When Garrick Rosaran put down his sword for the last time, he expected the quiet life to be simple. It isn't. His cottage is falling apart, and his carrots, despite his best efforts, refuse to grow. Peace, it turns out, requires a different kind of skill than war ever did.

(Un)fortunately, there's Rowan.

Rowan is a sassy gardener with a talent for coaxing life from stubborn soil. He offers help without Garrick needing to swallow his pride and ask for it, and a smile that lingers longer than it should. Garrick doesn't know what to make of his green-thumbed neighbor, or the long-buried warmth that begins to sprout alongside his newly planted seeds.

Rowan, for his part, knows better than to cradle undue hopes. He's been wrong about love before, and the last thing he needs is to misread a kind man's intentions-no matter how easily they fall into step together, no matter how much he wants to believe.

But as the season closes, and small, quiet moments begin to add up to something more, both men are forced to confront what they've been avoiding. Because growing something new-whether in the soil or in the heart-always comes with a risk.

And some things are worth the chance.

Author's Note

THE VIBE: Low stakes in a high fantasy setting, character-driven, dual POV

THE ROMANCE: M/M slow burn with a high emotional tension

THE HEAT: Open door, tenderly spicy. While the focus is on the slowly sprouting romance, the book contains a few descriptive, explicit scenes

THE ENDING: A guaranteed Happily Ever After (HEA), no cliffhangers

Lured by His Reserve is the first book in a trilogy of standalone love stories.

Sign up now to get the most out of Books2Read

Discover something great at Books2Read.

Thanks for signing up for Books2Read notifications!