This book was just not my cup of tea. Age gaps are a hard pass for me but I thought the prose was really good and would love to try other books by this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I didn't enjoy this book. The pacing was off, the conflict was contrived, and it was so repetitive that I ended up DNF-ing at 90%.

Overall, there is so much potential for this book. Like the title, it does have good bones. Unfortunately, the pacing is painfully slow. There's drama and conflict around the 15-20% mark and then NOTHING HAPPENS until 85% when the author realized she needed something dramatic to happen and brought out the third-act break up. The reasoning makes sense, but there was minimal set up for any of it. We didn't get to see backstory for Kathleen's family issues or trauma from past relationships. It was all within Kathleen's thoughts and, even then, it was alluded to instead of letting the reader see what's going on. Kathleen is supposed to have this horrifically tumultuous relationship with her family and we see them interact ONCE. Then, before the reconciliation, it was all VERY convenient conversations that completely centered on the two main characters. Literally every conversation the main characters had were "mind-blowing" and "major revelations." It all felt super forced and, at that point, I couldn't finish this book.

I generally don't mind a slice-of-life and slow-paced story, but the conflict at the end was so poorly done that I couldn't finish this.

I will admit that I had high hopes for this but in the end was disappointed. Logan poured her heart out to Kathleen only for her to not be able to get over the age difference. The relationship felt forced and underwhelming but the sex wasn’t bad. This just didn’t have the umph I would have liked.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed this latest instalment of the Renovation series by Aurora Rey. Book two follows the youngest Barrow daughter, Logan as she takes the lead on her first renovation for the family company. Her first client is the much older Kathleen , a professor turned romance writer who has moved to the country to write in peace. But first she must turn the run down house into her dream home and that’s where Logan hopes to make a good impression on Kathleen. However the somewhat non romantic romance writer is not so quickly impressed by Logan’s romantic overtures.

The reader also gets to catch up with all the Barrow family from book one as Logan begins to try and win Kathleen over. Wonderful humour and banter sparkle in this age gap, opposites attract romance. Lots of interesting secondary characters make this a well rounded story that with delight readers.

5 stars! Absolutely!
Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Seriously, THANK YOU. I have spent YEARS reading lesfic by this publisher and I am SO excited to finally get to read e-arcs. I feel like a very professional lesbian.

Aurora Rey does it again with another fabulous romance. Kathleen buys a house and Logan ends up working on it. They meet when Kathleen falls through her porch (literally) and in dreamy butch fashion, Logan is there to save the day. The two can't help being veerrry into each other despite their age difference and Kathleen's borderline "ice queen" vibes. Will love conquer all? Is there more to relationships than love? Can love solve everything? Do age differences matter?

The characters are so well written and come to life. Throughout the book I kept getting so annoyed at Kathleen, but also having a lot of compassion for her, and whenever I got annoyed I thought "dang, Aurora Rey really made this character good!" This book has a lot of similarities to a romance I've experienced myself, and it was both validating and frustrating to see it played out - because it was so accurate and lifelike! Will Kathleen get over her avoidant attachment? You'll have to read to find out. Aurora Rey also does a great job at showing how the older half of a partnership can get all caught up in the maturity levels of the younger partner, but she herself has a lot of growing up to do. Logan made me believe in love again.

I love knowing that anything written by Aurora Rey will be 1. well written 2. captivating and 3. not depressing. Seriously, in a depressing world, I don't always want to read books that have sad, heavy stuff. There are certainly big themes dealt with in here, but in a way that didn't make me feel existential. I love Aurora Rey for that. Also I just love her writing. You should too.

Good start. Any time I had to put the book down, I resented whatever was taking me away. I liked being in this book world. About 30% in I felt pacing slipped slightly. Possibly because the mains were in “No man’s land” (no pun intended!) They weren’t frosty but the romance wasn’t going anywhere….. even an acknowledged start. However just after this, things started moving, so just slightly off my perfect timeline.
Things move along, but I felt pacing slipped a bit. The whole can’t go further, must go further didn’t really hold my interest. My interest never came back as strongly as the start. Rounded up to a 3, probably just me tho’. Read it and see.

DNF @ 20%

Nothing I dislike more than instalust and zero chemistry.
I know this part is totally opinion & there are many, MANY people who feel otherwise, but the age gap was too yucky for me. I can handle a large age gap, but Kathleen being so aware of the age difference, saying she could be her mother, etc, REALLY put me off. If I had known about the age gap from the blurb, I would not have picked this up.

An age gap romance with great characters who have different believes and are at different places in their lives. An emotional story with lots of angst. Here we have Logan who is sensitive, thoughtful positive, mature and big on consent. Then we have Kathleen who is always in her head and might come across as cold. Very enjoyable and I recommend. 4.5 stars

Thank You, NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC.

The premise of the book was great—after all, who doesn’t love a good renovation—but I ended up wishing for a few change orders. Contractor Logan is immediately attracted to 40-something Kathleen, a romance writer for whom she’s project-managing a renovation, and shoot her shot. Kathleen doesn’t believe in love and is hung up on the age difference. Logan spends the rest of the story doing all the heavy lifting in the relationship, and it was hard for me to warm up to Kathleen.

Thanks to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for an ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book has everything! Age gap, small town, a protagonist that has sworn off happily ever after and the striking younger woman that makes her doubt everything she believed in. A delightful story to get lost in!

I received an advance copy from Netgalley for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Kathleen Kenney is finally where she wants to be. After decades of slapping through adjunct professor jobs, she can now fully devote herself to what she loves: writing sapphic romance. Not that she actually believes in HEA, no, that’s for her made up characters. The only thing between her and her delightful introverted future of writing in a small Vermont town is the remodeling of her new house. Barrow Brothers construction company came highly recommended, if only she didn’t meet the gorgeous project lead in a cringe-meet instead of a meet-cute. Logan Barrow is way too young for her anyway and has the falsely optimistic hope for forever love that young people do. Absolutely not what Kathleen is looking for. Right?

Logan Barrow can’t help but be excited. The Kenney remodeling is the first project she will lead solo. She’s going to do everything in her power to deliver the dream home of her client. Said client is gorgeous and somewhat of a mystery but Logan is immediately drawn to her. Kathleen brushes off Logan’s first clumsy advances. But the more Logan chips away at her walls, the more Kathleen lets her in. Can this be it? Can this be her dream project and her dream woman?

Give me a hot builder paired up with a reclusive writer story anytime of the day! Aurora Rey definitely delivered a very good one in this category. She writes sweet romance just as well as the vulnerable, emotional side of it all. Kathleen struggles with her own beliefs. The dichotomy between her mind and heart is very relatable. Logan knows what she wants and works relentlessly to show exactly that to Kathleen. She does so with the utmost respect and that is a sight to behold. Very, very swoon worthy!

This is a standalone book but somehow also the second in the Barrow series. It was great checking in with Maddie, Sy and Clover from Sweat Equity. If you haven’t read that one yet, I highly recommend it too!

Somehow I can’t resist a small town romance. There’s something so charming about a tight community where people know each other and have each others back. The relationship Kathleen instantly builds with Maddie, Clover and Leah are a great example of that. They effortlessly click despite Kathleen being reserved and introverted at her core. Found family is an important part of the story and you can’t help but want to be part of that too.

Pick up an Aurora Rey book and you can’t go wrong. This is another heartwarming example of her skill.

This story takes place in rural Vermont. Where the last few books of Aurora Rey’s have been set. This one has Logan Barrow, the youngest child in the Barrow Brothers construction company, getting her first chance of being in charge of a construction project. Kathleen Kenny hires the Barrows to remodel an old house that’s she’s bought in town. Kathleen has given up her job as a professor, to devote to full time writing queer romance novels.

This starts out as insta-lust between the two women. Kathleen is 15 years older and wants the sex but no relationship. Logan starts to fall in love with Kathleen and bends over backwards to give her what she wants.

I didn’t like Kathleen’s character at all she seemed phony and cold to me throughout the book, even if she became a little more accommodating in the end. I will say that she was upfront from the start that she wasn’t looking for a relationship. I felt sorry for Logan to be so in love with her and wished a better partner for her.

I enjoyed the other books in this series a lot better. I missed the banter that those books had and the more likable characters.

ARC received from Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

This Barrow Brothers Construction Company book series features Logan. The youngest in the family. Logan has much to prove to her parents and siblings (or so she thinks). Logan takes the lead on a renovation project and meets Kathleen Kenney who possess lots of emotional baggage. When the two meet, it is definite interest from Logan and possible interest from Kathleen. Logan though younger than Kathleen feels strongly about what and who she wants in her life. On the other hand, Kathleen spends much time inside her head and when she is not doing that she is focused on the 15 year age difference. Since this is the second book in the series, there is much family involvement from the Barrow family which provides some entertaining scenes as advice and opinions are shared.

Logan is very likeable and I can understand where Kathleen is coming from even though she appears unsure. I point to her family for that uncertainty. An enjoyable read and I look forward to reading Clover or Jack's story.

Good Bones was such a delightfully wholesome, sweet story. I loved how it showed Kathleen’s journey of learning to embrace joy and delight, and to let go. I loved how it showed Logan’s eagerness and communication, and demonstrated her respect and value for consent in all things. The flirtiness and conversation between the two of them was extra sweet.
It was almost comforting to read about a romance author who in “real life” actually had awkward sex from time to time and was romance-adverse and jaded.
I loved the acknowledgement that it was ridiculous to insinuate someone doesn’t look “middle-aged”, as if it’s a bad thing for women to look their age - and the honest acknowledgement of different concerns about age gaps. It was beautiful to see the “modest but meaningful gestures” rather than love-bombing and grand romantic gestures.
All in all, a super lovely, emotional story with a healthy dose of angst and a lot of longing, great friends with great advice, and amazing spicy scenes!!!

This took me a really long time to find a rhythm with and when I did, it just didn’t click for me. There’s a lot of emphasis on the age gap part of their relationship, but while Kathleen angsts about it literally all of the time, she never talks about it with Logan and just assumes that Logan is too immature or too young (despite being 29). All of the times that she would think of something and wonder if Logan would know what it was or would get the reference were so frequent as to feel forced and to the point where I started to wonder if these two even actually liked each other and what they liked about each other. Kathleen also chases Logan away at literally the 88% mark, meaning there’s so little time for resolution or actually seeing them work through all the issues that kept repeating throughout the story to the point that the conclusion felt really rushed. This one just wasn’t for me.

This story has been quite boring, because it is repetitive. I can understand, from my own experience, the insecurity that an age difference causes in a romantic relationship. I also understand, for the same reason, that as the years go by one has less patience or is more demanding and does not tolerate certain things, even going so far as to behave in an unkind way towards others. And with this, Kathleen's personality is defined, at least in most of the book, in the end she changes a little for the better.

And the other component of the romantic relationship represented in this book, Logan, I can't say that she can represent me now or in my past, so I don't empathize much with her behavior, too direct, too dependent on Kathleen's interests, too accommodating.

So, since it took me too long to become interested in this story, although I managed to finish it, it was not even close to what I have recently rated with 4 stars, which leaves it at 3 for me. An average story.

While this installment in the series offers a decent read, it fell short of expectations for me. Having delved into the previous book, I found it hard to connect with this one, mainly due to my lukewarm reception of Logan's character. Unlike the first book where Maddie, Sy and the supporting cast stole the show, here, Logan's demeanor felt too forceful and juvenile, hindering my immersion in the story. Logan and Kathleen just did not flow together for me, Although I appreciated the charming setting and the potential for future narratives involving the middle Barrow, the romantic aspect lacked the spark I was hoping for. Overall, while the series holds promise, this particular entry left me less engaged, elongating my reading time as I struggled to invest fully in its outcome.

After writing two novels, one of which was a bestseller, Kathleen Kenney buys a house in rural Vermont. The house needs to be renovated and she hires Barrow Brothers Construction company to do the work. Logan Barrow is the project leader. While Kathleen knows she is attracted to Logan, there's a problem - there is a 20+ year difference between them - Logan doesn’t have a problem with the age difference.

Rey has created two likable characters and her secondary characters, like Maddie and Clover, are well-drawn as well. The story has angst to be certain, but it isn’t over-the-top nor heavy-handed and doesn’t run on for pages and pages because Rey is one of the best writers of controlled angst that makes sense and isn’t added seemingly to add words to the manuscript.

This is a fast read because the characters are so well written that readers will be loathed to put the book down - even to sleep. If you don’t like endless angst that makes the book saggy, then this book is for you.

My thanks to Bold Strokes Books for an eARC.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Kathleen became successful enough as romance writer to buy a fixer upper she plans to be a part of getting her house the way she wants. Logan is the youngest who works with her family at their Barrow Brothers Construction she majors in design but can build also and wants to prove she can lead that been in this family for four generations. When they meet Kathleen needs help after getting stuck as they work together Logan becomes a bit smitten with Kathleen but Kathleen is concern about their age gap and that she won’t be able give Logan what she wants in the long run. I like Kathleen developing a friendship with Logan sister Maddie and Clover even though Kathleen is in different place in her life she just assumes what Logan would want in the future that she was about to miss what’s happening in the present. Enjoyable read I wonder will their be another because we still don’t know what their Uncle going to do and there’s Jack

This one was a bit hard to get into at first. It seemed like it was going to be insta-love from the first few chapters, which I'm not generally a fan of. As well, I couldn't understand the attraction between them at first when their only dialogue seemed to be discussing particulars of the house, there was very little other conversation at the beginning. Things did change around the halfway mark and they embarked on a relationship that seemed a lot more realistic and wasn't the insta-love I had thought it was going to be from the start. However, I still wasn't crazy about this one. Nothing particularly stood out to me and I felt like some of it was a bit dry or redundant towards the end. But I do think some people will really enjoy this one! It has a lot of house renovation, realistic discussion and fears regarding age differences and children, and some spicy scenes. It didn't quite work for me, but if it sounds like your cup of tea don't pass it up on my count! 3/5 stars.

This the second in the Renovation Romance series. The series seems to be following members of the Barrow Brothers Construction family. The company has been in the family for four generations. Older sister Maddie got her romance in Sweat Equity (Oct. 2023) now it is Logan Barrows turn. Logan is the youngest and majored in design at college. But she can do construction just like the rest of her family. When Kathleen Kenney purchases a fixer upper in their small town Logan is keen to be the lead. Kathleen is successful enough as a romance writer to no longer be an adjunct professor which she has done for almost 20 years. Logan is instantly smitten with Kathleen but the older woman is concerned about the 15 year age gap. Kathleen also is a little jaded and no longer believes in happily ever after love.

Logan is a golden retriever type character. Very positive, wanting too much to please, very sensitive to moods and big on consent. As the youngest she considers herself an old soul but also wants a nesting relationship. Kathleen is in a different place in her life and the book spells out her feelings well. Sometimes she can get caught up in her head but it fits her character. I liked the amount of steam and that if follows the pair for a couple of months giving time to get to know each other. Having read the first book in the series I enjoyed Maddie and her befriending Kathleen. I don’t understand Clover much. The differing expectations in the relationship give a realistic reason for the unsureness in the romance.

I liked the story and the maturity Logan demonstrates. I’m assuming there is another romance coming for Jack who is trans. And there is still the question of how the uncle’s relationship will impact the family business. I will be waiting to read it. (3.5 Stars)