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The Suitable 'Verse #5
A Suitable Brat
Old by Outguard standards, forty-year-old Westin is considering retirement and hoping that the familiar comforts of Solace House will soothe the ache in his chest at the thought. Solace House is renowned for serving the finest wines and teas, providing luxurious baths, and offering solace, be that through conversation or through time spent with a worker in a private room. But the normally centered and calm Westin is finding peace difficult to achieve, so far unsatisfied by both his bath and a good cup of tea, or his conversation with a friend and Solace House worker.
When Sun stumbles into the inn amid a rumble of thunder from the passing storm, Westin is forced to confront why peace has been so hard to come by; he likes a little bit of trouble, at least in one particular form. Another outguard, Sun is young, bold, and pretty. He’s charming to most but impertinent and demanding with Westin, and he only grows more difficult upon discovering that Westin plans to leave him… that is, to leave the Outguard.
Sun acting a brat with Westin, with only Westin, might mean a great deal more than Westin believed it did. Despite his age and old wounds, the raging storm outside, and the brat at his brattiest, Westin feels a glimmer of solace might be found for both of them. All Westin has to do is reach for it.
When Sun stumbles into the inn amid a rumble of thunder from the passing storm, Westin is forced to confront why peace has been so hard to come by; he likes a little bit of trouble, at least in one particular form. Another outguard, Sun is young, bold, and pretty. He’s charming to most but impertinent and demanding with Westin, and he only grows more difficult upon discovering that Westin plans to leave him… that is, to leave the Outguard.
Sun acting a brat with Westin, with only Westin, might mean a great deal more than Westin believed it did. Despite his age and old wounds, the raging storm outside, and the brat at his brattiest, Westin feels a glimmer of solace might be found for both of them. All Westin has to do is reach for it.
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2025
24 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
R. Cooper
90 books1,006 followersI'm R. Cooper, a somewhat absentminded, often distracted, writer of queer romance. I'm probably most known for the Being(s) in Love series and The Suitable 'Verse stories. Also the occasional story about witches or firefighters in love.
You can visit my website for updates or sign up for my newsletter . My newsletter is free! And comes out once a month or once every two months or so.
Otherwise... have some social media links if you want updates and whatever the hell else I am talking about.
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You can also support me on Patreon if you like
If you just want book release updates, I have a BookBub profile.
Also, I now have a Storygraph where I will try to track my reading in an organized fashion.
You can visit my website for updates or sign up for my newsletter . My newsletter is free! And comes out once a month or once every two months or so.
Otherwise... have some social media links if you want updates and whatever the hell else I am talking about.
Tumblr
BlueSky
**With Meta's current policies, I do not use FB or Insta or Threads for anything but the bare minimum.**
Instagram and Threads
You can also support me on Patreon if you like
If you just want book release updates, I have a BookBub profile.
Also, I now have a Storygraph where I will try to track my reading in an organized fashion.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 14, 2025
I liked the dynamic, but this one could have used a better edit to remove excess words. I almost stopped a time or two, even though I knew I'd enjoy the ending.
December 15, 2025
I did loved this short branch of the Suitable Verse series.
November 5, 2025
Another delightful installment!
I adore this series and am always thrilled to get more, and even more so when they overlap and we get to see previous characters!
I adore this series and am always thrilled to get more, and even more so when they overlap and we get to see previous characters!
November 6, 2025
This is another very enjoyable visit to the Suitable universe! This book starts out as subtle and a little bittersweet. Westin is a middle-aged Outguard who has concluded that it is his time to retire. Winters spent outside, sleeping rough, have taken their toll. He regrets are that he's enjoyed his time and he will miss those he's worked with, especially one younger man, another Outguard, Sun. Westin has decided to linger one night at the Solace House to visit with a wise old friend and enjoy a few comforts before he informs the guard that he is leaving.
Sun bursts into the Solace House, clearly upset and jealous. Over time, we see that Sun's feelings for Westin are beyond those of two friend who occasionally cross paths while on long patrols. They are also likely reciprocated, but these two men don't communicate very well. Fortunately, Solace House can be a place of renewal and new beginnings.
The resolution is very satisfying, but the epilogue is just beautiful, extending far into the future and tying this story neatly and magnificently into the greater Suitable universe. Loved it so much!
Sun bursts into the Solace House, clearly upset and jealous. Over time, we see that Sun's feelings for Westin are beyond those of two friend who occasionally cross paths while on long patrols. They are also likely reciprocated, but these two men don't communicate very well. Fortunately, Solace House can be a place of renewal and new beginnings.
The resolution is very satisfying, but the epilogue is just beautiful, extending far into the future and tying this story neatly and magnificently into the greater Suitable universe. Loved it so much!
March 3, 2026
I’m so conflicted on how to rate this…. there was so much potential and so much good character building, but it felt completely unfinished? Like, did the author accidentally hit send on an unfinished chapter from another manuscript? It was more like 10% of a book, with no beginning and no middle and we the readers get dropped in for the final reconciliation scene, with barely enough time to root for the main couple before it is all over.
The writing is mature, the setting is interesting, and the characters were complex and flawed and had so much chemistry. I loved both Sun and Westin, and I was so ready to sink into this story, to fall totally in love with them and their blossoming love, but with the way this was presented (starting at the very end), it took until about halfway through to realize And by the time you have put together enough clues to realize this, they are already wrapping everything up and hinting at the possibility of a future life together and then the book ends. The events of the story - from the first line to the last - was probably at most an hour, maybe two if we are generous. It was all tell and no show - with you just picking up the pieces of what happened in the past through a single conversation.
This book had so much promise and the foundation for some amazing scenes: an explosive first meeting as different personalities collided, the evolution from Sun actually being an annoying brat to Westin being fond of that brattiness, passionate roadside encounters where their chemistry can’t be doused by their age difference nor their career that keeps them apart, a gradual building of trust between someone who has never been able to depend on anyone and someone who is endlessly dependable, all of the longing and jealousy and angst while they are apart, and the absolute heartbreak Sun would have gone through being rejected over and over again. But instead we get only the absolute crumbs of their relationship: a single conversation between them (with so much wasted conversation with an intrusive third party), one uncomfortable sex scene on a bench (the old man’s poor knees), and just hints at the rich and turbulent past that these two characters share (the story that I actually wanted to see).
And then to add insult to injury, the epilogue! I was already left wanting, with this being so short, and would have accepted any happy scene of their life together - getting married, meeting the family, harvesting vegetables in their boring life together, anything - or hell even a scene of them fucking in an actual bed. But instead it jumps 20 years (!!!) into the future, not for any purpose really, but just as a blatant advertisement for the other books in the series. You don’t even realize that Sun is present until six pages in - for the epilogue of his own love story! It was so cruel, to just use these characters as a new lens through which to view how awesome and amazing and in love the throuple from the first book in the series is, and an absolutely insulting way to end a story that never really even began.
I wanted so much to love this book. I absolutely adored the Fox of Fox Hall and when I saw this book had a similar personality pairing, I jumped on it. And again, this book was so well written, with so much to love, but was missing so much content to the point it was worse than reading a book you don’t like and easily dnf. It teased me with all of the possibilities, made me fall so in love with these characters that I was aching to see more, and then left me with just a few crumbs of them together and endless disappointment over what this book could have been.
The writing is mature, the setting is interesting, and the characters were complex and flawed and had so much chemistry. I loved both Sun and Westin, and I was so ready to sink into this story, to fall totally in love with them and their blossoming love, but with the way this was presented (starting at the very end), it took until about halfway through to realize And by the time you have put together enough clues to realize this, they are already wrapping everything up and hinting at the possibility of a future life together and then the book ends. The events of the story - from the first line to the last - was probably at most an hour, maybe two if we are generous. It was all tell and no show - with you just picking up the pieces of what happened in the past through a single conversation.
This book had so much promise and the foundation for some amazing scenes: an explosive first meeting as different personalities collided, the evolution from Sun actually being an annoying brat to Westin being fond of that brattiness, passionate roadside encounters where their chemistry can’t be doused by their age difference nor their career that keeps them apart, a gradual building of trust between someone who has never been able to depend on anyone and someone who is endlessly dependable, all of the longing and jealousy and angst while they are apart, and the absolute heartbreak Sun would have gone through being rejected over and over again. But instead we get only the absolute crumbs of their relationship: a single conversation between them (with so much wasted conversation with an intrusive third party), one uncomfortable sex scene on a bench (the old man’s poor knees), and just hints at the rich and turbulent past that these two characters share (the story that I actually wanted to see).
And then to add insult to injury, the epilogue! I was already left wanting, with this being so short, and would have accepted any happy scene of their life together - getting married, meeting the family, harvesting vegetables in their boring life together, anything - or hell even a scene of them fucking in an actual bed. But instead it jumps 20 years (!!!) into the future, not for any purpose really, but just as a blatant advertisement for the other books in the series. You don’t even realize that Sun is present until six pages in - for the epilogue of his own love story! It was so cruel, to just use these characters as a new lens through which to view how awesome and amazing and in love the throuple from the first book in the series is, and an absolutely insulting way to end a story that never really even began.
I wanted so much to love this book. I absolutely adored the Fox of Fox Hall and when I saw this book had a similar personality pairing, I jumped on it. And again, this book was so well written, with so much to love, but was missing so much content to the point it was worse than reading a book you don’t like and easily dnf. It teased me with all of the possibilities, made me fall so in love with these characters that I was aching to see more, and then left me with just a few crumbs of them together and endless disappointment over what this book could have been.
November 16, 2025
Don't know what it is that let me appreciate here what I'm not often able to enjoy in books of other authors. It's obviously R. Cooper's writing style that makes me empathize when characters are talking at cross-purposes, when they believe to be clear with each other but being anything but, when they use more words in their mind than in direct conversation, when they believe the other deserves someone better suited. It's probably that a lot of times I see myself in their communication style and feel myself to be seen by the author. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anything like Westin or Sun but anyway. So does it matter to me that the story is a one-location scene where Westin and Sun dance around each other while it's probably their last chance to take what's been offered through their whole careers as outguards before Westin is taking his leave into early retirement? Obviously not and that's also partly because of Haley. Everybody should have a Haley who as a good friend helps Westin to overcome his doubts and provokes Sun to claim his man.
The only thing I feel sorry for: I started this series only at this point in time, so I had some difficulties with the epilogue which unfortunately is the actual contribution to the overall series (while the story about how Westin and Sun came together is more of a prequel). Maybe I should trust the author and she's also able to make me appreciate M/M/M stories.
The only thing I feel sorry for: I started this series only at this point in time, so I had some difficulties with the epilogue which unfortunately is the actual contribution to the overall series (while the story about how Westin and Sun came together is more of a prequel). Maybe I should trust the author and she's also able to make me appreciate M/M/M stories.
November 6, 2025
A sweet book following Westin who doesn’t take anything for himself, and Sun who takes what he wants with a sly glance. They are Outguards who have been dancing together even though it’s obvious they were dancing to different tunes.
A short book but full of heart. Really enjoyed it. Highly recommend reading the rest of the Suitable series.
A short book but full of heart. Really enjoyed it. Highly recommend reading the rest of the Suitable series.
November 24, 2025
A very short book about how these two characters finally got together romantically. Most of the book is just one scene, taking place in a common area of an inn. This once again reads like fanfiction, just like Blessed.
It's a good wrap-up for the series. It does kind of make me want to read all the books again, just to see when the other characters are mentioned in each other's books.
It's a good wrap-up for the series. It does kind of make me want to read all the books again, just to see when the other characters are mentioned in each other's books.
November 6, 2025
*3.5 stars
November 7, 2025
I didn't find this one particularly interesting.
November 7, 2025
Sweet
Such a good book set in the Suitable world. It is a great addition to that world. I read this book on one sitting.
Such a good book set in the Suitable world. It is a great addition to that world. I read this book on one sitting.
November 10, 2025
Love this series and this book fits in perfectly. Only wish it were longer!
November 15, 2025
Bratty
November 17, 2025
3 - 3.25 stars.
November 30, 2025
I liked this one. While short, it brought the cast of characters together again in the episode.
December 7, 2025
I love R. Cooper but NOTHING happens in this ENTIRE novella
February 3, 2026
short and sweet
November 16, 2025
I have enjoyed the other books in this series more. The different style didn't work as well for me. I appreciated the introduction of new to me aspects of the world and I liked the setting. But reading felt more like I was catching a glimpse or the end of a story i.e. the HEA but missing the full meal. While the author did a good job of sharing snippets of backstory, and how the different encounters had levels of meaning, I wished I could have seen them flow over time. I do appreciate how the author captured character growth and introspection. Hopefully we will get additional entries in this world because I do find it fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews