Aviva Blakeman’s HOT LUMBERJACK is a fucking delight right off the bat. Literally. This finger scorching follow up to 2020’s HOT RABBI opens with the main characters having an unexpected encounter in a car outside of a bar. They aren’t strangers – they went to Hebrew school together as kids – but they are seeing each other in new ways.
One of the things that I most enjoyed (besides the smut, obviously) was Blakeman’s very careful world building. She brings back characters and places from RABBI and skillfully weaves them into this story in a very organic manner. It was fun to see old friends, but at no point did that take over the book. It just added layers of richness to the story.
Another signature of Blakeman’s writing that I’m coming to recognize and really appreciate is that her characters are all grown-ass adults with real feelings and thoughts, not just alphaholeness and big hair done out to there.* Even the antagonists and supporting characters. They experience real growth, are genuinely supportive of each other even when they are having an argument, and recognize conversational subtext. All of this in a book that clocked in at about 150 pages on my Kindle. Truly a find.
I don’t want to go into a lot of detail about the plot, because honestly, if there is a weak spot, it’s the plot. I could have told you exactly how it was going to go after the first ten pages. And, I’m not at all convinced that’s a bad thing. It really allows Blakeman to concentrate on that character growth, and you gotta love a HEA – it’s one of the main reasons I continue to love reading romance.
Let me put it this way: even though I was sent an ARC copy in exchange for a review, I fully plan on buying a copy to support this indie author. I also immediately started trying to figure out a way to smuggle guinea pigs into my apartment. They’re stinking cute in this book.
*One of my many irritations from other romance authors who shall remain unnamed, but my long-term CBR readers know of whom I write.