Reclusive writer Noah Kinley is facing a dilemma: how to confess to the world he’s really the author of a best-selling romance series. For years, his friend Julie has been the face of his brand, but she wants her life back now. Fast running out of ideas for his popular series, Noah wants to break out into other genres. Not that he’s writing much of anything at the moment anyway, thanks to paralyzing writer’s block. With his publisher breathing down his neck for the next installment, he hopes a change of scene will get his writer’s juices flowing again. Desperate enough to try anything, during the holidays Noah swaps his isolated cabin in the woods for a gentrified horse farm.
USAF Major Connor Harrison has chosen forced retirement over facing charges for an unauthorized mission to rescue a buddy from behind enemy lines. No one expects him home for the holidays, and he certainly didn’t anticipate finding a stranger in his house, much less Noah Kinley with his acid tongue and a wry sense of humor that pierces all of Connor’s defenses.
Both men need to figure out what the next chapter in their lives will be—and whether it will include each other.
4 Stars
I loved the blurb for Holiday House Swap – the recluse writer, the military veteran and both men thrown together unexpectedly for the holidays and I have to say that Sarah Madison didn’t disappoint! I really enjoyed this story from start to finish and felt like I really got to know these characters and totally fell for them!
Noah is a successful author who writes using a pseudonym, a female once since he writes romantic suspense and was told that no one would read romance from a male author. (OH so wrong BTW) He’s written a successful series using his friend Julie’s name, she’s also the face of the books. Noah’s in a rut though, struggling to get the next book done and in hopes of sparking is creativity he decides to do a house swap. He’s going to go stay in someone else’s home for the holidays and they are going to be staying in his cabin.
Connor has just left the Air Force, not completely by his choice, and he’s struggling with what will be next in his life. He has the amazing house his father left him but he doesn’t know if he can afford the place. The last thing he expects when he gets home is a stranger in his hot tub! No one bothered to tell him about the house swap.
Despite a very strange and stressful meeting Noah and Connor strike up a quick and easy friendship. They seem to immediately connect and understand each other, they have a genuine honesty between them. They open up to each other and have some tough moments but they also have the fun and easy ones too.
As their friendship changes into something more, there are issues both Noah and Connor have to deal with. Noah faces new pressures to reveal that he is the author of his books, Connor has to figure out what he will do with the property he owns and then there is their relationship. This really was a sweet journey to follow, I really felt for these characters, in the good moments and the rougher ones too. I loved getting to know them, all of the little moments experienced. This is one of those reads that has layers, strong characters and will leave you with a happy heart!
Sarah Madison is a writer with a little dog, a big dog, an even bigger horse, too many cats, and a very patient boyfriend. An amateur photographer and a former competitor in the horse sport known as eventing, when she’s not out hiking with the dogs or down at the stables, she’s at the laptop working on her next story. When she’s in the middle of a chapter, she relies on the smoke detector to tell her dinner is ready. She writes because it’s cheaper than therapy.
Sarah enjoys placing hot men in hot water to see how strong they are—like teabags, only sexier. This motto allows her to play in a wide variety of genres, from FBI guys to shifters, with some WW2 fighter pilots and space adventurers tossed in for good measure.
Sarah Madison was a finalist in the 2013 and 2015 Rainbow Awards. The Boys of Summer won Best M/M Romance in the 2013 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards. The Sixth Sense series was voted 2nd place in the 2014 PRG Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Mystery series, and 3rd place in the 2105 PGR Reviewer’s Choice Awards for Best M/M Paranormal/Urban Fantasy series.
If you want to make her day, e-mail her and tell you how much you like her stories.
4 – 4.5 Stars
I absolutely love the Olympics – I get so sucked into watching the events that I actually spend a few weeks sleep deprived because I cannot stop watching! So when I read the blurb of Fool’s Gold, about Jake’s journey to make the US Olympic Equestrian team, I was excited! And I do have to say that Sarah Madison did not disappoint me with the story! I loved the detail in this story and both Jake and Rich just got to my heart!
This story starts in 2008, before the Olympics, Jake a likely contender for the team. Jake seems to pretty much have it all – his father’s money allows him to focus on riding, he’s got great horses, and he’s got Rich Evans, a fellow equestrian and his boyfriend. But, one night on the way home from training a horrific car accident changes everything. Jake is hurt, he’ll recover, but Rich won’t ride, not the way he used to and the driver and two of their horses killed in the crash. The pain doesn’t end there though, Jake’s father disapproves of his relationship with Rich and now that Rich is hurt and unable to pay for his care, he can make him an offer he can’t refuse and get him out of Jake’s life for good.
We then jump forward to the months leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics and once Jake is back in it, but it’s not going to be easy! He still has lasting effects from the accident and then finds out he’s getting a new coach – Rich Evans! And oh, once these two are together again, it all gets real. There is anger and hurt, from both sides, but those old feelings are still there too. Eventually it’s too much and they give in, open up and the honesty takes over. Rich and Jake were both very broken, very hurt men, but they soon find that the love they shared is still the base of them and together they can work through it all, even standing up to Jake’s father.
The story is told from Jake’s, Rich’s and even Jake’s father POV (which at first I didn’t like) so we get all sides. I love seeing Jake and Rich working through it all, figuring it out and ultimately falling in love again. Jake’s father is a piece of work, but I didn’t totally hate him at the end. This really was a great, satisfying story that left my heart happy and cheering on Jake. I loved the timing of this book and easily fell for these two. I definitely recommend this sweet, fun story!
The Geekery Book Review 