Title and cover:
Scorpio Hates Virgo
Series (name + # in series):
Signs of Love #2
Publisher:
Anyta Sunday (self published)
Release Date (Print & Ebook):
September 1st, 2017
Length: 245 pages
Subgenre:
Contemporary M/M gay romance, friends-to-lovers
The title includes: sarcasm, sexual content, and a slightly sappy HEA
All buy links:
Book blurb:
This year is all about healing the heart, Scorpio. It’s time to leave negative attitudes and stoic facades at the door and let others see the real, more vulnerable you.
Percy Freedman is not grieving. Absolutely not, take that back at once. No, he’s entirely sure that selling his dead aunt’s home and leaving the neighbors he’s known for years is the sane thing to do. Who in their right mind would keep the house that smells like all the hugs he’ll never have again?
Nobody, that’s who.
Well, except his cul-de-sac neighbors. They all seem to think some paint and new furniture will clean the emotional slate. They all want him to stay.
Even his old nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Especially his old nemesis, Callaghan Glover.
Lured into a game of Sherlock Gnomes, Percy finds himself hanging out with his neighbors more than might be considered healthy. Along with juggling new and surprising verbal grenades from Cal, and his burgeoning friendship with Gnomber9, Percy is starting to wonder if selling might have been the grief talking after all . . .
That’s right, Scorpio. With a little patience, heartbreak might be a thing of the past . . .
“Scorpio Hates Virgo” contains sarcasm, sexual content, a slightly sappy HEA, and an unhealthy obsession with dinosaurs.
It can be read as a standalone.
Themes: Light-hearted, friends-to-lovers, slow burn
Excerpt:
Cal rocked up to his Jeep all business-casual, in form-fitting jeans, polished leather shoes and matching brown satchel, and a dark jacket that covered a beige T-shirt.
“You got a meeting or something?” Percy asked, slipping his sunglasses on.
Cal opened the passenger door and looked at him over the roof. “No.”
Sunlight did very striking things to Cal’s hair. Made it look positively copper. Not as red as his cheeks were getting, though.
A cheerful cry startled Percy and he ripped his gaze away from Cal. Crystal was waving at them from her opened kitchen window.
“Good morning,” she called.
After another restless night, he could hardly call it good, but . . . “Morning.”
She leaned further out the window, her dressing gown gaping a little too much down the front. “Are you out for the day?”
“A couple of hours. Taking Callaghan here to work, then nipping past the Home Depot.” To get the home ready to market, he needed to spruce up the place. Paint the living room and bathroom, put in a new vanity, replace the door handles of the kitchen cupboards, change the faucets and showerhead and put in a new toilet seat.
“You at the Home Depot?” Cal murmured. “Sure you’d even know what to buy?”
Percy gestured for him to get in the car. “High time I get you to work.”
As he slipped into the driver’s seat, Crystal called out after them. “Good to see water and earth spending time together!”
Over his sunglasses that had slipped down his nose, Percy looked at Cal. “See, this is why we’ll always be nemeses.”
Cal hitched his brow, and Percy turned the ignition and peeled out from the curb.
“Together we’re mud.”
4 Stars
Perseus/Percy and Callaghan/Cal have been nemesis since Percy first came to live with his Aunt Abby at the age of seventeen after his parents pushed him out of their home. Percy and Cal spend their time together narrowing their eyes at one another while volleying insults back and forth. Percy has been away for some time, but he returns to his aunt's home after her passing to pack up her belongings and get her house ready to sell. Although she left the house to him, Percy can't bear to live in the home where happy memories shared with his aunt, the only family member that truly loved and accepted him, assault him around every corner. Can the nosey neighbors convince Percy not to sell his aunt's home?
While there were things that I loved about the story, there were also things that just did not work for me.
I understand this author loves a slow-burn romance, and I know to expect it when I pick up one of Ms. Sunday's novels, but I thought the romantic progression between Percy and Cal was way too slow. I would have liked to see them get more page time exploring their feelings for one another as a couple. Plus, build up is one thing, but frustrating the hell out of the reader is something completely different.
I absolutely loved Percy, but I wasn't so sure about Cal at first, but as the story progressed I warmed up to him. Both men are strong willed and loyal to those they care about. I absolutely adored the back and forth banter between Percy and Cal. It was entertaining and funny.
There are a host of secondary characters featured throughout the story, and they all added nicely to the plot, especially Cal's mom Marg, his sister Ellie, and of course, Crystal, Theo's mother, whom we met in book one, Leo Loves Aries. I was also happy to get a brief chance to catch up with Theo, Jamie and Leone.
This story is told completely from Percy's POV, and I found something in the story was missing by not having Cal's POV, as well. Cal and Percy had amazing chemistry and the sexual tension between them was palpable. Once they FINALLY fell into bed it was passionate, sweet and hot.
The story is well-written and interesting, but at times the flow felt off. A significant scene would end abruptly and then suddenly the book would move to the next chapter. I told my co-blogger, Mari, it almost felt like those TV shows that go to a commercial right before the big reveal and because each chapter started with the definitions, it interrupted the flow of the story.
Still, this was an enjoyable and fun read. It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, but the ending was sweet and swoon worthy. Very recommendable!
*copy provided by author/publisher in exchange for an honest review*
4 Stars
Scorpio Hates Virgo is book 2 in the Signs of Love series by Anyta Sunday and technically, it can be read as a standalone. However, I do suggest reading Leo Loves Aries first, because that book was amazing and you're missing out if you don't read it.
Percy and Cal have been enemies ever since they met back when Percy was 17 and he moved in with his aunt after his parents disowned him for being gay. Now, 5 years later, after his aunt passes away, Percy is back in the neighborhood to sell the house his aunt bequeathed him, but neither his neighbors nor Cal want him to move out even if Percy is not sure he can stay in his aunt's house. Slowly, their prior animosity gives way to friendship and suddenly Percy is seeing Cal in another light. However, Cal is straight, so any thoughts of a romantic entanglement between them are just a pipe dream, aren't they?
I loved Percy. He was such a fun character, sarcastic and loyal to his friends. I liked Cal, too, but I found it difficult to connect with him, since the book is written on Percy's POV entirely, so I don't feel like I really got to know him as much as I would've liked. While I thought they had great chemistry, I feel like the whole enemies to friends and finally to lovers took too long. I would've loved to see how they worked as a couple, not just see them get together.
It was great catching up with Theo, Jamie, Leone and Crystal, who we met in book 1, and all the other neighbors. They were such a tight-knit group, it was heartwarming to see how they all cared for each other. I especially loved Cal's family and how they cared for and helped Percy through such a hard time for him.
Overall, this was an entertaining read, albeit a tad frustrating. While I was aware it was a slow-burn, I feel the author drew it out a bit too long. Anyway, I found the story and the characters engaging and interesting enough to hang in there. I'm sure others will like it just about as much or more than I did. Recommendable!
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement.***
Author Bio:
Slow burn romance that quickens the heart.
Anyta is a big, BIG fan of slow-burn romances. She loves to read and write stories with characters who slowly fall in love.
Some of her favorite tropes to read and write are: Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Clueless Guys, Bisexual, Pansexual, Demisexual, Oblivious MCs, Everyone (Else) Can See It, Slow Burn, Love Has No Boundaries.
Anyta writes a variety of stories, Contemporary MM Romances with a good dollop of angst, Contemporary lighthearted MM Romances, and even a splash of fantasy. Her books have been translated into German, Italian and French.
Member of Romance Writers of America.
To win one of three e-copies of Scorpio Hates Virgo:
To win 2 grand prizes - 1 set of ecopy of 5 of Anyta Sunday’s favorite NA romances and 1 set of signed paperbacks of Leo Loves Aries and Scorpio Hates Virgo (open internationally):
Thank you for the review. Congrats on the new release!
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