Book Reviews

Book Blurb

I came to Whispering Key for a job. That was all. To show the world Mason Bloom could be more than a small-town doctor living a medium-sized life. 

Private doctor on a swanky island with a posh resort? Check.

But from the moment I set foot on this island, nothing went according to plan.

I didn’t expect to find the resort falling apart.
I didn’t expect the people here to be so charming and crazy and welcoming and real.
I didn’t expect legends about shipwrecks and buried treasure.
And I definitely didn’t expect Fenn Reardon, the island’s incredibly attractive, incredibly infuriating, incredibly male resident tour guide, to become the one person I can’t live without.

Thirty-five’s a bit late for me to realize I'm not straight, though, right? And I have big dreams that won’t fit on Whispering Key, anyway—dreams that do not include tying myself to a tiny island stuck in the past or to a man who refuses to think about the future. 

My head’s telling me I have to leave Whispering Key… 
My heart’s telling me there might be treasure on this island after all.

Book Review

Imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered that ‘Off Plan’, book one in May Archer’s new series ‘Whispering Key’, features Mason Bloom, Micah’s—from ‘The Secret (Love in O’Leary)’—little brother! And oh, what a beginning this book was. I think it might just contain the most explosive and instantaneous “I Can’t Stand You” face-to-faces that I’ve ever seen in a book. Mason and Fenn despise each other from the moment they meet and it takes a while for that to change which was refreshing as I’m not always a fan of insta anything.

 

“And I couldn’t help but notice that Loafers, while still being a prissy little fucker, was nevertheless passably cute, with all that hair wanting to curl and those greener-than-green eyes.” ~ Fenn

 

Mason has taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and jumped at the opportunity for something for himself. Since he tends to be a bit of an overthinker and has spent a lot of his life doing what others think he should, he’s quite proud of himself for taking on this adventure. His fiancée, Victoria, left him several months ago and Mason has resigned himself to being a person who lacks passion since she wasn’t the first girlfriend to ever mention it. Regardless, he’s taken this opportunity to move to an island off Florida and work as the onsite medical doctor for a five-star resort. Unbeknownst to Mason, at least until he arrives, there is no resort and the mayor of Whispering Key has gotten him there under, well not necessarily deceitful ways, but the mayor’s big plans for their community are in “process”. Mason agrees to stay until they can find another doctor to take his place.

 

Fenn is determined not to like Mason. He got bit badly by an in-the-closet man in his past and he’s not interested in falling for any more straight guys. Unfortunately, he and Mason have incredible chemistry even just as friends and Fenn can’t help wondering why Mason isn’t freaking out about being attracted to a guy for the first time in his life. Needless to say, these two take some time to work their issues out, with a little help from Fenn’s cousin, Beale, and the romantic ending I was hoping for was truly wonderful.

 

“I’d decided, back in my New York loft, that I wanted a life that was truly mine… and being real about myself was part of that. Even if Fenn and I were never together again, that moment on the beach earlier had been the truest, most honest experience of my entire life. Something I’d made happen. Something that was, therefore, inherently mine, even if it never happened again.” ~ Mason

 

Whispering Key is a quirky island community, smaller than O’Leary, NY, but definitely with some similar vibes that had me laughing out loud. I am so looking forward to Beale and Toby’s story and I thank you, May, for another great book that I shall enjoy rereading often.

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been purchased by the reviewer.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 370 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	29-April-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Off-Plan-Whispering-Key-Archer-ebook/dp/B087946P4F