Today I am sharing my review of Rustic Melody by Nic Starr .  This is a wonderfully sweet Australian romance between two young men who I believe were destined to find each other. Keep reading to learn more about Adam and Joey and find out how they turn two separate futures into one perfect relationship.

I received one copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest reviews but all opinions expressed here are my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

Rustic Melody by Nic Starr

Purchase Links: Amazon

Title:   Rustic Melody

Series:   Rustic #1

Author:      Nic Starr

Publisher:   Nic Starr; 1 edition (January 26, 2016)

ASIN:  B01A7ONMXU

Genre:     M/M, Contemporary

Length/Format:  3224 KB/174 pages

Heat Rating:   3

Star Rating:   4

 

About the Author:  To learn more about the author you can check out her website or follow along on Facebook or Twitter.

 

Book Blurb:  

Adam Chambers has never seen eye-to-eye with his father and is reluctant to take over the family’s property-development company. To clear his head and work out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, Adam leaves his responsibilities in the city and heads out to see the country.

He isn’t much closer to deciding what to do with his life when he arrives at one of Australia’s largest events, the Tamworth Country Music Festival, and meets Joey Callaway.

Since Joey’s father’s tragic death left Joey the family’s debt-ridden pub, Joey has struggled, desperate to turn the business around and give his mum the life she deserves. A break away from the pressures of running the pub is just what he needs, and a hook-up with Adam is the perfect way to forget about his troubles.

The one-night stand might just be an opening act. If Adam and Joey can follow the music in their hearts, perhaps they can heal each other and create a melody that will last a lifetime.

My Review:

Adam is taking a walkabout away from the city of Syndey and his father’s construction business.  He needs to figure out what to do with his life but isn’t anywhere near ready to make a decision.  He heads to Tamworth, a bit of back country, and is enjoying a very large country music festival.  He stumbles upon Joey among the festival goers and they just seem to click right away.

Joey is in Tamworth for a much needed break from running the family pub.  Having taken it over for his dad after his death, it is struggling to make money and is creating a huge amount of stress for him.  A fling with Adam is just what he needs, although the level of comfort and fondness between these two guys definitely hints at more than just a casual fling.

Joey is just weighed down with stress.  Running the pub, working all hours of the day and night, worrying about his mom’s health…there are just so many struggles to deal with.  He doesn’t have a lot of experience with guys and is definitely nervous at first around Adam but these two guys just seem to blend together perfectly.  They laugh, kick back and relax, hit the sheets….it all just seems so perfect you don’t want reality to intrude.  However, life is never quite that easy, right?

Adam has to figure out what he wants out of life.  He knows he doesn’t want to work for his dad but that isn’t an easy decision to stand firm on. I liked his work ethic.  I loved how helpful he was to Joey in coming up with solutions for running the pub. He had a deep love of family (even his dad who was a pain in the ass) and knew in his heart that Joey was more than a fling. I did think the conflict with his dad was resolved a bit too quickly.  His dad seemed like a bit of a jerk and I anticipated a bit more upheaval than actually occurred.

Rustic Melody by Nic Starr is a sweet, low angst and realistic love story.  There are no secret agendas, no scandals, and no ulterior motives in this relationship.  Just two guys who meet each other randomly and realize that they could create a beautiful future together.  They have family issues, financial struggles, and some logistics to clear up but those are just technicalities.  The sex between these two is the perfect balance of sweet and hot, just what it should be between two guys who really like each other and are still in the ‘honeymoon’ phase.

I will say, I have mixed feelings about the ending of the story.  Without giving away what happens, lets just say they had a couple of options of where their future lay and I am not sure I like the one they chose.  I understood the reasoning but not sure I liked it!

Overall, Rustic Melody by Nic Starr is a sweet story to curl up with when you need a bit more warm and fuzzy in your life!