Today we get to share with you the sexy men from books one and two of the Men from Hamden Series by the fabulous W. Ferraro:
Three of Hearts and Three of Spades
The books have had a facelift and now have gorgeous new covers
Three of Hearts
Mae Turney is
searching for the type of life and happiness she has never known but has only
dreamed about. She's fortunate enough to find a great opportunity to live in an
exterior apartment of a beautiful lake house in a small town in Vermont. When
she realizes the apartment and scenery are not the only gorgeous appeal but the
home owner, Seth Finn, is as well, she puts it all on the line for the chance
at love. When she becomes comfortable
and confident in her own skin and sexuality, Mae realizes that this place and
this man is exactly what she came looking for. Knowing Seth and his three
children are as special as they come, Mae bets the house, and prays she and her
gamble are enough.
Three of
Hearts is the first of three books by Wendy Ferraro about the men of Hamden.
In Three of Hearts we meet Seth Finn, handsome widower, successful
construction company owner and father of three. Seth lost his wife Maggie
five years earlier, shortly after the birth of their third child, Megan and
since that time has not been able to face the prospect of another relationship.
Caring for his children and ensuring the success of his business has been
his primary focus, until he meets Mae.
Mae Turney
is an oncology nurse who relocates from Boston to the town of Hamden. She
moves into the apartment that adjoins the home of Seth and quickly befriends
his three children Conner, Aidan and Megan as well as his housekeeper Lynne and
sister Robyn.
Mae is not
your 'typical' female lead - Ferraro has created a character that is
intelligent, independent and also refreshingly curvaceous, rather than the
svelte, catwalk model figure that usually features in romance novels -
this was a nice change, although almost a little overdone with repeated
references to Mae's curves and 'womanly' features.
For me the
relationship between Seth and Mae moved a little too quickly, particularly
given there were children to consider. They had only spoken a few times, and
Seth was a little rude on at least one of those occasions, before they were all
of a sudden in the middle of an intense, physical relationship. The
connection between the two characters was real enough, I just thought the pace
at which they moved was a little unrealistic.
There are
some great supporting characters in this story - bad boy, Dylan Cross: Seth's
business partner and life long friend; Robyn Finn: Seth's sister and the
one responsible for bringing Mae into his life, Wes Thompson: another business
associate and good friend of Seth; and Lynne O'Shanahan : Seth's fiery irish
house keeper - all add some interest and help to keep Seth honest with himself
and Mae - much to his annoyance!
As with any
good romance novel there's an event that puts Seth and Mae's relationship to
the test. Without wanting to disclose the detail I was really
disappointed with Seth, his behaviour in the heat of the moment was appalling -
I think we were supposed to consider it part of his 'fiery' Irish blood, but
for me it was extreme and difficult to recover from. I was also a little
disappointed with the resolution to the issue - it seemed like some important
things were glossed over and it just felt like the conclusion came about too
quickly and easily.
Having said
that, I enjoyed Three of Hearts, it was a quick read with enough substance to
keep me engrossed in the story. Ferraro creates some strong characters
and writes some steamy love scenes. Three of Spades is the second book in
the series and I'm moving on to that next to learn more about Dylan Cross.
3 out of 5 stars
Three of Spades
Dylan Cross is
the type of man that enjoys everything female, and enjoy it he does, but always
on his terms. However, his terms are pushed to their limit when Natalie Parker
proposes an offer; teach her and her delectable little body, all about sex and
desire. There is one catch. He has to play the part of Natalie’s madly in love
boyfriend for her dying mother. Dylan signs on, and finds that separating the two
is harder than he thought. Natalie’s days of shyness and lack of confidence
come to a quick close as she learns what her body craves and demands in the
bedroom. Soon, Dylan becomes the student as Natalie teaches him things he
didn’t even know he wanted. Will Hamden’s notorious playboy, bachelor be able
to keep calling the shots, or will he find that, he, himself, is just another
player at the card game of life, as we all are?
Three of Spades is
the second book by Wendy Ferraro about the men of Hamden, with a particular
focus on Dylan Cross.
Clearly
established as the 'bad boy' in Three of Hearts, Dylan is renowned for his love
em and leave em attitude. With a history of a steady string of short term,
primarily physical relationships, the last thing Dylan anticipates is falling
for Natalie.
Natalie Parker, a
kindergarten teacher spends much of her time caring for her dying mother,
Gloria. Gloria decides she needs to be "cruel to be kind" to ensure
Natalie does not spend the rest of her life alone after her mother dies. As a
consequence, Natalie seizes on a strategy from one of the many books she has
read and decides to pay a man to pose as her boyfriend for her mother. Given
her lack of relationship experience, Natalie decides she'll use the opportunity
to learn about the physical side to a relationship as well.
With her strategy
set and time slipping away, Natalie propositions Dylan for the role. Dylan
negotiates what he considers to be an appropriate fee, establishes some terms
and conditions of his own and sets out to 'educate' Natalie as best he can.
While a little
predictable, the developing relationship between Dylan and Natalie is a delight
to read. Dylan takes his role of 'boyfriend' very seriously, with a particular
focus on his role as teacher in the bedroom. Some of the love scenes between
the two are incredibly steamy and Natalie blossoms under his tutelage. As the
time of their 'arrangement' draws to an end, it is apparent to both of them
that there is more to their relationship than either of them intended. The
question is, will Dylan and Natalie admit to themselves and each other,
precisely how they feel?
There are other
elements to the story that add to the intrigue and uncertainty of the outcome.
We meet Natalie's brothers, Reggie and Sam, both of whom treat her badly and
are trying to manipulate the care of their mother for their own benefit. We see
glimpses of characters we met in the Three of Hearts and it's nice to see how
their relationships are developing. There is even a disgruntled employee of
Dylan's in the mix, that could have added a greater level of angst to the story
if that part of the plot was a little better developed.
I really enjoyed
Three of Spades, more so than Three of Hearts. There is something satisfying
about a 'bad boy' coming unstuck in the game of love - although Dylan Cross is
not as bad as he'd like people to think.
Ferraro includes
an excerpt from Three of Diamonds at the end of the book, which, along with
some of the scenes involving Wes Thompson and Lola, the new bartender at Cal's,
within the book has peaked my curiosity for the next instalment in the stories
about the men of Hamden.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I live in New England with my young family. I'm a stay at home mom to two very active children. For all of you who are familiar with the stress of this job, I decided to complete an item on my bucket list and write a book. When I'm not writing, you will find me cooking, reading, shopping or being silly with the kids.
I wish you all happy reading and hope you fall in love with the men of Hamden.
Book three in the series 'Three of Diamonds' is coming soon
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