Release Day Review: Animal Instincts by Ali Ryecart

30 June of 2022 by ButtonsMom2003

Animal Instincts By Ali Ryecart

Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Hurt/comfort, age-gap, small town romance, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine

Released: June 30, 2022

Publisher: Self-Published

Series: Love’s Harbour, Book 1

Length: 297 pages

Synopsis

There’s a storm coming to Love’s Harbour…

Microwave dinners for one and evenings spent alone aren’t what Oliver Strachan imagines for himself when he relocates his veterinary practice to the village of Love’s Harbour. It’s a chance to mend his broken heart, but starting over is tough and Oliver feels more lost than ever.

For barista Joss Faraday, the excitement and promise of the city — any city, anywhere — is a call he can’t ignore. Joss’ heart is set on a bigger, better life away from the village that’s been his forever home. All he needs is a lucky break and a one-way ticket out of Love’s Harbour to make all his dreams come true.

A clumsy encounter between the new, brooding village vet and the sunny barista is the spark that sets their hearts alight. The two men couldn’t be more different, but the attraction is real. Questioning what they truly want from life, the answer’s simple: it’s each other.

But the past is not so easily left behind. Dark clouds are gathering on the horizon, forcing Oliver and Joss to make a choice: stand together against the storm, or let it rip them apart.

An MM sweet with heat romance with opposites attract, age gap, grumpy/sunshine, and emotional wounds — plus irrepressible family and friends and a dog called Bingo. HEA guaranteed.

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

I loved this!

I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Ali Ryecart but I have to admit that her sweeter stories are really my favorites. Animal Instinct is a wonderful sweet with heat romance between two men who seem to be complete opposites in what they want out of life but the reality turns out to be quite different.

Oliver and Joss are both looking for something different in their lives. Oliver isn’t sure what’s missing but Joss knows what he wants. He is determined to leave the small village he grew up in and move to a larger city. The attraction between Oliver and Joss was pretty immediate but the story is still a slow burn because it takes the two of them quite a while to form a relationship and let things heat up.

Oliver is the new veterinarian in town but he’s having trouble connecting with his patients. Joss wants to work with animals and working part-time for Oliver will help him get the experience he needs to qualify for a full-time job in a bigger city. They mesh so well together – Joss has a way with people that helps to smooth things with Oliver’s patients’ owners; they will listen to Joss because he knows them.

I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it. Everything about it was wonderful, even the part where things go wrong. I knew that Ali Ryecart would set things right with Oliver and Joss and give these two an HEA – she always does, but she usually makes them work for it. 😊

I love epilogues, especially when they are set a few months or more in the future. I loved getting to know where Oliver and Joss were a year after their HEA.