Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
Cal Cozzi’s seven bungalows are open for another season of summer and love on the New Jersey shore. This year’s vacationers include Rodney Maxwell and Dennis O’Halloran, a Tony Award winning actor and his estranged producer/husband who have brought along their two hired studs, Jarek and Zeus; a computer analysist Sam who enlists his best friend Chase in a scheme to attract hunky Raul; a middle aged Gil Van Truren who wants to end it all; and Hunter, a female gay romance novel enthusiast who seeks to experience gay life off the pages. While Cal is welcoming guests for the summer, he finds his hands full with his young lover, Michael, Michael’s study buddy Carlo, man of mystery George Valis, and the shenanigans of his houseboy Connor. As the summer heats up – out come the secrets, humor, tragedy, mysteries and passions that make Cozzi Cove a magical place.
This is the second book in the Cozzi Cove series and should be read in order.
As the story unfolds, we find out that Cal and Michael are still together as the new summer rental season heats up, however they have hit a rough patch in their relationship. Despite their love for one another, the differences in their ages may just be too great for their love to survive. To be completely honest with readers, I have to admit that the problems between Cal and Michael had me wanting to throw my book across the room – especially after watching them fight for a relationship with one another in the first book. Without giving away any spoilers here, I will say that in the end, everything is as it should be – but it’s a bumpy path along the beach we have to follow first that is written in the typical Joe Cosentino style of twists and turns!
As with the first in the series, readers will find that there are characters that you just can’t get enough of, and characters that you wish had missed their reservations. Hands down, my favorite guests were Sam/Chase/Raul and my favorite scenes were when we are treated to Connor and his antics that had me in stitches.
Unfortunately, my least favorite part of the story was the whole Cal and Michael story line. Parts of it just didn’t sit right with me, and I had a hard time equating the characters I met and fell in love with in the first story being the same two characters I was seeing in the second story.
Overall, it was nice to revisit Cozzi Cove as it reopened for its second season. If you loved the first book, you won’t want to miss this one!
