What happened to my predictable life?
I had a stable life as a fire captain in Seattle, married to one of my best friends and raising two awesome kids. Now, my kids are grown, and my marriage is toast. I’m solidly past forty and back in my tiny hometown of Mount Hope, Oregon, filling in as a firefighter. My future is one big question mark keeping me up at night.
Also keeping me up? The short-order cook at Honey’s Hotcake Hut.
Denver might be close to my age, but we’re total opposites. The former rock roadie runs from stability, never puts down roots, and lives for the moment. Point in case, we barely speak before he invites me into his shower.
I’ve never been with a man, but my fresh start has me trying all sorts of new things—including Denver’s shower.
Our future? Hopeless.
Denver doesn’t do repeats, but I convince him to have a fling since we’re both in Mount Hope short-term. The more time we spend together, the deeper our friendship and bond grows. Our time together outside of the bedroom, reveals a caring side to the grumpy cook. Even better, my sunshine-y optimism softens him like butter.
Should a fling give me these deep feelings? Nope.
Worse, the feelings are mutual. Big decisions loom for both our futures, and our time together grows short. I might have Denver’s heart, but his trust is far harder to win. He’s the answer to all my question marks, and I need him to believe in us. Can I convince him to give our love a chance?
UP ALL NIGHT features a grumpy/sunshine pairing for a forty-something firefighter on a path of self-discovery with an UP ALL NIGHT short-order cook. It contains loads of first-time feels with sexual awakening and exploration with a heaping helping of personal growth and deep connection for this opposites-attract couple.
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I’ve been a fan of this author since about forever. I’ve read, and thoroughly enjoyed, all of her books. And I love series where they are set in a small town and/or there is a friend group, etc. You get to know all new characters and when it is their turn for a happily ever after, you also get to revisit previous characters and couples. Needless to say, I was looking forward to this book.
And, whoa. This book definitely had the feel of other Annabeth Albert books, but it was MORE. I feel like her writing has grown and entered a new era. She isn’t shy in saying she had quite a few personal life changes in the past few years. And I really think those things opened her up. The characters really came alive for me. And not just the main characters and one or two side characters. I mean Sean’s other friends, the kids, The waitress Denver works with overnight. And although Denver doesn’t have family, Sean does. And instead of focusing on a character’s family as fall back when things get tough, the focus has shifted to friends. Friends they’ve had for 20 years. Friends they work with. Friends they just met. It just changed the FEEL of it for me.
Denver and Sean also have things in their past that could have really damaged them. But they came through with just a few scabs. No permanent scars. Denver calls himself a no relationship guy, but he just really doesn’t know what a relationship entails. Growing up as he did, he never SAW it. Sean is a relationship guy 100%. He’s like a golden retriever looking for a home.
Another thing I loved is that these guys are adults. 40 years old give or take. People have a much different perspective on life at that age compared to their 20’s. Nice to see mature men finding love.
Great start to this new series and I really cannot wait for more.
4.5 pieces of eye candy