Age Gap Romance – Review of Cake & Cocktails
Cake & Cocktails by A.D. Ellis | Goodreads | My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Blurb
Cake & Cocktails is a steamy, M/M age-gap romance featuring a grumpy teddy bear of a bar owner and a quirky baker just looking for love, acceptance, and a forever family.
Henry is well-aware he’s a bit of a grump. Outside of his passion for running the Riggs Family Roadhouse, and a precious few close friends and family, Henry doesn’t need anything—or anyone—else. But when a mysterious young man walks into the bar, Henry finds himself obsessed with making sure the blue-eyed beauty is taken care of.
Determined to get far, far away, Jack fled his nightmarish home life with barely a hint of a plan. Five hundred miles later, the small town of Haven Grove might just hold the perfect recipe for healing Jack’s wounded heart. Maybe he’ll stay a while, especially if the cuddly bear of a man behind the bar keeps plying him with food, kindness, and sweet smiles.
Henry just wants to help the newcomer get back on his feet. Instead, for whatever reason, his interfering heart is mixing up a different plan. Jack doesn’t know how he could leave when Haven Grove has all the ingredients for his happily ever after, but do Jack and Henry have what it takes to bake up their very own perfect slice of love?
The Men of Haven Grove Series
Cake & Cocktails is the second book in The Men of Haven Grove series. They are both age gap romance books. I think that’s going to be a continuing theme, too. When I saw this ARC available on Booksprout,, it just so happened that I had finished reading the first book in the series, Peaches & Cream, literally the night before. So I snagged this one quickly since I could bounce from the first book to the series to the second and stay immersed in the world being built by Ellis.
The first book introduces the main characters of Hudson and Lance. Hudson is the younger of two brothers, and Lance is the older man who comes back into his life and convinces him to take a chance on him, and possibly love. Peaches & Cream plays out as a cute, age-gap, father’s best friend story. Hudson and Lance have incredible chemistry.
The Family Business
I mention all the world-building from the first book in the series because the author did an incredible job of naturally dropping plot-driving elements into the Men of Haven Grove series. Haven Grove comes to life with descriptions of personable characters and landmarks alike. I especially like the way Ellis incorporates business details into the plot to flesh out how natural and real everything feels. It elevates the story from a run-of-the-mill romance to one in which the reader is invested in the success of the Riggs family and their businesses. I want them to succeed and flourish in both romance and business.
Main Character Moments
The Riggs family: father Casey Joe and children Hudson and Henry are prominent members of their small town. In the first age gap romance,
They also come with a lot of baggage due to their life circumstances. Casey Joe’s wife, and the boy’s mother, abandons them at a young age. She splits, never to be seen again. When Casey Joe turns to his brother for a shoulder to cry on, he discovers his snake of a wife in bed with his own brother. This sets up a years-long feud that drives a wedge between the brothers and leads to both the elder Riggs adopting unhealthy lifestyles. Casey Joe’s brother is an alcoholic who has finally succumbed to his disease before the first book starts.
The children never quite recover and spend their lives not trusting anyone and avoiding all potential relationships where they might get themselves hurt. Hudson only does casual hookups. Henry just doesn’t date at all.
In the first book, Hudson recently took over the peach orchard the Riggs family is known for. Acres and acres of peach trees that Billy nearly ruined because of bad financial decisions and poor management. Lance returns to the town, and much of the first book revolves around the business venture between Hudson and Lance, whose family runs and operates the local ice cream place, and the two develop a synergy working together. Henry also incorporates peaches into the menu at the Roadhouse. So, the Riggs family’s peach orchard is important to the town. The two brothers work hard to uphold the family legacy, even in turbulent times.
The Set Up
Henry
Henry mans the Roadhouse, the local bar. He likes his place in life and runs the roadhouse with pride. When he notices that someone has been messing up the trash out in the alleyway, his investigation leads him to suspect that someone is sleeping out on a bench outside the restaurant. Henry starts leaving food for the mystery man. And who might that man be?
Jack
Jackson has recently moved to Haven Grove. Saying he moves is not entirely accurate, as what happens is he escapes from his abusive family situation. Without a destination, he flees and ends up in Haven Grove. Turns out he’s the one who is hanging around the Roadhouse and trying to avoid anyone noticing that he’s homeless. But Henry notices something is up and starts to look out for Jack.
Henry and Jack orbit one another for a few days before they finally make contact. I think it’s really sweet the way it happens, but I don’t really want to spoil too much. But Jack starts sleeping on Henry’s couch because things happen. Instantly attracted to one another, it’s only a matter of time before their relationship becomes physical and romantic. This behavior is out of character for both of them. Demisexual fits both of their characterizations. However, no one mentions they identify as demisexual. They have to know their potential partners, they don’t feel attraction before they are friends, etc.
So, demisexuality, yes. So, they dance around one another for a bit, even mesmerized as they are. Once the couple feels comfortable with one another, their romance is off like gangbusters, and they are sweet as hell.
Daddy Vibes
Now, I am going to definitely insert my own reading preferences here. And it’s totally because I have fallen down the rabbit hole and have recently read a few series of Daddy/little books. So take this as my two cents. But I’ll mention it because the vibes are strong.
Henry and Jack have major Daddy/little vibes going on. Jack’s characterization isn’t quite written as a little, but many of his mannerisms scream little. He says cute things like ‘Skywalkers’ for skyscrapers and has a child-like naivete about him that screams little. Henry is quite a Daddy too, with his need to take care of the people around him. It isn’t a kinky book, but the vibes were all there. With it being an age gap romance there’s a hint of this, but to me it is more than just a hint!
Overall: Recommend or Nah?
I love this series. Strong recommend on this installment and the first one Peaches & Cream. I can’t wait for the next one!
MM Romance Reviews
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