Haven

Tennyson Bend #1

by P.T. Ambler

A burned-out executive.
An undercover journalist.
Trapped in a hippy-trippy wellness retreat.

All Dane wants is a stress-relieving weekend of salt spray, scotch, and sex. So, why does his PA think it’s a good idea to send him to a hippy-trippy wellness retreat deep in the Australian tropical rainforest? The only thing that makes the place bearable is the hot-as-hell guy in the cabin next door, who may or may not be a lying, cheating hack.

Cayden’s on a secret mission at the House of Glass Wellness Retreat to rescue his long-lost sister, Lucy, and repair his fractured family. It’s not him that needs saving. Not until the possums attack and the pin-striped dude with his kill-me-now looks comes barrelling out of the cabin next door, ready to save the day.

Neither can deny the attraction that flares between them, but Cayden dare not dream of hearts and rainbows till he’s unburdened by his mission, and Dane can’t trust anyone with his truth, let alone his scarred heart. So, they resolve to keep things casual while they band together to find clues to Lucy’s mysterious disappearance, dodge the retreat’s zealous guru, and save each other from one too many kale smoothies.

Neither expect complications…like pesky emotions.

Haven is the first MM romance in the Tennyson Bend series, featuring five Aussie friends who don't know they're looking for happily ever after until they stumble upon it and fall.

Haven features forced proximity, digital detox, steamy nights between soft bamboo sheets, bugs the size of rhinoceroses, and enough organic fibre to keep everyone healthy and happy.

Haven can be read as a standalone.

Genres: M M Romance

445 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2021

About the author

PT Ambler is an Aussie MM romance author who gets a ridiculous amount of joy letting her guys run rampant on the page.

Other fun things include sing-along road trips, zoning out in nature, day dreaming, people-watching in cafes, and coffee…smooth, delicious coffee, covered in shavings of rich, dark chocolate…mmm…

One of these days, she’s going to write a novel set in a café about a gorgeous barista who…(PT drifts away into a caffeine-fuelled day dream).

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was pretty bad.
Unmotivated actions,
crap writing, bad sex.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phew. Finally done. Took me a while to read this one. It was really long. Not just page count, but story itself, a bit too long honestly. At least a third of it could have been cut, but oh well. I liked the idea and setting of it. One of them is a workaholic who needs a break, the other is a journalist looking for his lost sister who was maybe possibly lured by a cult. Funny thing is, the workaholic doesn't even attempt to work or get in touch with his work. And the journalist is so bad at investigative journalism, so rash with his "investigation", jumping to conclusions and being so obvious about it all, that he is like a cartoon - funny, but totally over the top and ridiculous. The "mystery" was also pretty transparent and weak, plus not really well explained. Just vague hints, vague tips, angry outbursts, what not, but no real clarity, at least not for me. I liked the idea, but it didn't fulfill all that I expected. Other than that, it was entertaining. A lot of humor, even though some of it I am not sure I understood correctly. The retreat and it its "health procedures" were hilarious. Main characters are very sweet and entertaining together. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half. It was bit of a drag and too.. metaphorical. It was a bit too poetic and existential, there were a lot of metaphors bundled up together and they didn't make much sense. But it it is a guaranteed HAE, so it is all good in the end.

**I was provided an ARC of this book from the GRR for an honest review**

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 3 out of 5]

So we have Dane who is a workaholic & his personal assistant books him on a retreat, which is not what he was looking forward to. Actually he wasn't looking forward to getting away from work. Cayden is an journalist who lost his sister about 12 years previously. She just walked away one day. The retreat was more like a cult setting & not a spa/healthy retreat. Our two boys end up neighbors & they are instantly attracted to each other. What I didn't care for is that Cayden's missing sister is the major focus of the book & not the romance between our MC's. Also, it was mentioned that Dane's sister died by suicide, but we didn't really get much of a back story on that. Cayden is wanting to run off as everything needed to be done "right now". Both MC's didn't act like the grown men they were, but like immature juveniles at times & that was rather annoying. I think the book could have been tightened up some to make it a little more enjoyable. Even though I had issues with this one, I will be continuing on as I really did like our MC's overall.

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this my honest opinion

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a little bit of everything going on in this book– a romance, a send-up of wellness culture and the deeply unappealing things people do in the name of “health,” a years-old mystery and missing persons case– and it it all goes on for a while– this is a longer read, and it sometimes feels like the pacing suffers a bit from that length. It’s not really a hardship spending time with Cayden and Dane, but sometimes it does feel like things aren’t really going anywhere, or at least, not in a timely fashion. Despite all of the narrative elements at play, the focus of this book is definitely on the mystery of Lucy, and while that would have been true even if the author didn’t make sure one of the protagonists didn’t think it to themselves and/or say it to the other at least once a chapter, that’s not a risk the book is willing to take (I’m exaggerating here, but not by much, readers are clearly not meant to forget where the emphasis is). It would be difficult to overstate how very, very bumbling Cayden can be as investigator– it’s crystal clear that his heart is leading and not his head, and that made him relatable in ways he might not otherwise have been. Dane is in some ways more enigmatic but in others, not so much– he’s got his own share of emotional baggage and reasons to resist anything more than physical chemistry with Cayden, which I’ll leave out of this review to avoid spoilers, but which will become apparent while reading. Despite a few rough edges, I really enjoyed the novel and am looking forward to seeing what the author does next.

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Allyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven is an enjoyable story full of humor, flirtation, and intrigue. Dane, a high powered workaholic, is forced to take a vacation for health reasons, so his pushy assistant books him two weeks at a hippie wellness retreat. He meets Cayden, an investigative journalist, who is moonlighting as a participant at the retreat in order to get information about his missing sister. The two men are neighbors and bond over their cynical views of the retreat itself. Cayden enlists Dane to help him with his research into his sister’s disappearance. They’re attracted to one another, but neither man is looking for a relationship. The other guests at the retreat are hilarious, and the two men find themselves in some pretty wacky situations. The pacing is pretty uneven and can be really slow at times. The book is really long and could have used a bit more editing, but Cayden and Dane have awesome chemistry together. Overall, it’s a fun adventure.

[LJ Henley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story, Haven, is sweet and has a great storyline. For 12 years, Cayden has looked for his sister, Lucy, until his search sends him to a Wellness Retreat. His boss thinks he is there to uncover a cult or something sinister, not to find a missing relative. Dane is a busy, overworked CEO of a company who is forced by is PA to go to a retreat to help lower his blood pressure and destress. One their first day, the two men notice each other and end up rooming side by side. Each day has colon cleanses, steam baths, massages and liquid breakfasts. Yum... not!

Through the days the two are thrown together by the other retreat goers and slowly both realize that have at least one thing in common.. they are gay, so why not give into a little bit of relaxation between the two while they are there.

This has a low mystery, low angst, a cute little boy named Leif, a repaired family and a HEA ending. Enjoy.

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[C.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not everything is as it seems, good mystery! Cayden, is on a mission looking for his missing sister, Luci. Her last known siting was at House of Glass Wellness Retreat. Dane, is stressed out from work. He has a closeknit group of friends who are his found family support group. His PA schedules a two week session at House of Glass without Dane's prior knowledge. Cayden and Dane are next door neighbors and form a friendship in their mutual kale smoothie and organic lifestyle misery. Will Dane help Cayden look for his sister? Will Cayden find his sister? If he does will she return with him? Can they last the full two weeks at the Retreat? Cayden' and Dane's interactions are a hoot. The fellow guests are absolutely funny. The story is very light and on the surface. Nicely done. I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dane is an type A person who thinks rest is a stiff drink at the end of the day. His PA has booked him into a retreat. Little does he know what’s in store.
Cayden has been searching for his sister who disappeared years ago. They end up commiserating over bad health food. What happens next is a sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes poignant story. This new to me author kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. I wasn’t disappointed. The author did a good gob with the MC’s. They fit well together and their chemistry was a slow burning fire that finally erupted into their HEA. My only complaint is that I wished the author would have tied the five friends together in the book for me earlier. It was hard to feel their connection to each other.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was a really good debut novel by P.T. Ambler. I liked the premise of this book meeting at a wellness center while one MC tries to solve the mystery behind his sister's disappearance. Dane is a workaholic whose assistant takes it upon himself to send him to a retreat to try and relax. Cayden the other MC is there for a whole other reason to find out what happened to his sister. His research and hard work led him to the wellness center. I am going to read on. There was chemistry between the main characters and I enjoyed the snark and sarcasm between the two main characters. I am definitely going to read on to the next book and see where the characters go. Many of the side characters were super interesting and hopefully will see them in future books.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably a book that other people will enjoy more than I did. I like a good rom-com, and the Australian setting was lovely, but this story was too slapstick, too confusing, too people-doing-foolish-things for my taste. Additionally, while one MC’s missing sister is the main focus of the book, the other MC’s sister (who died by suicide) goes largely undiscussed, as does her impact on his life. I skimmed much of the book in the interest of not DNFing. This gets 3.25 stars from me, but again, I suspect others may like it better.

My thanks to Gay Romance Reviews for an advance copy of this book.

[Anabela.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read, mostly because the protagonists were snarky and cynical, and the secondary characters were fun. Most of the group interactions were full of banter and funny comebacks, which made me laugh continually. Honestly, the mystery behind Cayden's sister disappearance didn't hold my attention, but it was the driving factor of Cayden's presence at the retreat and helped him meet Dane.

I liked Cayden and Dane as characters and as a romantic pairing.  I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop and how the author concluded their journey together. As a whole I found  Haven an interesting story and I had fun reading it.

[Florence . · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC but I enjoyed this one. I really liked the author’s writing style and the vibe of the book. It takes place in Australia and it felt very unapologetically Australian and I really loved that about the book. I liked how fun the book was to read. My only issue was that the romance part of the book wasn’t developed enough for me, I just wanted more romance. It felt like the romance part of the book was more of a side plot than the main focus of the book and I just prefer more romance in my books. But I did really enjoy a lot of this book and I will continue on with the series because I had a lot of fun reading this book.

I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.

[Bkwrm24 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars 🌟

This story was not what I expected.... it was a funny, lighthearted yet most times heavy with mystery...even when solved, I still felt as if some parts were missing. It was flirty but not overly romantic, actually it was very light in the romance department IMO. I gave this one 3 stars, I enjoyed it however I expected a bit more??? I enjoyed the MC'S Dane and Cayden so much that I will defiantly give the next book in this series a shot even though this one wasn't my favorite.

* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review *

[Janet Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a new to me author. I really enjoyed the story! Dane is forced to take a vacation. There he meets Cayden who is a journalist undercover. There’s a mystery to solve, looking for a missing sister. The story is full of humor and intrigue. It was engaging and kept me turning the pages. Overall, a really good read. The story flowed nicely and was really well written, highly recommend. I’m voluntarily reviewing from an advanced copy that I received. My reviews are solely based on my thoughts and opinions.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery set in a wellness retreat, with two sexy main characters who are the perfect foils for each other! Yes please, sign me up! I love to read a good romance with a Type A personality has a meet cute/ meet ugly with a chaotic neutral and falls to their charm. The mystery was engaging, the sexy times hot. The pacing was a bit off at times, sometimes too much attention paid to detail while other details were glossed over. All in all a very lovely story!

[Ida Umphers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book by a new to me author and look forward to more in this series. What worked particularly well for me was the Australian rainforest setting, the mysterious disappearance of Cayden's sister and the involvement of the cult and the two main characters both of whom are driven men who think they don't want/need a long-term relationship. Watching them go from casual to deeply involved and working together on finding Cayden's sister made for a great read.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dane is a workaholic & his personal assistant books him on a retreat that he doesn't really want to go on. Cayden an investigative journalist, who is moonlighting as a participant at the retreat in order to get information about his missing sister. The other guests at the retreat are hilarious, and the two men find themselves in some pretty wacky situations. I received an ARC of this book for my honest review.

[Dekaydreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, and has some humor, but overlong and overloaded with "dude". Didn't hate it, but didn't love it - at first it seemed implausible, then felt incomplete somehow, and finally felt more real in the final quarter. If not for the rhythm getting better as it got past the middle third of the book, I might have gone with two stars. If the first two-thirds of the book were pared way, way, back (take out all those "dude"s, dude, please.) I most likely would have given it four stars.

[T Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slow start for me, but I have to say once it picked up I was lost. I loved Dane and Cayden so much. Their combined efforts to find that which was lost, exceptional, their romance, amazing, their hurt, painful to watch and their future, an emotional moment. This story screams wonderful and delivers that very thing in every way. I voluntarily reviewed an of this book.

[Jo Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this author and I did enjoy it. I felt it was a bit slow to lay the story initially but did improve through the middle of the book. The end was also good but a bit short for my taste. I loved the Australian setting and the description was very real. Look forward to the next book in this series

[Julie Bedwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dane and Cayden are hard headed and a little slow to admit they want each other. That makes the journey to their HEA amusing. I found this book to be humorous and sweet, but I'm not sure I would wish some of their Health Retreat experiences on anyone. This is a new to me author that I greatly enjoyed reading and will look for in the future.

[Arllau · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your looking for a sweet rom-com with a mystery and the Australian backdrop, you will enjoy this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this full length novel from this new author. (New to me or under a new pen name) The story reminds us that one can find love when they least expect it. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.
I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy.

[Leonie Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this well written story very entertaining. It has a bit of everything from laugh out loud moments to intrigue and a great romance between the main characters, Dane and Cayden. At the retreat for very different reasons, they are perfect for each other. I recommend this book! “I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.”

[Malyn White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous Descriptions, charming characters

Takes a bit for the pace to kick in, but stay with it- once it does it’s a charming, beautifully written ride to the end. Heat level high (higher than I normally read) but skillfully written. The world building will have you putting Australia on your bucket list, canoeing on your to do list and Cayden, Dane (or maybe both) on your secret crush list.

[Amanda Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read from this author and it was pretty good. It had a bit of a slow start but in the end it all came together. I love how the men come together to find what they're looking for, including love.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dane and Cayden enter a retreat wellness center for different reasons but end up forging an alliance of sorts to find info on the missing sister. They have a slow burn romance and so many experiences at the center with funny secondary characters. It’s an enjoyable sweet story with funny moments.

[Geboyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to lie. Getting into this book was PAINFUL. I just could not connect, I was not a fan of either character but I kept chugging along and all of a sudden, everything clicked and I could not put the book down. The book is well written and I enjoyed the heck out of it after I got into it.

[Amanda D · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting new author for me

This is a first from this author and I have to say I enjoyed it. The characters were well written and descriptive, the side characters were colorful without taking away from the main characters, and the storyline was imaginative and fun.

[RACHEL REED · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this light hearted romcom.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend

[Al]

A cutesy read. No great angst. Pretty predictable. If you want something light and easy this is for you