Lucky Denver has wandering feet, sticky fingers and an unreliable moral compass—he’s never had a home and he’s not so sure he cares about what he’s missing.
Arnold Kreed who runs a small-town B&B knows what a home should be. So does his home, The Oaks—aka Mildred—and she has some very definite opinions on who should stay and who should go.
Mildred wants Lucky to stay—and while Kreed is … surprised, he can’t really blame the old girl. He’s getting sort of attached himself. Lucky might be fine with the house’s eccentricities, but he’s not so sure Kreed will be fine with the man attached to Lucky’s real name. When Kreed falls ill, Lucky needs to make a decision—wander away like he’s always done or stay and be his better self. Kreed’s hoping he’ll stay—and so is The Oaks, and Mildred has a way of getting what she wants.
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This was such an entertaining read.
Definitely a great start to a great series.
I can’t wait to read what comes next.
In the B&B, Mildred will guide you. Arnold Kreed, runs The Oak B&B, or Mildred. Mildred has firm opinions and not above expressing her preferences. Lucky Denver, is a free spirited morally and domicially fluid wanderer. He may travel light, but he drags heavy baggage behind him. Kreed made Lucky an offer to stay at the B&B, helping out for room & board, able to leave whenever he wished, pending approval of Mildred, of course. Will Lucky stay and help Arnold? Does Mildred aprove of Lucky? Does Lucky retire his traveling shoes? Nice story. The town is lovingly quirky. Nice story flow. Well done! I received an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It´s a sweet, funny slow burn book. I love the third character Mildred. “She” is the perfect extra in this book.
It has wonderful characters with and amazing story!
This is a great start to a series. The characters are well written and the haunting is handled beautifully.
This series is new to me. I read an advanced copy of this book and this is my unbiased review!
This is a wonderful, engaging. slow burn, low heat, character driven series I love all of the characters and “Mildred” is hoot! This isn’t a fluffy story with high heat. This series is different/unusual is a good way and I do recommend this book and series!
This is the first book I’ve ever read written by Ms Samms and I can assure you it won’t be my last. Sweet and endearing, with wonderful characters and a very interesting plot, this book caught me since the beginnig to the very last page. I enjoyed a lot the banter between Lucky and Kreed and how their relationship evolved smoothly throughout the book. I want to add that the House is the greatest idea ever and it was amazing witnessing her “interactions” with Kreed. I hope to learn more about her in the next books. I cannot wait!
Not a high heat book but still a worthwhile read if you need an engaging slow burn.
Both Lucky and Arnold ended up becoming one of my most remembered MC couples. Lucky has a questionable moral compass. Never one to be grounded. Arnold owns and runs a B&B – obvious roots.
Unusual circumstances bring and keep these two men together. Slow build to a satisfying ending.
**I received this ARC via GRR for my honest feedback.**
Lucky always trying to swindle and out run his past until he is almost run over by the most insincere woman he has ever met. I will not spoil Mildred; I am still unsure of my feeling for her. Mildred deposits lucky at an old B&B with gorgeous, grumpy innkeeper. Extrovert meet introvert. I enjoyed this book, but I found myself skimming a bit. I slow burn of their romance was nice but not for. The secondary characters (house included) are addition. I would suggest finishing the next installment of Bed, Breakfast, Beyond.
I received this ARC from Gay Romance Reviews for an honest review.
If you read romance strictly for the heat, this book is not for you. I’d give it MAYBE one star, heat rating. However, if you love character driven stories, personal growth, and love showing it’s not reliant on on consummating it’s existence, then this book is for you.
Lucky has not had a life that lived up to the name he gave himself. After years of running from the name he was born with, he finds himself someplace he never imagined existed…home. It makes him all kinds of uncomfortable, yet he stays. Kreed wasn’t expecting Lucky, but he accepts him. Why? Because his house does. Yes, you read that correctly. The house has a ‘mind’ of it’s own, including a wicked sense of humor, and a very discerning taste.
I loved the growth in relationship between Lucky and Kreed. I loved how the author kept things authentic, given Lucky’s past. You can’t just blink and it’s all gone. Some things have lasting effects, and the author did it justice.
The main characters weren’t the only ones who were lovable; the side characters were not to be ignored. Let’s start with Mildred, the house, whom I love so much. Her personality was very much appreciated throughout the story. I loved Jake’s character, and how the author incorporated a person on the spectrum into the story and out hearts. Samms did a great job developing the characters she chose for this story, including the villains.
This book as a bit of everything, including love, intrigue, magical, humor, and angst. It all makes up for a fantastic story. I enjoyed it! It was very well written, and I highly recommend it. I cannot wait to see what happens next.
***I voluntarily accepted a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews. My review reflects my own thoughts and opinions***
This first book in a series starts off a bit slow but then picks up into a heartwarming story about finding yourself, trusting others, doing what’s kind and right, and found family. The highly unusual aspect of the story, which I’m classifying as paranormal, is the sentient house, Mildred.
Lucky is hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere trying to get away from trouble. He’s nearly run over and the woman who stops to help him decides to drop him off at a B&B run by someone she knows. Lucky decides he’ll find some marks to score off and keep moving on. Kreed owns a B&B housed in a building that has her own points of view and ways to show you what she thinks. Prior to Kreed no one could stay in the place. But for three years Kreed has run his business and if he’s a bit lonely and wishing for a partner well, it’s a small price to pay for living as he wants to.
It’s an interesting setup, the thief, the innkeeper and the sentient house. The story takes a while to get moving and I think would have benefitted from some more judicious editing. Once it starts moving though it pulls you right in.
I enjoyed the diverse cast of characters who enhanced the story. I’m looking forward to more of them as the series continues. I always like it when secondary characters play an integral part in moving the story and character development forward.
There are a couple of crisis points and I felt like the drama could have been better played out. And there are points which are evidently supposed to be dramatic but never get there as well as elements that just don’t make sense. (Can’t elaborate without spoilers but I bet you’ll know what I’m referencing once you read the book.)
The action in the last part could have been so much more compelling. It was good and rewarding but I’d have loved to see some more drama, clashing and consequences. But I tend to be pretty bloodthirsty.
I enjoyed the book and am going right on to read book 2. So that should serve as a good recommendation.
**I voluntarily read an arc and this is my unbiased opinion.**
This was a new to me author and I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the story. Lucky and Kreed were perfect for each other. They had an instant attraction and tons of chemistry, sooo good. The story has a great group of secondary characters. I’m voluntarily reviewing from an advanced copy that I received.
I misunderstood the blurb on this one so it was a happy surprise! I enjoyed this story so much. I couldn’t put it down and immediately jumped to book two, The Innkeeper’s Blues.
Would you open your home to a ‘drifter?’
Would you expect him to turn your life around and make you questions your actions for the last few years?
What would you do if you decided you needed to change everything about your livelihood and your future?
Lucky does this, and more, when he shows up at Arnold’s (Kreeds’s) bed and breakfast.
You’ll fall in love with siblings, a small town and a house.
You’ll want to visit and stay a while…or forever.
If you’re so inclined, you can even read the second book in this wonderful series…’Inn Keeper’s Blues.’
This is the first book I have read by this author and I must say I really enjoyed it. It was a little bit different from the fluffy romances I am used to. The MC’s. Lucky and Kreed were so good together. They had instant chemistry and connection. The supporting characters were great also. Almost all revolved around Lucky and Kreed but in the B&B. It was a little sad how Kreed’s past intersected with Lucky’s. But all cards were laid out and Lucky and Kreed’s new budding love won out.
I received an ARC from the GRR Team and voluntarily read it for an honest review
A thief meets his match when he winds up at a sentient, and slightly sapient, match-making bed and breakfast. The host isn’t bad either.
This is a really cute redemption story. A little bit of angst, but not so much that it kicks it out of the comfort read category.
There was a cute feel in the story with the fantastic Mildred and her temperamental communication and Jake with his innocent honesty that was sweet and endearing. The romance between Kreed and Lucky took a while to get off the ground, like most of the book, but when it actually started it was just as cute as you could hope for. With big hearts and a new start, they were able to grasp a life together they hadn’t known to dream of.
Lucky was something interesting. His secret past, his sticky fingers, and his fear were all things that worked together to draw me in and made me want to know who he was, what would become of him. Kreed was a bit different in that we didn’t get his perspective for quite some time, and even then it was under a less-than-positive situation where his relationship cast a negative light on both him and the possibilities he and Lucky could have. It took so long for him to stand up to his past/present that he almost lost his future and I wasn’t thrilled at that at all.
Finding redemption and a future amidst adversaries and a sense of misplaced guilt proved difficult for Lucky, but mostly because he had a hard time forgiving himself. Once he got onto the right path and committed to it he was surprised to see just how much support he had all on his own, independent of Kreed. As it turns out, just because Kreed had been there longer didn’t mean the town was any more invested in him than in the thief that blew in during the night. The community rallied behind both men because they saw something good in both of them and were aware of just how much work they both did. Their actions spoke louder than their histories.
What I loved most was the courage displayed by Lucky and because of him a whole new future opened up for those he set out to protect with his silence and later, his voice. The magic of old houses and the bravery within both made this story something wonderfully sweet and worth the read. It may have taken a while to get on its feet, but once it did there was hope, and in the end there was love.
Lucky is a wanderer with a heart of gold but is a small time thief taking just what he needs to survive. He’s on the run and ends up at Oaks B&B.
Kreed is a sweet man and is the owner of The Oaks B&B who is also named Mildred.
Through all the drama Lucky and Kreed were able to come together for their HEA. It was an absolute delight to read and I highly recommend.
Independent reviewer for Gay Romance Reviews, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I’ve left with a deep feeling of delightful!
I mean, it comes with a story line that is a bit darker in places, when Lucky is telling what happened to him and the others but it’s not delivered in any GREAT detail. You are just given enough for you to add things up, at first, to make a picture. More comes, in more detail, but still not great detail, you know? You don’t have to live through everything Lucky and the kids went though.
It is *almost* clean. I expected it to come out totally clean, to be honest, but still I really enjoyed that fact. This is not about the sex between Lucky and Kreed, it’s about the LOVE, or rather, about learning to love, to trust and to just be, you know?
I LOVED Mildred, the house! Loved the little noises she makes to express her opinion and thoughts on a matter or person. Loved that she saw the main trouble-causer in this book way before we did. Mildred did make me laugh, with her little noises, she really did.
I loved Lucky, and what he was running from, but more importantly, what he ran TO. He knew Kreed needed him, very quickly and just as quickly, Lucky was staying, even though people thought he had done a runner. I loved Kreed, too. He knew that Mildred wanted Lucky and he knew that HE wanted Lucky, it was just a matter of whether Lucky wanted Kredd enough to stay.
Like i said, a bit darker in places, but it really is the most delightful read I’ve read in a very long time! From what I can see, I’ve only read one other by Samms, and that was a long while ago. THIS book is billed as book 1 in the Bed, Breakfast and Beyond series, and I really hope I get to read the future books and that Kreed and Lucky pop up too.
Thank you, Ms Samms, for an enjoyable, delightful read!
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Lucky Denver run away from his house when he was seventeen. At 34 years, he’s still in transit between jobs, apartments and cities. When he misses to be run off the road by a car in the middle of nowhere, Lucky find a place to stay a night. The B&B of the small town with his hot owner, Kreed.
Kreed loves his B&B and his house, Mildred. When Lucky show up at his door, with a bruised knee and more, Kreed open his house and heart to this mysterious man. He didn’t expect to have his life change in a better way because of this man, his house and the whole town.
Thief in the light was a beautiful and sweet story about second chance in life.
Lucky has a complicated and traumatic past. He’s used to be invisible or accused of the worst. When Kreed open his heart, his house and his life to him, Lucky have a choice, to run away like he’s used to do, or stay and fight this time.
I liked him, I liked how he’s protective, smart and sensitive. I loved Kreed too, he’s a huge teddy bear, a nurturer and he only want to make people life better… especially Lucky.
It was well written, the MCs weren’t superficial, the secondary characters were very good, especially Jake. He’s my favorite and I would love a book about him.
I would love to read more about them, to read what happen after the end. I didn’t have enough.
I gladly recommend this book. It’s sweet, funny with a beautiful rainbow of feelings.
Lucky was picked up out of a ditch and brought to the B&B that would change his life. From a thief on the run to an honest man given another chance in a small friendly town. Mildred is a great character. She took in Kreed and then Lucky. This is a different kind of romance, with a bit of paranormal and full of second chances. Awesome!