Guest Review: Short Order (Foothill Pride #8) by Pat Henshaw

When recent horticulture graduate Dr. Fenton Miller arrives in Stone Acres, California, he thinks his only concern is which job offer to accept after spending the holidays working at his cousin’s plant nursery. But after he rents a room from another shorter-than-average man, sous-chef John Barton, Fen falls in lust.

While he’s attracted to Fen, John’s got bigger concerns when two men from his past arrive in town and pressure him to return to San Francisco. Although John tries to stop Fen from getting involved, Fen realizes his lover is in trouble and is determined to protect him.

As the holidays get closer and Fen makes his own enemy, the joy of the season gets lost in the ill will around them. To ensure love triumphs, Fen and John must stand tall to show that short, dark, and handsome is a recipe for love.

Reviewer: NeRdyWYRM

Underdogs, Unite!

I love a good underdogs story. Love. Love. Love. And you have a lot of that here. Add in a personal growth twist and an epic romance and you have a whole lotta good feels.

I liked that the MCs were a little different. I liked that they were a little damaged, or well, at least one of them was. More so than the other. I liked the fact that John had to grow up a little and realize that there is a vast different between what you think you want and what you actually need.

Fenton's character was fantastic. Smart, sweet, funny, patient, and strong. John was quieter and a little broken, but still made of steel. They were great as individuals and great together.

As always, there are niggles. The villain in the story was more of a paper tiger. I mean, do people as inept as he was really get away with stuff like that in a setting like this? I just don't see it. I guess it's not as much that it's impossible as it seems unlikely. Maybe I'm being hypercritical, but I don't think so.

John pissed me off a few times and Fen, too, for that matter. John was just a little too ... self-sacrificing? Self-deprecating? Doom and gloom. And Fen was too far in the other direction. Hyperfocused on something ephemeral instead of something real. Too dismissive. Too determinedly footloose. It irked here and there even though I knew they'd get it together.

All in all this was an enjoyable read. I really loved the character- and relationship-building even though the guys frustrated me at times. The plot was so-so, like I said before, but taken as a whole I really don't have much to complain about. I liked it. I was thankful—because my work schedule sucks ass—that I didn't have to read the whole series to enjoy this book. It can be read as a standalone. And best of all, I'd truly love to see these guys again sometime.


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An ARC copy of this title was provided for an honest review.