Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Review & Giveaway: PATIENCE by Helena Stone (Dublin Virtues #1)



Buy Links: 

Pride Publishing (Early download)


Pre-Order: 

Amazon US | Amazon UK  (March 28)


Cover: Emmy Ellis

Length: 62,945 words

Publisher: Pride Publishing


Blurb

Patience is a virtue. But what if you wait too long?

While Xander Ekman's dream of becoming a successful artist has come true, his love life has gone from bad to worse. Sick of the endless string of one-night stands, he accepts the challenge when his best friend, Erik, bets him that he can't be celibate for a month. Now all he needs is a reminder to keep his distance in the heat of the moment.

Troy Moriarty doesn't have time for love. He's too busy trying to keep his recently opened tattoo parlor afloat. Besides, ever since the man who was supposed to be his business partner abandoned him to run the shop on his own, he has a hard time trusting others.

When Xander turns to Troy for a tattoo that will remind him to be patient, the attraction is instant. But faced with Xander's month of celibacy, Troy's trust issues, and a nemesis lurking in the background, their relationship may be doomed before it has a chance to begin.


Carra's Review

I love stories where a main character is trying to overcome something or discover something about himself.  In Patience, Xander has pretty much been a playboy, but not really by choice—it’s them men with whom he’s getting together that are either not interested in more, or who sense that Xander isn’t.  After his best friend confronts him about his behavior, he accepts a bet to remain celibate for a month.  It’s not so much about winning for Xander though…he really wants a relationship, and takes this opportunity to step back and reevaluate things to try and figure out how to find that special someone.  

Xander has his own issues of impulsivity and his easy-to-provoke temper to conquer so he can get himself out of this vicious cycle of one-night stands that he seems to be stuck in, and he believes exercising patience will get him where he needs to be.  Enter Troy, the man he turns to for a tattoo to remind him to be patient.  To me, Troy was a great complement to Xander.  Troy had a much calmer nature and was more level-headed and easygoing—except when it comes to his supposed business partner Shane who basically left him high and dry.  Troy and Xander do have a spark between them-one they both resist for their own reasons.

As the two develop a friendship, we get to see them go from strangers to friends to one-step-away-from-bursting-into-flames as they grow closer and closer.  The romantic and sexual tension does run high for much of this story, driven by Xander’s admirable restraint and the continually looming presence of Shane that continues to color Troy’s thoughts.  I was very proud of Xander for sticking to his resolve.  Troy though aggravated me late in the story by jumping to conclusions without getting the whole story (something that irks me in any story I read when characters do that).  The two of them have some pretty hot chemistry though, and when things combust…just…wow. 

There’s also a bit of a side story we get a glimpse of here and there with Xander’s best friend Eric and Troy’s best friend Lorcan…they really piqued my interest, and I REALLY hope we get their story at some point in this series! 


Patience was a great read, and I’m giving it a solid 4 stars.  I’d recommend this story to any fan of M/M romance, and it is meant for readers 18+ for adult language and M/M sexual content.  I definitely see myself re-reading this in the future :-)


Author Bio

Helena Stone can't remember a life before words and reading. After growing up in a household where no holiday or festivity was complete without at least one new book, it's hardly surprising she now owns more books than shelf space while her Kindle is about to explode.

The urge to write came as a surprise. The realisation that people might enjoy her words was a shock to say the least. Now that the writing bug has well and truly taken hold, Helena can no longer imagine not sharing the characters in her head and heart with the rest of the world.

Having left the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam for the peace and quiet of the Irish Country side she divides her time between reading, writing, long and often wet walks with the dog, her part-time job in a library, a grown-up daughter and her ever loving and patient husband.

Helena can be found in the following places: 


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