The Science of Attraction By Jay Hogan
Genre: Contemporary Romance, GLBTQ, MM
Tropes: Coming out, bi-sexual, family dynamics
Released: February 22, 2024
Publisher: Self-Published
Series: Mackenzie Country, Book 3
Length: 110,000
Cover Design: Reese Dante
I am Mackenzie Country born and bred. Farming the high country runs in my blood, like my father, and his father, and my great grandfather before him. My future has been mapped out for me since the day I was born. Or at least it was, until Liam Skelton walks onto Lane Station, lights a fire in my heart, and turns my whole world upside down.
Bossy, tatted, and out and proud, Liam is everything my father abhors.
And I want him.
Badly.
But having a chance with Liam means risking everything. My family. My future. And my life in these mountains that I love.
Still, the heart wants what it wants, and mine wants Liam.
With so many things against us, maybe we don’t have a chance.
Maybe we’ll crash and burn.
Or maybe we’ll find a way to have it all.
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003
A great addition to this series.
I think every Jay Hogan book I’ve read has turned me inside out and upside down – in the best way – and The Science of Attraction didn’t change that pattern one bit. I laughed and I cried and felt everything in between and I loved every minute of it.
I don’t often mark passages when I read a book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t find anything interesting; it mostly means that I’m just to lazy to do it. Well, The Science of Attraction compelled me to mark more than one spot. 😊
The following are passages I marked in the book and may contain spoilers:
When Jules takes Liam fly fishing and he steps into the cold water; Liam’s reaction:
“Cold? No, Jules. A winter walk on a beach is cold. The ice hanging from my veranda roof is cold. Jesus, the Antarctic polar cap is cold. But this, Jules”—”He was practically shouting.”—”this is stick your balls in a freezer until they’re royal blue and ready to shatter into a million pieces cold. That’s how cold this water is. And you’re about to see all of that come to fruition in the next few minutes.”
When Liam asks Jules what he wants to do with a man:
“Jesus, Liam, I don’t even know what the options are. I have zero idea what I’m doing. Zero confidence I can do anything without looking like a total idiot. Oh, and have I mentioned how fucking terrifying this all is?”
“We can stop right now.” I kissed the end of his nose. “No harm, no foul.”
“Hell no,” he blurted, then gave a soft chuckle. “That’s about the only thing I am sure of. I don’t want to stop. Jesus, Liam, you crank my shit like nothing I’ve ever felt before and it’s messing with my head. I mean, why you? I don’t understand that switch suddenly flipping after all these years. But I don’t want it to stop either. I just want . . . more.”
Jesus.
I kissed him long and slow, my tongue sliding into his mouth, tangling with his, relishing the sweet, rich taste—the hint of alcohol, a lick of smoky caramel—and the easy way he invited me in, so trusting, so fucking hot.
“Mmm, and why you?” I returned, nipping at his lips. “We don’t get to choose who we’re attracted to, baby.” I kissed down his throat. “Why one person and not another?” I kissed along his jaw and up the side of his face. “All that dopamine and norepinephrine flooding your hungry reward centres.” I kissed each of his closed eyelids. “Making you giddy and high. Making you feel like anything is possible. Like this is possible.” I waited until he opened his eyes and then smiled. “Like we are possible.”
When Liam’s mom is talking to her not-so-nice husband:
“I’m beginning to catch glimpses of the Paddy I used to know. The husband I remember. The way you were when we first met. The man I fell in love with.”
I’ve said it before, Jay Hogan’s writing is so beautiful and descriptive that it makes me want to visit all of the places she writes about. I loved Liam and Jules together so much. I also loved getting to spend time with the two couples that were the MCs in the first two books.
I was very happy to learn that there will be at least one more book in this series.
♥♥♥♥♥
O Factor: Scorcher
Available to borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
When we arrived back at the cottage, Jules looked pretty much like I figured I did—grilled to within an inch of his life. I’d barely stepped in the door when he grabbed my hand and pulled me back out onto the veranda and proceeded to kiss me like he hadn’t seen me for months. I loved it, along with far too much of the man actually doing it considering I’d only known him a month.
“I’m so sorry,” he apologised, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “How bad were they?”
“It was fine,” I reassured him. “I just have to be nice to you if I don’t want my balls fed to Holden’s stud Angus bull while they’re still attached. A terrifying thought if I let myself dwell on it too much.”
“Oh god,” he moaned. “I’m gonna kill him.”
I laughed and grabbed his arm before he could follow through. “Forget it. Besides—” I lifted up on my toes and pressed our lips together. “—I have zero intention of being anything other than very, very nice to you.” I palmed his dick through his jeans and squeezed. “So, I figure I’m safe.”
His eyes rolled back in his head and he thrust into my hand, adding in a strangled voice, “The kennel shed out back should be friend-free if we hurry.”
“No time for that.” Zach waggled his brows at us through the window.
“Fuck me,” Jules groaned under his breath.
“I heard that.” Zach smirked. “But Gil needs a hand on the barbecue and your name was volunteered.”
“Go on.” I gave Jules a shove toward the front door and then slapped his butt on the way. “We have all night.”
He grumbled over his shoulder, “If there’s anything left of my nerves after the Gordon Ramsey of the Mackenzie is done using me as his bitch.”
I laughed and gave him another shove.
Heart, humour and keeping it real.
Jay is a 2020 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Gay Romance and her book Off Balance was the 2021 New Zealand Romance Book of the Year.
She is a New Zealand author writing mm romance and romantic suspense, primarily set in New Zealand. She writes character driven romances with lots of humour, a good dose of reality and a splash of angst. She’s travelled extensively, lived in many countries, and in a past life she was a critical care nurse, nurse educator and counsellor. Jay is owned by a huge Maine Coon cat and a gorgeous Cocker Spaniel
Find Jay in all the places: https://www.jayhoganauthor.com/landingpage .
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