Release Day Review: Below Grade by Elle Keaton

Below Grade By Elle Keaton

Genre: Romantic Suspense, GLBTQ, MM

Tropes: Grumpy/sunshine, older MCs, only one bed, slow-burn, small-town

Released: May 31, 2023

Publisher: Self-Published

Series: Reclaimed Hearts, Book 2

Length: 230 Pages

Cover Design: T.E. Black Designs

Cover Image: Furiousphotog

Cover Model: Nathan Belanger-LeCloux

Synopsis

A serious health scare forces Martin Purdy to rethink his life. He quits his job, sells his house, and buys a set of fixer-upper cabins on the coast. There’s just one teensy problem. Along with the property comes a very angry man.

Nicholas Waugh had his own scare, bad enough that he slunk back to the crappy town he grew up in. With no home to call his own, he finagles a security gig keeping an eye on a set of vacant cabins. The deal comes with a free one-year lease–and he’s not leaving a day sooner. Not even if the new owner gets down on his knees and begs him.

Okay… maybe if he got down on his knees.

Fifteen years of teaching college freshmen and patience is second nature to Martin. But Nick is giving Martin a run for his money. He’s one suggestive chainsaw sculpture away from justifiable homicide. If that wasn’t enough, when he’s not infuriated with Nick, Martin finds himself fighting an inappropriate and ridiculous attraction to the much younger man

Everyone in Cooper Springs thinks Nick is crying wolf, but creepy stuff is going on around town and he is the only one paying attention. Human remains found in the forest, and a body dumped on the property he’s in charge of, have Nick on high alert.

Meanwhile, all Martin wants to do is get started on the remodel. Instead, he’s fighting with Nick over things that go bump in the night and losing sleep worrying he’s made a disastrously wrong decision.

Failure is not an option.

What will it take for Nick to let his guard down? What will it take for Martin to admit that age is just a number and Nick is more than man enough for him?
Welcome to Cooper Springs, home to UFO chasers, Sasquatch believers, conspiracy theorists, chainsaw artists, and regular folk just trying to make a living. And, quite possibly, a killer.

Below Grade is second in the Reclaimed Hearts series, set in the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, it is an opposites-attract, age gap, only one bed, grumpy-sunshine, small-town romance, with a little murder.

Teaser Graphic

Review

Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Deep down, Nick is really a softy.

Below Grade is the second book in the Reclaimed Hearts series. Book one, Adverse Conditions, set up a lot of things for the series so I do think you need to read these books in order. This is a great slow-burn story. The first kiss didn’t happen until about 65% into the book but after that, watch out!

A storm damages the cabin that Nick has been staying in on Martin’s property, leaving it uninhabitable. Martin tells Nick he can stay with him and he reluctantly does so. Nick has been crushing on Martin since he was a college student in Martin’s class several years ago and he’s not sure how to handle being so close to him. At first, Nick refuses to share the only bed but the two of them eventually give into their mutual attraction and things heat up quickly. Being with Martin helps melt away Nick’s grumpy demeanor and his friends notice how much happier he seems to be.

I said in my heading that Nick is really a softy. It’s because he worries about what’s happened to the town lately. A teenage girl has gone missing and he and Martin discovered a human skull while they’re on a hike. Nick also rescues a stray kitten he found on the beach one morning. These are all things that most people wouldn’t think grumpy Nick would bother to do.

While the over-arching storyline of the dead bodies and missing girl aren’t resolved, Nick and Martin do get their HEA. A few new characters are introduced in this story and I’m happy to learn that Police Chief Andre Dear will be one of the MCs in the next book, Red Flagged, coming in the fall of 2023. I can’t wait to read it!

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Reviews for Elle Keaton

Goodreads

Add to your TBR on Goodreads.

Buy Now

Available to borrow with Kindle Unlimited.

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

Reclaimed Hearts Series

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

Teaser Graphic

About Author

Writing inclusive romance featuring complex characters and a unique sense of place is my happy place. The characters start out broken, and maybe they’re still a tad banged up by the end, but they do find the other half of their hearts and ALWAYS get their happily ever after.

In 2017 I pressed the publish button for the first time and never looked back—making this the longest period of time I’ve stuck with a job–in my entire life. Currently, there are over thirty Elle Keaton books available for you to read or listen to.

I love cats and dogs. Star Wars and Star Trek. Pineapple on pizza, and have a cribbage habit my husband encourages. Connecting with readers is very important to me. If you are so inclined, join my newsletter, The Highway to Elle, and keep up to date with everything Elle related.

Including, but not limited to, ‘where are my glasses?’, and ‘why are there cats?’. I can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and occasionally TikTok.

Author Links

Advanced Review Copy kindly provided by the author.