ARC Review: Cup of Joe by Annabeth Albert

From the Blurb:

Sometimes an ordinary Joe is all you need…

Newbie barista Levi Miles is having a bad day in the middle of a bad month. He’s trying to figure out post-graduation life, and a recent breakup hasn’t helped. The one bright spot? The charming blue-collar customer with the simple order and reassuring voice.

Electrician Joe Simmons can make anything light up—except his love life. As he gets older, he remains unsure about what he wants from a relationship. But an innocent flirtation with the fresh-faced barista is exactly what his ego needs.
Levi doesn’t need a boyfriend. Or a Daddy. But bantering with Joe feels so good, and when their tentative friendship takes a turn for the sexy, a summer fling seems fun. Exploring long-held desires brings them closer with each steamy night, and the idea of parting gets harder.

But Levi’s only in town temporarily, and the end of summer is approaching. Both are reluctant to disclose their feelings, but pushing past their fears may be the only way to keep this special thing going. Can they order up a happy ending before time runs out?

Ky's rating:

"Cup of Joe" is the book that introduces us to a new multiple authors series that centers around a coffee shop called Bold Brew.

In the first installment, written by Annabeth Albert, we meet Joe and Levi. Levi has just moved to Laurelsburg, Pennsylvania and taken a job at the coffee shop after discovering that his boyfriend, which he met online, was lying to him. He relocated to be with him so now that he's alone he plans to only stay there for the summer and then move back home and look for a job in his field.

Joe is an electrician and a regular at Bold Brew and he takes an interest in Levi right from the start. He's older and he has family in the area, but mainly he's just as alone as Levi.

The two hit it off immediately and begin a relationship that was supposed to be just a friends with benefits arrangement but I don't think it was ever just that.

They are both interested in a relationship with mild D/s elements and they experimented with it a little bit, but to me it seemed more like role play. The whole thing was pretty light, so don't let the mention of a Daddy in the blurb scare you off. They just add a little spice to their vanilla.

So anyway, Joe and Levi spend a lot of time together during the summer and they reach a point where they can't pretend their relationship doesn't matter. They have to make some serious decisions about their future, mainly Levi as he's supposed to be leaving at the end of the summer.

There are enough interesting side characters to make the story more engaging and realistic. Aside from Levi's ex, Rick, which was a little like a caricature evil character, the rest of them were nice. I wonder if Blake will have a story of his own...

"Cup of Joe" is a pleasant story that reads easily. It's fairly angst free and makes a great read for a cold evening, as it's full of warm feelings and takes place in the middle of summer.

A promising start to this new series!



~ I read an ARC of this book. ~

 

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