Sullivan Haines knows exactly what he wants out of life. Fame as a Broadway dancer and to find the man of his dreams. Sadly, his love life is a dismal mess, his roommate is PMS personified, and working at a dingy dance studio teaching old people how to tango and foxtrot is not exactly the bright lights. Actually, life in the Big Apple is pretty rotten, until he and his dog run into tall, dark, … and oh-so-handsome Duane Hart in the park. Their pooches hit it right off, but can the two men find romance along the park’s winding paths?
Duane Hart hasn’t had a lot go right in his life. His girlfriend recently broke up with him, taking everything that wasn’t nailed down or in his roommate’s name. Well, everything except the Yorkshire terrier that he didn’t want to get in the first place, and that she now refuses to take back. However, when he meets a handsome stranger and his pit bull in the dog park, will the blooming heat in his chest be able to convince him to start dating again? Or will fate prove love isn’t a walk in the park, after all?
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Awesome!!!
Such a fun story; Duane and Sullivan are so good together.
I LOVED this book! It’s really different from other books I’ve read by V.L. Locey. I don’t know if it’s her or her daughter, Stephanie, who is responsible for all of the humor and lightness in this story but they have produced one that was so much fun to read that I couldn’t put it down.
Sullivan is an over-the-top, flamboyantly marvelous, gay man and he loves who he is. He’s a dancer/dance teacher and has a YouTube channel where he posts video clips of himself. He has a dog named Princess Pizazz Periwinkle (Pizzy) and he takes her to the dog park for exercise.
Duane had to drop out of college for financial reasons and his girlfriend has recently left him taking all of his stuff but leaving her dog behind. Tiberius (Tibby) is a cute little guy and Duane is soon being a good doggy-daddy. When these two meet each other at the dog park Duane is a bit overwhelmed by Sullivan’s strong personality.
The bantering back and forth between them is just so much fun to read. I don’t often compare one book to another but I put Love is a Walk in the Park right up there with Femme by Marshall Thornton – another fantastic book that I also love. So, if you’ve ever read that book, you’ll know what I’m trying to convey about this story.
There is one scene in the book that some might find troubling. Sullivan is sexually assaulted (no rape) by the owner of the dance studio where he teaches. It’s not a gratuitous scene and is integral to the rest of the story.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters of Ronan, who is Duane’s friend and housemate, and Aliyah who is Sullivan’s friend and housemate. They both provide their own entertainment value to the story.
Love is a Walk in the Park is going on my list of favorites for 2019.
***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***
I would rate this 3.75 stars.
Sullivan is a dancer with big dreams of Broadway, but has ended up teaching mostly kids and the elderly at a rundown dance studio. He has a pitbull named Princess Pizazz Periwinkle, no really. One morning he sees Duane in the dog park with his Yorkie named Tiberius. It’s lust at first sight, but Duane is shy and a little awkward about putting himself out there. Sullivan has no such issues and Duane’s roomate Ronan helps encourage Duane. Of course, Pizzy and Tibby are doggie besties from there on out.
This story is told in alternating first person so the reader gets Sullivan and Duane’s thoughts throughout the book. Although the addition of details about their friends adds depth, Sullivan’s relationship with Aliyah mostly consists of insults, his awe of her art, and the fact she wealthy and it’s her condo. Duane’s relationship with Ronan mostly consists of him listening to Duane’s dramas. The book is realistic in it’s depiction of day to day life and trying to fit relationships in between work and sleep. There always has to be a conflict and in this case, it’s external to the relationship. Be aware there is an on page sexual assault. Emergencies and our reactions to them either drawn us closer, or push us apart from people. In this case, it’s all handled fairly quickly with not a lot of detail, allowing for minimal angst on the reader’s part. The final obstacle is when Duane’s parents come for a visit. Overall this is a sweet story of boy meets boy with explicit, but low heat, love scenes and a happily ever after.