Buns

AudioBook Review: Stars: Overall: 4 Narration 5 Story 3 I’ve not listened to any of the titles in Clayton’s Hudson Valley series, but with the title, cover art and narrative team of Elizabeth Louise and Jason Carpenter, I couldn’t resist. Easily read on its own, the story is focused on the Bryant Mountain House, a run-down family-owned resort known for 150 years of tradition and the to-die-for, gooey, sweet hot cross buns. Clara is a rebranding expert in the industry, hired by the Bryant family to bring the resort into a more modern feel and bring in new clients. She’s good at her job and has plenty of ideas, if not many traditions from her rather difficult upbringing. Archie Bryant is stuck in the past – he’s not wanting things to change too much, and he’s certain that Clara can’t keep the feel that he knows of the old place and still make things work well enough to stay open. The resort is his touchstone and sole focus after losing the love of his life, and anyone who wants to change that and alter his memories will be in for a fight. Clever and fun, if a bit familiar from the trope standpoint, Clara and Archie have instant chemistry which both are fighting tooth and nail. Neither is particularly open to a relationship: Archie is still in love with his wife and sees no reason to change that. Clara, having been raised in foster care with an unstable and drug-addicted mother never really set down roots and built relationships, moving from place to place and always looking for that next moment. The life on the road with few commitments to stick around suits her well, and she’s using her past to keep her future at bay. But chemistry cannot be denied – and Archie’s honest approach to life, love and the comfort that comes with having a place in the world that is wrapped up in family, memories, friendships and traditions are all wishes that Clara holds, even if she can’t bring herself to voice them, or even acknowledge those dreams. A bit on the predictable side in terms of progression, the characters are engaging and there isn’t a ton of angst mixed in, allowing the electric chemistry to sparkle and keep the story moving. The duo of Elizabeth Louise and Jason Carpenter present the narration for this story, and their pairing is wonderfully evocative of the moments in the relationship between Archie and Clara. From the moments where Clara knows what she can do to improve things against Archie’s rather grudging approach to allowing them, through the changes he experiences as he sees the increase in traffic and happy guests, they move the story forward and present each character with appropriate emotional overlays, stridency or hesitancy, and make the story easy to listen to. Dual narrations can get tricky, and these two navigate both the voices and patois of each main characters, but present voices distinct enough in tone and delivery for secondary characters: each was clearly identifiable by voice, and voice that came with an emotion appropriate to their moment. A solid performance of a good story, familiar to frequent romance readers but enjoyable nonetheless. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Simon and Schuster Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

5 star Review Buns (Hudson Valley #3) by Alice Clayton What's not to love about this series? I really enjoyed Buns, it was as fun and quirky as the previous two books in the series. This is the story of Archie Bryant, an uptight widower who is about to take over the running of Bryant Mountain House in Bailey Falls and the bossy, yet determined Clara Morgan who is assigned the job to bring the hotel back to it's glory and move it into the current century whilst retaining it's charm and history. From the first moment these two meet there is a push and pull situation happening, both equally opinionated and determined as to the vision of the hotel and how it should move forward. Having been brought up in the foster care system, Clara shies away from holidays and anything “family” orientated. Archie, on the other hand is all about the history of his family. These two should not connect and yet they do.; this is a case of opposites attracting and after spending a great deal of time flirting, Archie and Clara finally give in to their feelings. The banter and camaraderie between Archie and Clara as well as their friends is amazing. It really is like coming home when I picked up this book. I love these characters and the mischief they get up too. I always finish an Alice Clayton with a smile on my face. This was possibly my favourite of the trilogy as I absolutely loved Archie and Clara, separately and together. The vulnerability that both had as they slowly opened their hearts and minds to the possibility of love was heart warming.

Buns by Alice Clayton is the third book in her Hudson Valley series, coming after Nuts and Cream of the Crop. Although it's the third book it can definitely be read as a standalone- I haven't read the first two books and I didn't feel lost or as if I was missing anything. Although the couples from the previous two books did make a few appearances in Buns, Ms. Clayton gives enough of their backgrounds so that you're not wondering where these people came from. And I appreciated that! I usually like to read a series in order, and I do have both Nuts and Cream of the Crop on my Kindle, I just hadn't gotten around to reading them before I got wrapped up in Buns! Let's just start by saying I have complete job envy of Clara! What an absolutely awesome career she has- going into these incredible hotels and revamping them, freshening them up, bringing them back to life. As someone with an interior design degree who is not working in the field, I feel like I really missed out! Her newest job has taken her to the Bryant Mountain House- a grand old hotel that just hasn't been living up to its potential. But standing in the way of her plans to refurbish and renovate BMH so that it's once again the place to visit in the Hudson Valley, is one Archibald "Archie" Bryant- the son and heir to the Bryant legacy. Archie is steadfast in his ways and fights Clara at every turn. Even as Clara and Archie butt heads over her ideas for the hotel, an undeniable attraction is building between the two- and it was just so delightful! I love when a couple is so determined to fight their attraction to each other until there's nothing left for it to do than combust. And combust it does! Clara was so set on keeping things on a professional level with Archie, but sometimes the heart wins out over the head. The fact that Archie is technically her boss is enough on its own to make things tough for them, but add in the fact that they are both dealing with issues from their pasts makes for even more complications and heartache. Buns is a really fun, hearfelt, and emotion-filled story of two people struggling to come to terms with their pasts while opening themselves up to the future. The romance, the chemistry, the banter, and especially the simmering tension, between Archie and Clara made Buns a book that was hard to put down. Archie is so utterly swoony. He's had a lot of heartbreak in his life but with Clara he's taking a chance on love again. Clara is so strong and independent, it's hard for her to let someone in. But Archie is so caring and tender, the walls she's built around herself are slowly crumbling down. I really enjoyed the journey this story took these two lovely, determined, and dedicacted people on, and I just adored seeing their love blossom. ***Arc received via NetGalley, reviewed for The Book Enthusiast.