Jesse's Diner by Cardeno C. Series: Hope, #2
Published by The Romance Authors Publication Date: September 29th 2015
Pages: 112
Also in this series: Love After All, McFarland's Farm, Don't Let Go
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Two men with a shared history and a mutual attraction must be honest with themselves and each other so both their dreams come true.
Quiet, unassuming Tanner Sellers spends his time running a diner in Hope, Arizona. Not particularly social, twenty-two-year-old Tanner keeps to himself and enjoys his simple life, but he longs for someone to call his own. In his most secret fantasy, that someone is sexy Steve Faus. But Steve is his friend’s father and mentor’s widower and therefore off-limits.
Despite some challenges, thirty-nine-year-old Steve Faus has had a good life. He’s extremely successful at work, has a great relationship with his college-age son, and lives in a wonderful town. Eighteen months after losing his partner, the one thing Steve lacks is someone to share his life. If Steve is honest with himself, that someone is the young man he has known and cared about for years. Steve and Tanner want one another, all they need is a little push in the right direction to make both their dreams come true.
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Manic Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
I was so excited to be able to snatch up “Jesse’s Diner”. I’ve been loving Cardeno C’s books for over a month, now. I don’t think there are many more that I’ve not read. As soon as I read the blurb for this one, I was thrilled. I absolutely love May/December romance. Combine that with it taking place in a small town where everybody knows everybody, and two people who are relative loners, and it’s perfect for me. I was not disappointed.
I don’t want to go into too much plot detail because the blurb sums it up nicely. I will say that I fell completely in love with Tanner and Steve. Tanner is a shy 22 year old young man who is running a diner that was left to him when the former owner, his mentor, passes away. He’s actually good at it, but he’s lonely. His best friend (Steve’s son) is off at college, and he doesn’t have many other people he can consider himself close to. Next, we have Steve. He’s lonely too. His partner, Jesse (of Jesse’s Diner), has been gone for 18 months. He’s shut himself off from the world until Tanner starts coming by his house with dinner every night.
What follows is a sweet love story. Tanner is aprehensive because of the age difference, but Steve wants to be with him and doesn’t give up. It’s a pretty short book, and Cardeno C has been able to make their relationship feel gradual. It’s not a wham, bam, thank you ma’am story. This is not to say that there aren’t some obstacles to overcome. No spoilers, but Tanner has to do some soul searching before he can give himself completely. I’m happy that it was well researched but not clinical. Speaking of Tanner giving himself, the sex scenes are incredible. They made my heart (and other parts) pound. Expertly written, but not formulaic, they were incredibly erotic and sexy.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend “Jesse’s Diner”. It’s just another great story by one of my new favorite authors.
