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Lured by His Reserve (Enchanted Seasons Book 1: Spring): Á Slow Burn M/M Cozy Fantasy Romance
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 27, 2026
🐴🥕
Grumpy, Retired Knight (and his warhorse) x Sunshine, Young Gardener
🌹☀️
💖 No AI 💖
3½✨
well, that was cuute
I didn't know what to expect when I picked Lured by His Reserve on BookSirens.
It was a fairly short read at only 220 pages, and it looked easy, fun. I figured, why not.
I'm glad I did!
Summary
Garrick Rosaran, a retired older knight, moves to a very small town called Lachlin. His choice of retirement location is "...as far away from the capital as one can get..." - p. 6.
Garrick wants to be left alone, with his new crumbling estate that he's planning on renovating, his horse, and his garden.
He quickly finds out his green thumb is non-existent, as are the tools he brought to actually do the gardening... it's a good thing his neighbor across the way has the most gorgeous garden he's ever seen in his life.
Not that Garrick would ever ask for help, ever.
The man is stubborn.
Rowan Bloom is stubborn too - the 24 year old sunshine-y neighbor, and owner of said gorgeous garden.
He helps Garrick in so many ways, his garden just being one of them.
The story is a slow-burn, age gap romance. Like, slowwwww-burn. The time spent building is full of cute moments, often spent alone or with other characters.
Somebody was scared of his feelings.
Thoughts
This is an indie author, all of these things are already forgiven or forgotten directly after it happened and I'm looking forward to their next book!
It's told in dual, first-person pov, present-tense in a way that stood out to me.
It took a little bit of getting used to, but I found myself connecting with it.
It is heavy on inner monologue and descriptions of their actions, it made me feel more in the moment with the character.
However sometimes, it felt like things jumped ahead between the characters just because we as readers knew what was going on inside the character's heads.
While I liked how descriptive some things seemed, the overall world-building was off as far as the time period goes.
Most of the time, it was very medieval, or that's what my brain categorized it as anyways.
But then we would get random, more modern, words thrown in and I would find myself stopping because well, the word just threw everything off. .
A few that come to mind - versatile (like a vers), "radar" (like a gaydar), settee.
BUT, I enjoyed their story so much.
Monster, the warhorse, was sooo much fun. I missed him once he got his lady friends and we didn't get to see him anymore.
The side-characters are given so much life, and I looked forward to reading scenes with a few of them in it. My favorite side-character was Wren, with an honorable mention for Miro and his short but meaningful time in the book.
I would have loved some domestic-y scenes of Garrick and Rowan, or them gardening together but I have hopes they'll be making lots of appearances in the next book.
Which I totally figured who it was going to be and I'm excited to read!
Oh, their sexual dynamics surprised me a little, not going to lie.
Not that there was much, and not until the end but it did. lol
The spice level fit perfectly with this kind of slooow-burn romance.
Memorable Quote
ARC Received from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review
💖 No AI 💖
3½✨
well, that was cuute
I didn't know what to expect when I picked Lured by His Reserve on BookSirens.
It was a fairly short read at only 220 pages, and it looked easy, fun. I figured, why not.
I'm glad I did!
Summary
Garrick Rosaran, a retired older knight, moves to a very small town called Lachlin. His choice of retirement location is "...as far away from the capital as one can get..." - p. 6.
Garrick wants to be left alone, with his new crumbling estate that he's planning on renovating, his horse, and his garden.
He quickly finds out his green thumb is non-existent, as are the tools he brought to actually do the gardening... it's a good thing his neighbor across the way has the most gorgeous garden he's ever seen in his life.
Not that Garrick would ever ask for help, ever.
The man is stubborn.
Rowan Bloom is stubborn too - the 24 year old sunshine-y neighbor, and owner of said gorgeous garden.
He helps Garrick in so many ways, his garden just being one of them.
The story is a slow-burn, age gap romance. Like, slowwwww-burn. The time spent building is full of cute moments, often spent alone or with other characters.
Somebody was scared of his feelings.
Thoughts
This is an indie author, all of these things are already forgiven or forgotten directly after it happened and I'm looking forward to their next book!
It's told in dual, first-person pov, present-tense in a way that stood out to me.
It took a little bit of getting used to, but I found myself connecting with it.
It is heavy on inner monologue and descriptions of their actions, it made me feel more in the moment with the character.
However sometimes, it felt like things jumped ahead between the characters just because we as readers knew what was going on inside the character's heads.
While I liked how descriptive some things seemed, the overall world-building was off as far as the time period goes.
Most of the time, it was very medieval, or that's what my brain categorized it as anyways.
But then we would get random, more modern, words thrown in and I would find myself stopping because well, the word just threw everything off. .
A few that come to mind - versatile (like a vers), "radar" (like a gaydar), settee.
BUT, I enjoyed their story so much.
Monster, the warhorse, was sooo much fun. I missed him once he got his lady friends and we didn't get to see him anymore.
The side-characters are given so much life, and I looked forward to reading scenes with a few of them in it. My favorite side-character was Wren, with an honorable mention for Miro and his short but meaningful time in the book.
I would have loved some domestic-y scenes of Garrick and Rowan, or them gardening together but I have hopes they'll be making lots of appearances in the next book.
Which I totally figured who it was going to be and I'm excited to read!
Oh, their sexual dynamics surprised me a little, not going to lie.
Not that there was much, and not until the end but it did. lol
The spice level fit perfectly with this kind of slooow-burn romance.
Memorable Quote
I am half in love with him, the chump that I am, though I scarcely know a thing about him, and he couldn’t have made it any clearer that he wants nothing to do with me.
If I were wise, I’d forget about him.
However, something–call it the sixth sense or masochistic stubbornness–urges me to keep trying, keep poking and stroking the grumpy bear until it either becomes tame or slashes my chest open with its knife-like claws. - p. 48
ARC Received from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from Author
When famous War veteran Garrick arrived at his recently purchased derelict property and land he had no idea the amount of work it would take to enable him to live off the produce he plans to grow. The only resource he had was his large, strong body and the weapon he had used to slaughter the enemy armies of Elven, Dwarfen and Orcs over a few wars. He doesn’t like crowds so he hopes to avoid having to go to the nearby village. Oh, also he has Monster, his horse who gives him a hard time.
It doesn’t take him long to learn that he has bitten off more than he can chew. The ground is rock hard and all he has is a dagger to help him dig. His first attempt with planting seed was a failure and as he sat mourning the loss, a voice over the fence called out to him.
Rowan’s beautiful gardens are next door to Garrick’s derelict plot, he a very friendly young man and he offers to lend Garrick the implements he needs to clear the ground of all the rocks. The offer was refused by Garrick in no uncertain terms which he later regretted. Later, when he sees and smells the beauty of all that Rowan grows, he relents and pays him a visit. Rowan is all sunshine and chatty fun, Garrick has high walls which he hides behind. Rowan is not deterred by his grumpy neighbour and tries flirtatious banter to no avail. It rattles Garrick because he hasn’t got a clue what Rowan is up to. For a warrior in his late 40’s he is such an innocent.
Garrick carries baggage from his war battles. He has never been able to forget his dearest best friend during the many years of war, they were inseparable. Dieter, was killed before his eyes during an enemy raid that destroyed everyone and everything surrounding them Garrick was a lone survivor. The noise of the bombardment has since made Garrick shake and hide away during thunder storms. It was during such a storm that Rowan saw Garrick fall apart and brought him into his home to recover. An incident occurred that has Garrick telling Rowan about Dieter, Rowan’s kind sympathetic response has Garrick rushing back to his own home. Garrick had never tried to categorise the feelings he had for his best friend Dieter. Now Rowan is having a strange effect on him and a terrified Garrick puts distance between them. Rowan keeps trying.
At 51% I wondered if Rowan would lose interest and pay more attention to a few locals who would be more than willing to keep him occupied away from his beloved gardening. While Garrick takes ‘span of 9’ away from home and visits Lacmot, the nearest big town, it’s clear he has an eye for slender young blond guys that remind him of Rowan, and it scares him to bits. Come on Garrick, wake up, smell those gorgeous roses in Rowan’s garden.
On the evening of his return from his ‘span of 9’ Garrick’s warrior spirit and pure jealous rage kicks in at the appearance of an Ex near Rowan’s home. After that display Rowan hopes soar and then it was just a case of a Young Dog teaching an Old Dog new tricks. ❤️🔥🧨🔥
The world building around Garrick and Rowan is excellent, it so was easy to envision the surroundings and characters as they went about their daily lives in the aftermath of several wars. But, OMG! The mere idea of woollen briefs should be a passion killer but thank the gods they don’t deter our MC’s at all.
It’s set in an Enchanted Fantasy olde worlde realm I’ve not visited before and the writer is new to me also. Not to be mean about it, but at times the construction of some sentences was ‘jarring’ meaning I had to read them twice. Perhaps the editing just needs a bit of tweaking as English may not be the first language of the author. Yet, still there is the use of very poetic language and words that draws attention, perhaps the author is trying to use a ‘lingua Franca’ of the timeframe.
The author promises a sequel which will feature two side characters which I liked a lot in book 1. Wren (aka Micah) who makes lotions and potions but wants to have his own perfumery. Jakob Sagar Junior is the son of the big businessman for whom he reluctantly works. For some unknown reason Wren has a fierce hatred for Jakob and I definitely want to read that story.
I received an ARC copy of ‘Lured by his Reserve’ and I am voluntarily giving my unbiased review.
It doesn’t take him long to learn that he has bitten off more than he can chew. The ground is rock hard and all he has is a dagger to help him dig. His first attempt with planting seed was a failure and as he sat mourning the loss, a voice over the fence called out to him.
Rowan’s beautiful gardens are next door to Garrick’s derelict plot, he a very friendly young man and he offers to lend Garrick the implements he needs to clear the ground of all the rocks. The offer was refused by Garrick in no uncertain terms which he later regretted. Later, when he sees and smells the beauty of all that Rowan grows, he relents and pays him a visit. Rowan is all sunshine and chatty fun, Garrick has high walls which he hides behind. Rowan is not deterred by his grumpy neighbour and tries flirtatious banter to no avail. It rattles Garrick because he hasn’t got a clue what Rowan is up to. For a warrior in his late 40’s he is such an innocent.
Garrick carries baggage from his war battles. He has never been able to forget his dearest best friend during the many years of war, they were inseparable. Dieter, was killed before his eyes during an enemy raid that destroyed everyone and everything surrounding them Garrick was a lone survivor. The noise of the bombardment has since made Garrick shake and hide away during thunder storms. It was during such a storm that Rowan saw Garrick fall apart and brought him into his home to recover. An incident occurred that has Garrick telling Rowan about Dieter, Rowan’s kind sympathetic response has Garrick rushing back to his own home. Garrick had never tried to categorise the feelings he had for his best friend Dieter. Now Rowan is having a strange effect on him and a terrified Garrick puts distance between them. Rowan keeps trying.
At 51% I wondered if Rowan would lose interest and pay more attention to a few locals who would be more than willing to keep him occupied away from his beloved gardening. While Garrick takes ‘span of 9’ away from home and visits Lacmot, the nearest big town, it’s clear he has an eye for slender young blond guys that remind him of Rowan, and it scares him to bits. Come on Garrick, wake up, smell those gorgeous roses in Rowan’s garden.
On the evening of his return from his ‘span of 9’ Garrick’s warrior spirit and pure jealous rage kicks in at the appearance of an Ex near Rowan’s home. After that display Rowan hopes soar and then it was just a case of a Young Dog teaching an Old Dog new tricks. ❤️🔥🧨🔥
The world building around Garrick and Rowan is excellent, it so was easy to envision the surroundings and characters as they went about their daily lives in the aftermath of several wars. But, OMG! The mere idea of woollen briefs should be a passion killer but thank the gods they don’t deter our MC’s at all.
It’s set in an Enchanted Fantasy olde worlde realm I’ve not visited before and the writer is new to me also. Not to be mean about it, but at times the construction of some sentences was ‘jarring’ meaning I had to read them twice. Perhaps the editing just needs a bit of tweaking as English may not be the first language of the author. Yet, still there is the use of very poetic language and words that draws attention, perhaps the author is trying to use a ‘lingua Franca’ of the timeframe.
The author promises a sequel which will feature two side characters which I liked a lot in book 1. Wren (aka Micah) who makes lotions and potions but wants to have his own perfumery. Jakob Sagar Junior is the son of the big businessman for whom he reluctantly works. For some unknown reason Wren has a fierce hatred for Jakob and I definitely want to read that story.
I received an ARC copy of ‘Lured by his Reserve’ and I am voluntarily giving my unbiased review.
June 29, 2026
⭐️ ARC REVIEW ⭐️
Garrick, so called the Grim Blade, has had enough. He retires to the countryside, determined to live a quiet life growing vegetables and avoiding people.
There's just one problem... actually, two.
First, Garrick is absolutely hopeless at gardening, and a sword isn't exactly the best tool for planting carrots. Second, his cheerful neighbor Rowan happens to be an excellent gardener—and he's determined to help the intimidating warrior, whether Garrick likes it or not.
Little by little, Rowan convinces Garrick to accept his help, venture into the nearby village, and reconnect with the world. But while Rowan keeps trying to close the distance between them, Garrick can't help taking a step back.
I really enjoyed this grumpy/sunshine romance. Garrick and Rowan complement each other beautifully, and both characters feel genuinely flawed and human. The side characters were another highlight—special mention to Miro, who completely stole my heart, and I'm already looking forward to reading Wren's story.
That said, I struggled with the world-building. Some elements felt medieval, with swords and warhorses, while others—like bathrooms, settees, and modern expressions such as Rowan talking about his "radar"—felt much closer to the 19th or even 20th century. Those inconsistencies pulled me out of the story several times.
Overall, this was a pleasant read with lovable characters and plenty of potential. I just wish the setting had felt a little more cohesive, especially since this is only the beginning of the series.
✨ Grumpy × Sunshine
🌱 Cozy fantasy romance
🏡 Small village
⚔️ Retired warrior
🌶️ Light spice
⭐️ 3.5/5
And the French version:
⭐️ CHRONIQUE ARC ⭐️
Garrick, surnommé la lame sinistre, décide de prendre sa retraite à la campagne. Son objectif ? Vivre seul, cultiver ses légumes et éviter les gens.
mais il y a deux soucis :
D'abord, Garrick est un piètre jardinier, et une épée n'est clairement pas le meilleur outil pour planter des carottes. Ensuite, son voisin Rowan est un jardinier passionné bien décidé à venir en aide à cet impressionnant guerrier, qu'il le veuille ou non.
Petit à petit, Rowan réussit à convaincre Garrick d'accepter son aide, de l'accompagner au village et de reprendre doucement contact avec les autres. Mais si Rowan cherche constamment à réduire la distance entre eux, Garrick, lui, fait toujours un pas en arrière.
J'ai beaucoup aimé cette romance grumpy × sunshine. La dynamique entre les deux héros fonctionne très bien, chacun ayant ses propres blessures et failles. Les personnages secondaires sont également très réussis : mention spéciale à Miro, mon véritable coup de cœur, et j'ai déjà hâte de découvrir l'histoire de Wren.
En revanche, j'ai eu plus de mal avec l'univers. Certains éléments évoquent clairement le Moyen Âge, avec les épées et les chevaux de guerre, tandis que d'autres rappellent plutôt le XIXᵉ ou le début du XXᵉ siècle, avec des salles de bain, des canapés ou encore un langage très moderne. Ces incohérences m'ont parfois sortie de ma lecture.
Au final, une lecture agréable portée par des personnages très attachants et un beau potentiel pour la suite. J'aurais simplement aimé un univers un peu plus cohérent, d'autant plus qu'il s'agit du premier tome d'une série.
✨ Grumpy × Sunshine
🌱 Fantasy cosy
🏡 Petit village
⚔️ Guerrier à la retraite
🌶️ Peu de spice
⭐️ 3,5/5
Garrick, so called the Grim Blade, has had enough. He retires to the countryside, determined to live a quiet life growing vegetables and avoiding people.
There's just one problem... actually, two.
First, Garrick is absolutely hopeless at gardening, and a sword isn't exactly the best tool for planting carrots. Second, his cheerful neighbor Rowan happens to be an excellent gardener—and he's determined to help the intimidating warrior, whether Garrick likes it or not.
Little by little, Rowan convinces Garrick to accept his help, venture into the nearby village, and reconnect with the world. But while Rowan keeps trying to close the distance between them, Garrick can't help taking a step back.
I really enjoyed this grumpy/sunshine romance. Garrick and Rowan complement each other beautifully, and both characters feel genuinely flawed and human. The side characters were another highlight—special mention to Miro, who completely stole my heart, and I'm already looking forward to reading Wren's story.
That said, I struggled with the world-building. Some elements felt medieval, with swords and warhorses, while others—like bathrooms, settees, and modern expressions such as Rowan talking about his "radar"—felt much closer to the 19th or even 20th century. Those inconsistencies pulled me out of the story several times.
Overall, this was a pleasant read with lovable characters and plenty of potential. I just wish the setting had felt a little more cohesive, especially since this is only the beginning of the series.
✨ Grumpy × Sunshine
🌱 Cozy fantasy romance
🏡 Small village
⚔️ Retired warrior
🌶️ Light spice
⭐️ 3.5/5
And the French version:
⭐️ CHRONIQUE ARC ⭐️
Garrick, surnommé la lame sinistre, décide de prendre sa retraite à la campagne. Son objectif ? Vivre seul, cultiver ses légumes et éviter les gens.
mais il y a deux soucis :
D'abord, Garrick est un piètre jardinier, et une épée n'est clairement pas le meilleur outil pour planter des carottes. Ensuite, son voisin Rowan est un jardinier passionné bien décidé à venir en aide à cet impressionnant guerrier, qu'il le veuille ou non.
Petit à petit, Rowan réussit à convaincre Garrick d'accepter son aide, de l'accompagner au village et de reprendre doucement contact avec les autres. Mais si Rowan cherche constamment à réduire la distance entre eux, Garrick, lui, fait toujours un pas en arrière.
J'ai beaucoup aimé cette romance grumpy × sunshine. La dynamique entre les deux héros fonctionne très bien, chacun ayant ses propres blessures et failles. Les personnages secondaires sont également très réussis : mention spéciale à Miro, mon véritable coup de cœur, et j'ai déjà hâte de découvrir l'histoire de Wren.
En revanche, j'ai eu plus de mal avec l'univers. Certains éléments évoquent clairement le Moyen Âge, avec les épées et les chevaux de guerre, tandis que d'autres rappellent plutôt le XIXᵉ ou le début du XXᵉ siècle, avec des salles de bain, des canapés ou encore un langage très moderne. Ces incohérences m'ont parfois sortie de ma lecture.
Au final, une lecture agréable portée par des personnages très attachants et un beau potentiel pour la suite. J'aurais simplement aimé un univers un peu plus cohérent, d'autant plus qu'il s'agit du premier tome d'une série.
✨ Grumpy × Sunshine
🌱 Fantasy cosy
🏡 Petit village
⚔️ Guerrier à la retraite
🌶️ Peu de spice
⭐️ 3,5/5
June 25, 2026
This story was fine, enjoyable at parts, addressing some important issues, but limited. An introverted warrior retires to the countryside, somehow unable to afford a decent house he looks towards restoring his crumbling cottage and the garden, having bought no tools and done no research into self-sufficiency... Thankfully his neighbour, at least half his age, is green-fingered and incredibly nosy. He is also openly out, the warrior has never acknowledged this part of himself, and most of the narrative focuses on his denial, of his feelings, his wants, his past. Meanwhile the neighbour struggles with his instant attraction to the warrior and his apparent straightness, a pushy ex lingering in the background. They develop a friendship, but find division in a moment of openness, an almost kiss rejected by the still-in-denial warrior...
The turn around from that point is fairly fast-paced. Some distance, some pining, some advice, then a saviour moment leading to consummation of their relationship pretty soon after... The book ends rather abruptly after their relationship is established, the warrior deciding to take up work, the future open and hopeful. Through the whole book the world building is lacking, the warrior has played a role in major conflict against dwarves and elves and there is magic in the background, that's about it. It's not necessarily relevant to the romantic story, but it could have added something? The story didn't need a fantasy background for the exact same plot to play out...
It's an easy read, a bit cheesy, somewhat sweet but the pacing is slightly awkward and the world building incredibly limited.
The turn around from that point is fairly fast-paced. Some distance, some pining, some advice, then a saviour moment leading to consummation of their relationship pretty soon after... The book ends rather abruptly after their relationship is established, the warrior deciding to take up work, the future open and hopeful. Through the whole book the world building is lacking, the warrior has played a role in major conflict against dwarves and elves and there is magic in the background, that's about it. It's not necessarily relevant to the romantic story, but it could have added something? The story didn't need a fantasy background for the exact same plot to play out...
It's an easy read, a bit cheesy, somewhat sweet but the pacing is slightly awkward and the world building incredibly limited.
Review of advance copy
3⭐️ 1🌶️
TROPES: bi-awakening, neighbors to lovers, small town romance
GENRES: fantasy/historical, lgbtq+ romance
MAIN CHARACTERS: Garrick Rosaran "Grim Blade" and Rowan Bloom
There are things I liked. The world is interesting, there is magic and mentions of a larger world of dwarves and orcs and mercenaries - I don't think many mercenaries get to retire so Garrick is lucky in that regard.
Garrick and Rowan start with the grumpy neighbor vibes, move to friendship, then progress to lovers. However, even with the progression in their relationship something feels missing and I think that's because they spend so much time apart in the book - Chapter 16 to Chapter 21, which is about 15% of the book and it feels longer. I'm all for instalove and instalust - the lust part is definitely here on Rowan's part - but this isn't an instalove story.
There are some odd choices with language that took me out of the story. Scrambled eggs probably do exist in a time of magic and elves but it was odd to read on page after a description of the bathroom plumbing system that still includes an outhouse.
Overall, this is a romance but it doesn't feel like it - it feels more like a coming of age story, but the main character is in his 50s. There is a romance but it's not the focus, if there wasn't a happily ever after, I'd call it a love story.
CW: sexual content, sexual assault/violence, mentions of death, mentions of violence
DISCLAIMER: I received an advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
TROPES: bi-awakening, neighbors to lovers, small town romance
GENRES: fantasy/historical, lgbtq+ romance
MAIN CHARACTERS: Garrick Rosaran "Grim Blade" and Rowan Bloom
There are things I liked. The world is interesting, there is magic and mentions of a larger world of dwarves and orcs and mercenaries - I don't think many mercenaries get to retire so Garrick is lucky in that regard.
Garrick and Rowan start with the grumpy neighbor vibes, move to friendship, then progress to lovers. However, even with the progression in their relationship something feels missing and I think that's because they spend so much time apart in the book - Chapter 16 to Chapter 21, which is about 15% of the book and it feels longer. I'm all for instalove and instalust - the lust part is definitely here on Rowan's part - but this isn't an instalove story.
There are some odd choices with language that took me out of the story. Scrambled eggs probably do exist in a time of magic and elves but it was odd to read on page after a description of the bathroom plumbing system that still includes an outhouse.
Overall, this is a romance but it doesn't feel like it - it feels more like a coming of age story, but the main character is in his 50s. There is a romance but it's not the focus, if there wasn't a happily ever after, I'd call it a love story.
CW: sexual content, sexual assault/violence, mentions of death, mentions of violence
DISCLAIMER: I received an advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The story had a lot of promise, especially in terms of the premise. A war hero turned mercenary turned quiet-life homeowner meeting the village twink-next-door is exactly the kind of setup that has the potential for delicious tension, pining, and emotional payoff.
While there was definitely some pining and angst, I found myself wishing there had been more brooding and more time spent deepening the emotional push and pull between the characters. The story was very short, and because of that, it felt like it left quite a bit to be desired.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There were also a few instances of awkwardly modern language that pulled me out of the story a bit, which is often a pet peeve of mine in fantasy settings that otherwise seem to be coded around a more medieval-like time period. Granted, this is a fantasy world, but the surrounding context made those moments stand out.
Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read with a strong concept, but I would have loved to see more from both characters, more development between them, and more events to really flesh out the story. It had a solid foundation, but I think there was so much more that could have been explored.
While there was definitely some pining and angst, I found myself wishing there had been more brooding and more time spent deepening the emotional push and pull between the characters. The story was very short, and because of that, it felt like it left quite a bit to be desired.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There were also a few instances of awkwardly modern language that pulled me out of the story a bit, which is often a pet peeve of mine in fantasy settings that otherwise seem to be coded around a more medieval-like time period. Granted, this is a fantasy world, but the surrounding context made those moments stand out.
Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read with a strong concept, but I would have loved to see more from both characters, more development between them, and more events to really flesh out the story. It had a solid foundation, but I think there was so much more that could have been explored.
Review of advance copy
I received an ARC from the author via BookSirens & this review only contains my honest thoughts and feelings about this book.💐
Do you like cozy fantasy, medieval-ish small town, grumpy x sunshine, not much going on vibes? If yes, you might like this book.
I liked the characters, but there wasn't much to the story. It was briefly mentioned that Rowan had magic but it was never mentioned again.🥲
I think what I wanted to see more of was Garrick and Rowan's interaction with other people and with each other, without those interactions being related to the garden or the renovation of Garrick's cottage...
Over all I was curious to see where the story was going but like I said, it was lacking on some aspects, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, I don't think it caught my attention enough to make me want to read book two, but I might have changed my mind until then.
It had the potential to be a book I would love but I'm sad to report that I didn't.😭
Do you like cozy fantasy, medieval-ish small town, grumpy x sunshine, not much going on vibes? If yes, you might like this book.
I liked the characters, but there wasn't much to the story. It was briefly mentioned that Rowan had magic but it was never mentioned again.🥲
I think what I wanted to see more of was Garrick and Rowan's interaction with other people and with each other, without those interactions being related to the garden or the renovation of Garrick's cottage...
Over all I was curious to see where the story was going but like I said, it was lacking on some aspects, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, I don't think it caught my attention enough to make me want to read book two, but I might have changed my mind until then.
It had the potential to be a book I would love but I'm sad to report that I didn't.😭
July 6, 2026
3.75 stars
Grumpy vs sunshine in a mixed world.
I quite enjoyed the overall story - a dour war veteran tries to settle in a small village and grow his own vegetable garden. What he doesn't account for is his green-thumb neighbour with his sunshine personality. Garrick used to be known as the Grim Blade - he is a hero to many, but all he wants is a quiet life with his war horse, Monster. As he tries, and fails, at gardening, Rowan (neighbour) offers to help, only to be rebuffed. It takes a while for Rowan to get through to Garrick, but it happens and they begin a relationship by the end of the story - solid HFN.
It's a quiet, cozy story with nice characters. The world was a bit of a mix of a mediaeval setting with a few modernisms thrown in - NGL, the use of some 'modern' terms threw me off, but I still enjoyed the story.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Grumpy vs sunshine in a mixed world.
I quite enjoyed the overall story - a dour war veteran tries to settle in a small village and grow his own vegetable garden. What he doesn't account for is his green-thumb neighbour with his sunshine personality. Garrick used to be known as the Grim Blade - he is a hero to many, but all he wants is a quiet life with his war horse, Monster. As he tries, and fails, at gardening, Rowan (neighbour) offers to help, only to be rebuffed. It takes a while for Rowan to get through to Garrick, but it happens and they begin a relationship by the end of the story - solid HFN.
It's a quiet, cozy story with nice characters. The world was a bit of a mix of a mediaeval setting with a few modernisms thrown in - NGL, the use of some 'modern' terms threw me off, but I still enjoyed the story.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Garrick is a retired warrior, a hero, who purchases a rundown property in this medieval fantasy. His neighbor Rowan finds him enticing and tries to help and befriend him despite his grumpy manner. Garrick has not admitted to himself he likes men. There's a time I thought Garrick would chose another. It's a slow burn tale of his bi-awakening and acceptance. I received a copy of this through BookSirens and this is my voluntary opinion.
Review of advance copy
I so enjoyed my time in Lachlin! Garrick changed so much throughout the story, he totally grew on me! I loved Rowan's confidence, and he was just so happy most of the time. This book made me smile and feel all warm inside reading it. Totally gonna read the next when it's available!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This was a sweet, romantic tale of a man, Garrick, meeting the man, Rowan, that would open his world to family and friends. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. The book was an easy read, a little slow to start but caught my attention soon enough and I enjoyed it through to the end. Definitely recommend reading.
Review of advance copy
I've enjoyed a lot this book. It made me smile and feel all warm inside reading it, the characters and world building are refreshing and amazingly relatable
Review of advance copy
Humerous with some great character development.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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