Love You So Special

By: Tara Lain

Narrated by: Ry Forest

Can a man’s secret yearnings be revealed in a tank full of fish?

Artie Haynes knows he’s nothing special, with just-your-regular-brown hair, a solid plumber’s job, not much education, and a family that can barely get off the couch. But Artie has quirks - like his love of tropical fish, a landlord who’s a professor of existentialism, a passion for the amazing piano music he hears at a concert hall while he’s fixing the bathrooms - and the fact that he’s never come out as gay and probably never will. But when he’s hired to build a guesthouse for the pianist whose music enchanted him, Artie is swept up into an unimaginable world.

François Desmarais may be famous, rich, and revered as one of the world’s great classical composers and pianists, but he’s soothed and challenged by the inquisitive, stalwart, protective man in his back yard. When François’ terrible fear of crowds turns into a dangerous plot, Artie can stay in the closet or prove just how special he is.

©2018 Tara Lain (P)2019 Dreamspinner Press

LOVED THIS BOOK

I enjoyed listening to this book. No, I won't tell you the story enough people do that. It just made an enjoyable evening!

The Truth is Worth Fighting For

Artie is living a life, and it has him so tightly wound he's going of his mind. One taste, one glimpse of something more and he's falling head overt heels into something he wants so much it scares him.

Francois is trapped within himself until he meets Artie, someone who actually sees him, the real him. For the first time in nine years he's motivated to break outside of his trauma imposed prison.

In the end they both have to decide what they're willing to fight for. Wonderful story; I devoured this series.

A sweet romance

Arty is a macho plumber and skilled handyman. He also loves his fish and beautiful music. An odd combination for a burly, tough, Alpha Guy.
Francois is a famous pianist and composer and openly gay though he doesn’t go out. He has a fear of people and crowds and does as few concerts as possible making him more sought after.
Arty and Francois are a cute couple in this opposites attract type story. Two opposite classes but two men that get each other so well. Even all of the side characters are fun, such as Artie’s family and his friend Don, his younger brother ( I hope we get his story soon) and even Francois mom wasn’t what she seemed.
The story is just pure fun and fluffy though there is a bit of action thrown in from nowhere near the end that neither added to or took away from the story.
This is like the others in the series just a fun, flirty, feel-good story.
Ry Forrest does a great narration on this book. His voice is soothing and I loved listening as I did chores.

Love at first sight of plumber’s crack!

Tara has a really nice way of bringing to life such interesting and real people. I adored Artie, the plumber/ handyman/ knight in shining armor. He is a stand up guy just going through life doing the best he can. He stands up to the dragon - François's mom Juliette - and rescues Francois from evil kidnappers just like a knight should.

I rode the wave of super happy oh that's so awesome down to what the heck went wrong and then back up to awwww with this one. The writing is smooth, the storyline flows easily and I just wanted to rush to the end to get that awww moment during their HEA. Such a feel good story. You can't go wrong with a love at first sight of plumber's crack.

I originally read this book around 5 months ago and recently purchased the audiobook. Ry Forest does a great job with Francois’s accent. It was very believably French and the other “voices” are good, too. I really enjoyed his performance and play this one on repeat while I’m working.

I absolutely LOVE this story. Highly recommend.

I was hoping this Lovely Gem would come to audio. Definitely a MUST listen to.

smiley face

A wonderful love story that captured my interest from the first paragraph. Kept me smiling and on edge with a happy ending of course. A feel good story.

Sweet and fluffy feel good story!

Tara as always spun a fabulously, sweet and touching tale that kept me interested from beginning to end. Truely a fairytale type story where both mc are heros that save each other. I love it when the storyline has the not so common professions as this one. (And who would think some plumbers crack could lead to your HEA.) It makes for a great change of pace. Ry Forest is a new narrator for me. I am very selective when it comes to the narration of a book and I think he did an amazing job bringing the characters to life. Definitely a "must have" in your library.

So Sweet!

This is such a sweet story that I absolutely love! I just love Artie and François together. They might be from different backgrounds but they are just prefect together. Then Ry Forest does an amazing job with the narration. I just love listening to his voice.

Very sweet opposites attract romance

The final book in the series, Love You So Special was another incredibly sweet, lower angst romance. I found the characters in this book to be a bit more intriguing than the previous couple, and I appreciated that the pull between them felt a bit more authentic this time around.

Once again the author pairs an unlikely couple who ends up fitting very well together. Love You So Special features two interesting characters with fully developed backgrounds, and I quite liked both Francois and Artie. I also really liked how both men brought out hidden aspects of themselves so they both were happier and more comfortable in their skins at the close of the story. There were even some unexpected suspenseful scenes that further developed the story and closeness of the men. I was equally surprised at how both men’s relationships with their families resolved and quite liked that it was happier than I expected at the start. That said, the sweetness and naivety in some situations felt a little heavy-handed and I think it’s safe to say that this author’s brand of romance is not quite my style. Even so, I’m glad I gave this series a try and discovered a narrator who was new to me and injected plenty of emotion into his performance.

*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*