Quinn’s Hart

Title: Quinn’s Hart
Author: Cassandra Gold
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: M/M contemporary romance
Length: Extended Novella (35k words)
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

THE BLURB

Quinn Delaney has never had much luck with men. Shy and uncomfortable with his height, he’s always tried to blend in rather than stand out. When his former foster sister and best friend cons him into going on a singles’ trip to Walt Disney World, Quinn is certain he will be miserable. Then he meets Josh.

Being dumped by his high-maintenance boyfriend a couple of weeks before a trip to Disney World isn’t what Josh Hart had planned, but he’s determined not to let it get him down. Rebooked on a singles’ trip, Josh intends to make the most of his first trip to an amusement park. On the first day, he meets shy, sexy Quinn, but the man is clueless about his own appeal.

If Quinn wants to catch the man of his dreams, he’ll have to be willing to risk the one thing he’s never put on the line before—his heart.

THE REVIEW

Quinn is a very shy man, with low self esteem issues. He’s also very tall and broad which brings him a lot of unwanted attention and means that people make assumptions about him. He’s persuaded by his travel agent friend to take a holiday to Disneyland on a singles’ trip, with the idea that it means that he will be forced to mingle with people. Whilst there one of the group, Josh, catches his eye. Josh is everything he is not: personable, witty, charming and able to be the life and soul of the party, and Quinn is drawn to him. Josh is also drawn to Quinn after he discovers that underneath the bashful exterior there’s a kind, intelligent man with a bone dry sense of humour. They try to spend as much time as possible together during the trip, but some of the other men in the group have their sights on Josh and Quinn too.

I finished this story and thought ‘well, that was just lovely’. This was a gentle opposites attract story which deals with two men who start a holiday romance with potential for much more. The quality of the characterisation is so good that I was drawn into both men’s situation and background and sympathised with them. This was especially true for Quinn whose shyness and sense of being uncomfortable in his skin, was quite socially crippling for him and I felt all his self-directed anger, frustration and resignation. The initial scenes where Quinn meets the men in his group and tries to join in were then contrasted to the way that Quinn opens up to Josh and become more confident in himself by the end of the story. In fact, the way that Quinn grew as a character during the story was one of the highlights of the book for me.

Josh is recovering from a recent break up and just really looking for a fun holiday – something he missed out on during his childhood – and Josh’s wonder at all Disneyland’s glorious over-the-top schmaltz brought a smile to my face on a few occasions. I also liked that Josh was constantly surprised by Quinn who is the opposite of the sort of man who usually attracts Josh. I liked that an act of kindness by both men – Josh impulsively asking the quiet Quinn to join their group, and Quinn indulging Josh’s delight of Disneyland by coming on all the rides with him – then led to them discovering that, despite their differences, they are the perfect match for one another.

As the main focus of the story is on the two men as they get to know each other, there’s not much space for the secondary characters. The group of men were a mix of all different personalities and I especially liked the subby and pushy Clay, who looked at the huge Quinn and saw a Dom – much to Quinn’s horror.

If you are looking for a great character based romance about two men meeting and starting on the road to love, then you can’t go wrong with Quinn’s Hart. I found myself delighted by the men and the way they overcome past hurts to be together. Highly recommended.