to do absolutely anything for one of their siblings.
Sam Cheever definitely brings his characters to life in a big way. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters that carry his story forward. They really made this an enjoyable reading experience for me.
It was fast paced and action packed, wildly imaginative yet completely believable, incredibly hot & tenderly sweet. Cheever’s fluid writing makes this story very easy to lose yourself in. Unfortunately for me at about a third of the way through the story, I was still confused about who actually took Debra and why. That was frustrating. Even though this is a thrilling and sexy tale there were humorous parts too. I keep thinking about the scene where Angie comes out to "save" Alastair where she is nude except for a pair of combat boots. She is carrying a large kitchen knife to kill the scorpion. Even days after reading it I haven't been able to get the image out of my mind.
As I have said, I loved this exciting book. I highly recommend it.
So when you want to start a new romance series, the first thing you do is create a family with lots of children with unique names. You do this so you can create sequels easily, and since all the brothers look the same, they have to have memorable names.
This book follows that plan to the letter. The story is typically quirky, with one or two smexy scenes, and each of the 11 brothers has a special skill that helps to save the day. The bad guys are stupid, the motivations are all lame, but the banter is fun.
It was a satisfying read over a year ago, but I had to drop the rating from 3 stars to 2 - and that is being generous. The book threw me off a few times due to its lack of editing and/or editing errors (for example, when the main female character goes from wearing a skirt to wearing pants a few paragraphs later, at the beginning of the story). There were a lot of spelling errors and a few clumsy sentence structures as well. Anyway...while the Honeybun clan was awesome (and totally unrealistic), some of the 'bad guys' were a bit too stereotypical for me, bordering on cartoony. The main bad guy is named 'Mr. Bigg'...really? There were a ton of plot inconsistencies throughout the book as well. An example: The main female character didn't put one plus one together when thinking the Honeybun surname odd, yet later recognized one of the Honeybuns as a famous race car driver...AWKWARD. You'd think that the name recognition would have smacked her in the head immediately upon meeting her hot red-head Honeybun man...lol
I've also read the four interracial 'Honeybun Fever' novellas by this author, and this book was superior in comparison.
Did not finish... after one chapter. Wanted to stop after two pages...
This is the kind of book I normally just read, without rating or writing a review about it. But just hated the ”hero”
Had written a rant that disappeared. So tried to write something similar as the feelings remain.
Anyway, the ”hero” lets two very shady men take away a unconscious woman. From the book: He ”watched the man turn away and leave the bar with the unconscious young woman draped across his arms. A tall, emaciated looking man held the door for the oaf carrying the woman and, after throwing a glacial last look at Alastair, followed him out. Alastair did a mental shrug and went to find his buddies. Maybe he’d stay for one more beer.”
Yep, he is not a hero, at least not for me. I could not see myself enjoy the book and root for the guy after that. Even though I know I should probably have given the book and ”hero” a better chance.
But either he is callous and lack any imagination or he is stupid and selfabsorbed is my take from the situation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Enjoyed reading this and would have given it 5 stars, except for the fact that although it was mentioned several times as to how the villains always knew where Stair and Angie were, outwitting the police, FBI/Cia? and the marines, the book ended without ever answering that question. As much as I tried to figure out who could have that info and passed it on, I could think of no one, and apparently neither could the author. I hate reading a book that leaves you hanging and this one definitely did.
The characters never really developed beyond being annoying and unemotional. The book had no depth or real passion, though I think it was supposed to be a romantic suspense. The cover would have you believe so anyway. The plot felt unsettled, like it was trying too hard not to be boring. The dialogue was just okay. There were some humorous bits and there were some completely unbelievable bits. I found myself losing interest early on and struggling to reach the end.
I was really enjoying this book till I got to the explicit sex. I am not sure why lately every book has to duplicate Fifty Shades of Grey but it takes away from the story for me. If there has to be sex in a book I don't feel the need for all of the intimate details!
The story and plot and twists were really entertaining and well written. The characters were quirky and funny. I will try another in this series but it may be my last.
A fun story on the surface, this is also the 1st story of 8 brothers who bring new meaning to wild and crazy. Alistair might be a stockbroker, but he's anything but staid when a complete stranger overhears a death threat against him. Despite a cold, he scoops girl and puppy onto his motorcycle and happily dodges bad guys with the help of his brothers for a quick and entertaining read!
What is up with the characters' names? There are 8 brothers, each with weird names and it started off as a bit of fun, but then my pet hate alliteration, then he becomes Stair (Alistair). Complex plot, bit of fun that for me, soon became OTT and silly. The brothers were perfectly perfect but plot devices made them seem quite stupid. Not interested in any more in this series.
I was ready for the book to be over at about the 60% mark. The characters are all idiots in one way or another, there are too many points of view to keep track of, and the main characters don’t actually do much. They mostly run from place to place while other people solve the mystery. Fun blurb, fun premise, but a chore to read.