Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Meet every surprise in life like you had a plan all along.

Shy data scientist Owen Quinn is brilliant at predictive models but clueless at romance. Fortunately, a new career allows him to start over hundreds of miles from the controlling ex he would rather forget. If only he wasn’t so lonely and terrible at making the first move to find someone new.

He just wishes a connection didn’t have to revolve around sex before he knew if it was real.

Cal Mercer works for the Nick of Time Escort Service. He is picky about his clients and has never accepted a regular who is looking for companionship over sex—but can the right client change his mind?

He knows he can’t stay an escort forever as the years continue to pass him by, but after Owen Quinn enlists his services, just how dangerous is it when both start to catch feelings? And how much worse can it get once their pasts catch up to them?

 

 

First edition published at Dreamspinner Press, March 2019. This second edition includes a new cover, re-formatted interior, and an expanded first-time scene, but with no other significant content changes from the original.

 

Book Review

An escort finding a partner in life is about as unlikely as a dorky yet clueless data scientist falling in love – but when the two men in this story meet, the chemistry they share (both physical and emotional) gave me hope from the start. It’s a wonderful slow-burn romance with phenomenal character growth for both men, amazing secondary characters, and some very believable bad guys who made me grind my teeth more than once. It all adds up to great entertainment with significant helpings of humor, tenderness, and deep emotions.

Owen is, in many ways, the proverbial nerd: intelligent, great with data, a whiz when developing predictive models, and clumsy with human beings who don’t think that numbers are their friends. As a result, he is very lonely because he truly has no idea how to find the relationship he wants without sex “getting in the way”. After the emotional abuse he has suffered and the way his ex treated him, I am not surprised Owen doesn’t want to jump into bed with the first man he meets. Owen has worked hard to build a new existence in a new city, but finding someone to date is proving to be beyond him. His sister’s advice to find companionship and a potential plus one for functions at work with an escort shocks him – but once he thinks about it, it seems easier than asking someone on a date.

Cal has worked as an escort for a while and is very successful. He has his rules about which clients he accepts and is lucky that his employer allows him a lot of discretion about whom he takes on as a regular. He is a meticulous planner with schedules for everything – yet he seems to be missing something in his life. When he meets Owen and realizes how unexpected much of what he finds out is, he is intrigued enough to continue seeing him.

With two men who have been hurt in the past yet have reacted very differently, the journey that begins when they meet is especially interesting. There are ups and downs as in any relationship and the fact that money is exchanging hands is an obstacle, but because their interactions are mostly in the form of discussions rather than sex, the dynamic has quite a few unusual aspects. Owen’s ex and a former client of Cal’s cause some drama, but mostly this story is about Qwen and Cal redefining who they are, what they want out of life and a partner, and how to relate to each other.

If you like character-driven romances, if two seeming opposites finding common ground are your thing, and if you’re looking for a romance that is anything but cookie-cutter, very amusing, and full of quirky characters, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I think it’s well worth a read.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 237 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	30-April-2026
Price	$4.99 ebook, $13.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F8W92DVS