Featherbed by Annabeth Albert

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Title: Featherbed
Author: Annabeth Albert
Series: Vino and Veritas #1
Published by: Heart Eyes Press
Release Date: March 15, 2021
Format: eARC
Pages: 186
Genres: Romance, LGBT, Contemporary
Source: Heart Eyes Press
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Winter, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

When a bookworm on borrowed time meets a younger, free-spirited chicken farmer, sparks and feathers fly…

Harrison Phillip Fletcher III isn’t supposed to be here. Not in Burlington, Vermont, not running Vino & Veritas, a quaint inclusive bookstore and wine bar, and definitely not still alive at forty-two. Also not supposed to be here? An unexpected delivery of chickens.

Finn Barnes knows chickens. The burly organic farmer knows all about rare breed poultry, but dealing with a hot, older bookseller is an entirely different matter. City slicker types like Harrison never end up staying in Vermont for the long-term.

They should steer clear of each other. But the flare of attraction is mutual. And somehow, amid book discussions and farm tours, they discover plenty in common. Now they’re stealing kisses in Finn’s barn, sneaking out like teens, and burning up the sheets.

What starts as a fling brings very real feelings for two lonely souls, but a future together seems as unlikely as chickens in a bookstore. Feathers may be flying, but learning to trust takes time neither may have. Can they take a leap of faith together before it’s too late?

Featherbed is a stand-alone novel in Sarina Bowen’s True North world. This opposites attract, age gap romance features a low-angst, fluffy—and feathery—romp as a fish out of water discovers the home he never thought he’d find.

My Review:

I received a free copy through Heart Eyes Press in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

3.5 stars — I think I wanted to love this one more than I did.  The problem is that it was kind of slow and uneventful…I kept waiting for the stakes to be upped…or something.  I don’t even know.  I just found it to be a nice sweet book, but I wasn’t that invested in either Finn or Harrison or their romance, which is kind of a bummer.

Harrison was quiet, but I loved how earnest he was and how he really wanted to learn about things when he encountered them.  We also got to see him struggling with some heavy thoughts, and I appreciated where he eventually got to by the end of the book.

Finn was a bit more gregarious, and I loved his sense of humour and how his lightness balanced Harrison.  They really were opposites in a lot of different respects, but they fit and challenged one another in that way.  I also appreciated Finn’s breadth of knowledge and the things I learned about a few different farming practices through him.  He was hardworking, but he loved what he did.

They both had great relationships with their families — not without their struggles, but it was really endearing to see them both care for them so much.

I did love the opposites attract aspect to the story, and how they balanced one another.  And I could definitely feel their attraction to one another — it was sweet and hot.

I think I grew frustrated with their hang ups, and how they kept coming into play.  It felt…a bit more forced or something.  Like, I didn’t feel it as much as was told.

All in all I enjoyed the story, but I know it’s not likely to be one that will stick with me.