I don’t see any reason at all to replace you with a woman.
Arden Powell
The Bachelor’s Valet
Format:
ebook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn’t got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he’s perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife.
Despite Alphonse’s protests, he’s to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn’t threaten everything about Alphonse’s way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.
Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can’t fall in love with another man. Can he?
Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She’s as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he’ll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.
Point of view:
3rd person.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
Low angst, slow burn, closed door romance with a completely oblivious MC. While this was an easy read and I enjoy Powell’s style and the plot – I wish a little less time was spent on how clueless/bumbling Alphonse is and more time given to developing Jacobi.
The chapter titles were delightful. I loved Aliyah and her take charge attitude as it was exactly what Alphonse needed. Cute little epilogue.
About the author:
Arden Powell is a speculative-fiction author and illustrator from the Canadian East Coast. They graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Honouring in English Literature. As a hybrid author they self-publish as well as publish with indie presses, and have had work accepted by literary magazines including Baffling Magazine and Lightspeed. Their most recent release is Flos Magicae, an historical fantasy romance series. A nebulous entity, they live with a small terrier and an exorbitant number of houseplants, and have conversations with both. They write across a range of fantasy sub-genres and everything they write is queer.
You can connect with Arden Powell here:
My Favorite Quotes
I’m sorry, I must have misheard you. You want me to do what? With whom? – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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I don’t see any reason at all to replace you with a woman. – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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IN WHICH ALPHONSE IS VERY MUCH UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF BOTH LOVE AND QUESTIONABLE HERBAL REMEDIES – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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It did no good, wearing one’s emotions so plainly on the face like that, especially not so inappropriate an emotion as love. – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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The sight of Jacobi filling his doorway was all he ever wanted, but it had never inspired such awful trepidation before. – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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He felt like comfort and familiarity and home and the warmest, simplest kind of love, like stepping into summer sunshine. – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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If things weren’t alright, then it wasn’t the end yet. – The Bachelor’s Valet by @ArdenPowell #KindleUnlimited #Novella #MMRomance #AgeGap
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Rellim Reads 