CASSIDY MARTIN is a country boy through and through. He loves his horses, his Lord ofthe Rings tourist business, and his isolated paradise at the foot of New Zealand’s SouthernAlps. Not that everyone appreciates the seclusion he craves. Take his ex-wife for example.
The sexy-as-hell guy on his latest tour might be whip-smart and push all of Cass’s buttons,but he’s about as country as a pair of … as country as a pair of Louboutins, and Cass has been there and done that.
Broken heart with the T-shirt.
STEFAN HAMILTON doesn’t do ‘outdoorsy’, he’s a city boy, born and bred. The closest
Stef gets to the country is ‘Cowboy Night’ at his favourite Auckland gay bar even if the music
makes Stef want to rip his hair out by the roots.
But Stef is also a hardcore Lord of the Rings fanboy. So, when he gets the chance to go on a
horse trek to the iconic film locations in the Southern Alps, he sucks up his fear of the
gigantic animals and his allergy to camping for the chance to let his nerd flag fly. But when
his mate pulls out at the last minute, Stef is left to negotiate the horses, the wrath of mother
nature, and an inconvenient crush on the cowboy leading the tour.
City meets country and the sparks fly.
more
Jay Hogan is a new author to me, I think I’ve found a new place to land. The story between polar opposites Stef and Cass was sweet, sexy, funny and full of love. It was a quick connection between the sexy cowboy and hot, flashy city hottie! Even so, it filled my heart and I loved their journey. I look forward to the next book in the series
A very suspenseful read. Lots of adventure with Stefan and Cassidy when a storm hits during an overnight horse trek in the mountains. Jay’s description of the New Zealand country side is so good I felt like I could picture it exactly in my mind. I enjoyed this second book in the series as much as the first and am looking forward to the next one.
The first book in this series was enjoyable, but honestly it was this sequel that really blew me away. It takes place over a short timeframe, which had me worried to begin with- I’m not usually a huge fan of “instalove” scenarios. But although the connection between the two main characters was indeed formed quickly, it also felt like it developed organically and was forged into something solid and longlasting by the action in the story.
I’m also a big fan of characters overcoming external obstacles together, and that’s certainly something that happens in this book. Without giving away any plot details, I’ll just say there’s a hearty helping of action and suspense. The characters – especially Stefan – really came into their own over the course of the tale, and it was largely thanks to this personal growth and discovery that the two men were able to reconcile their vastly different lives and find their happily ever after.
Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I look forward to the next book from Jay Hogan!
Another great read from Jay. This series is going from strength to strength and I look forward to the next one.
A really good story of personality crushes and the great adventure! The setting in this story was amazing and the plot interesting! The best were the characters though – a rough guy and a city slicker thrown together. Really good!
Hands down one of my favourite authors, Jay Hogan has another spectacular winner with Tamarillo Tart. I confess to having no idea what a Tamarillo is but I was captivated all the same. The characters were realistic and vibrant as the stunning vistas described. I loved every moment of the book!
Loved, loved, loved Cass and Stef! Tamarillo Tart is all about opposites-attract, country meets city, gorgeous scenery, a sexy and sweet romance, a touch of angst, and Lord of the Rings. Not much more needed! I had no problem believing the emotional connection between these two men… or their sexual chemistry. The depth with which they are written is outstanding, and their banter and interactions are hilarious, organic, and highly engaging. And of course, there is a wonderfully uplifting and satisfying epilogue. I cannot recommend this series highly enough!
Stef is a city boy, born and bred. He’s a lean, sassy, proudly out, fem who’s happily strutting his style. He loves his city life and designs jewelry in Auckland. He’s come down to Queensland and Lake Wakatipu to go on a horse tour with his best friend, Tanner, and Tanner’s boyfriend Ethan.
Beneath these designer clothes and mortgage worthy hair products lurks the soul of a true adventurer.
Cass is a cowboy, making a living on his family’s sheep ranch. He’s a very tall, well built, strawberry blond who is bi but has made the decision to not come out to his rather small and close knit hometown.
The land filled Cass in a way he’d never understood until he left it behind, and he wasn’t living again any time soon.
Early in the story, Cass and Stef fall into an east rapport and I really enjoyed it. Having read all of Jay’s previous books, I always adore how she writes dialogue. She always slips in little bits of extra fun, from history to movies to nature facts…something that most of us do when we’re having conversations!
While I’m usually not a fan of insta-love, I’ve known enough real world couples that felt immediate and sustained attractions to understand that falling “in like” can indeed happen quickly for some couples. Jay handles it well here and the story moves along easily. There weren’t any parts where I fell out of the story due to awkward “it’s waay too soon” scenes and I thoroughly enjoyed how the relationship is finally resolved.
Without giving anything away, I want to give extra kudos for the dramatic second half. I could see her research paying off in the way she handled these scenes and it was definitely my favorite part of the book. There were so many emotions flowing but instead of allowing it to get overwhelmingly angsty, she kept large parts of it light with Stef’s banter.
In the end, a fantastic new book and a new favorite for me. Looking forward to Southern Lights Book 3!
Heat :: steamy!
Definitely for the over 18 crowd
MCs :: Stef (Stefan) and Cass (Cassidy)
Side characters :: Tomas, Andrew, Dee, and Benny. Also Tanner and Ethan from Book 1, Powder & Pavlova, make an appearance.
ARC was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
After thoroughly enjoying book 1, Powder and Pavlova in the Southern Lights series, I eagerly grabbed up book 2 – Tamarillo Tart by Jay Hogan.
Jay is truly a character driven author, using her talents well to build excellent character definition in all her books. Stef and Cass are wonderful examples of this talent and their story is a delight to read!
Stef is a firecracker who never needed to come out. His fabulousness is evident to all who meet him and therefore he feels he has an expectation to meet. He’s a city boy through and through and accepting his friend’s invitation to go on a horseback adventure visiting New Zealand’s Lord of The Rings film landscapes is both exciting and scary. When his friend needs to pull out at the last minute, Stef (the self-declared Lord of the Rings fanboy) decides to still go along and make the most of the experience.
Cass runs the horseback adventure tours and knows he has a beginner in this new group. What he’s not prepared for is that Stef’s adorable charm and the close supervision required to support this beginner on horseback accelerate the development of a bond between the men – despite the other participants of the group occasionally getting in the way. Cass finds Stef challenging and invigorating, which in turn has Cass questioning his own life and why he has resisted raising the awareness of his bisexuality with his family sooner.
The attraction is vibrant and I found myself yearning for them to stop resisting each other! The desire and hunger are perfectly paced leaving me salivating and eager for the next page. The story’s events develop suspense and tension while continuing the character development and humour I just love about this book.
I gobbled this read up quickly – ever eager for the next chapter and found the pages turning without pause. Jay Hogan does a brilliant job bringing the scenic beauty of New Zealand to life and I’m certain readers will find a dramatic and emotional journey when diving into Tamarillo Tart! You could easily read this as a standalone, but the first book in this Southern Lights series is equally entertaining and enjoyable!
I’m really enjoying Jay Hogan’s Southern Lights series, which features city boys meeting and falling for small-town guys.
In this book, out, proud, and fabulous jewelry designer Stefan is invited by his best friend (whose story is told in book 1, Powder & Pavlova) to go on a horseback tour to some of the locations from the Lord of the Rings movies. Stef is terrified of horses, but when his friend drops out, he decides to step outside of his comfort zone and go on the ride anyway. Leading the excursion is Cassidy, who fulfills every one of Stef’s cowboy fantasies. Stef isn’t at all the kind of guy Cass normally goes for, but he finds it difficult to resist Stef’s sassy charm. The two of them try to deny their inconvenient attraction, but when they face trouble on the trail, it becomes impossible for Stef and Cass to ignore their feelings for each other.
Stef and Cass fall in love quickly, way more so than I’m normally comfortable with in a romance novel. Both are very honest in evaluating their feelings, though, which helped overcome my typical objections to instalove plots. They acknowledge that they have fallen fast and hard and are clear-eyed about the obstacles they will have to overcome to make it last. (Not a spoiler—it does.)
Bonus points to the author for acknowledging that hay and sexy times do not go together comfortably without a little effort.
The only issue I had with the book is the title. Since I have never eaten or even seen a tamarillo, I keep getting the title wrong. (What’s that book again? Something about a tomatillo, maybe?)
All kidding aside, though, it’s another winner from Jay.
A copy of this book was supplied by the author for review; all opinions expressed are my own.
Really loved this book. Cas and Steph were from different world but the clicked. Their chemistry was hot. The horse tour didn’t go quite as planned but it just made their relationship stronger. That ending, go Steph.
Talk about opposites attract!
Stef and Cass couldn’t be more different from each other: Stef is city “born and bred”, he’s a fem out and proud gay man from Auckland who’s idea of roughing it is a three stars hotel and cannot fathom a place where there’s no brunch. When his best friend’s boyfriend gifts him a 2 day riding trek in the locations of LOTR (Stef’s secret nerd guilty pleasure) and he meets Cass, the half-closeted, bi trek guide, whose heart and souls are in the Southern Alps. The attraction is immediate but their lives are so different and apart, plus they’ve both been hurt in the past.
The book is incredibly sweet and despite the heavy flirting from both men, there are just a couple of super hot moments between them. As a matter of fact, it’s really a case of love at first sight, given that the main part of the book takes place in just the two days of the riding trek.
Very well written, with great character development and beautiful scenery description. Another 5 stars from me to this incredibly gifted author.
Absolutely gorgeous.
The setting is amazing. Stef and Cass are super adorable together. This is a whirlwind romance but I found it completely believable.
If you like sassy city boys, semi-closeted cowboys, great scenery, hurt/comfort (but little angst), and great writing, then you’ll love this.
Can’t wait for book 3.
I love this story so much. Cass and Stef are so opposites of each other but they are so perfect for each other. Their chemistry is so HOT. I just absolutely love everything about this story. Such an adorable, funny and sexy story.
Amazing story were City boy meets Country boy and boy are there explosions going on especially with such differences between them but it just works. I highly recommend Jay’s books I haven’t read anything I have not liked yet.
I loved everything about this book,.
Cass and Stef were polar opposites but they just clicked.
They had great chemistry, plenty of snarky banter and sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Their characters were emotionally compelling and beautifully written.
The setting was exceptionally descriptive, it was almost palpable.
This was such a charming, delightful, engaging, steamy, poignant, amazing, adorable, endearing, fantastic, lovely, and totally awesome addition to this marvelous series. It had me hooked from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
I love this author so I knew I was going to enjoy this book. Stef and Cass have crackling chemistry from the first couple of pages. I love smart, sassy characters that make you laugh and Stef ‘s got that in spades. The book could have just been a fluffy and sarcastic rom-com and still been great with these two characters, but Jay knows just the perfect amount of drama to add another layer the story. I also love how she makes the animals important side characters with quirky personality traits of their own. I look forward to more of this series.
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review
Jay Hogan brings Stefan “Stef” Hamiliton to the forefront with “Tamarillo Tart”, the second installment in the “Southern Lights” series and introduces Cassidy “Cass” Martin.
Stef being a jeweler has ties to the big city life. He doesn’t hide who he is, he’s cheeky but has also dealt with romance gone bad. He has a special bond with his brother.
Cass is a very business minded cowboy. He loves his horses and giving tours of the beautiful land of New Zealand Southern Alps. He’s not out and has tried pushing it aside but even marriage didn’t make things any easier for him.
Stef and Cass are both extremely different and come from two different ways of life, but as beautiful as the Southern Alps are there’s also danger that could just make their lives turnaround.
Jay Hogan makes this novel a study in character. Stef finds himself doing things he wouldn’t normally or ever do. He finds himself reacting to all types of situations from: horses, dangerous terrain, weather and tragic circumstance. He also finds a way to benefit from city to country and have all the things he loves, especially where Cass is concerned. Cass learns to have faith and accept who he is with Stef’s presence.
Once again, with the “Southern Lights” series, Jay Hogan entertains with her character building. Interesting side characters with: Sean, Cass’ dad, who’s a surprise; Dee the subtle mother figure; Tomas and Andrew, who have an odd brotherly connection and Stef’s wonderful and lovable brother Benny.
There’s tense and dangerous moments that made this a page-turner for me.
There’s just the right amount of humor between Cass and Stef and especially Arwen. It was amazing how Hogan took the idea of “Lord of the Rings” and built a story around the beautiful countryside of Glenorchy and the Martin’s Stables and Tours.
“Tamarillo Tart” is another great addition and read from Jay Hogan. I’m ready for the third installment with “Flat Whites and Chocolate Fish” ! Can’t resist with a title like that!
Stef and Cas were wonderfully well-written characters and I loved watching as their differing personalities found common ground. This lovely (and steamy) story is a great second installment to the Southern Lights series.
*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book*