Grind
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.Ryan's story. If you haven't read the other books in the series I urge you to go back and read them in order first.
Ryan is still smarting from a breakup from his ex. He's the last single member in his group of friends. At the moment isn't exactly looking for a relationship, although he can't help but feel a bit envious. Instead he decides to go forward with starting up his own word work craft business, something he's been wanting to do for a while.
James is a transgender male (FTM) who is having some difficulty with the changes in his life and financially. He's in need of a job to help him pay off his debt and is new to Fredericton after moving away from his hometown due to the attitude of individuals who use to know him before his transition. Having a business degree, he's hopefully everything will work out. As luck has it, he overhears Ryan plan to start up a business and offers to help the guy out.
I liked the transgender angle. I haven't read many books with transgender characters and learned quite a few things. I liked that the author shed some light on the emotional side of it along with the difficulty and bias associated with ones identity after transitioning. It was unique for me since I haven't seen this type of focus in the other two books I've read with transgender characters.
James and Ryan flirtatious dance was cute. I loved that they took the time to get to know each other. That Ryan went and did his own research about what it meant to be transgender and proceeded with caution when asking questions. James was a funny guy and I liked that he kept on pulling Ryan's strings in jest.
There was a lot of great focus on Ryan's new business and I did find myself intrigued about word work.
Overall, this was a very well balanced book. I loved that we got to visit with the other characters in the series (yeah, yeah I know it happen in all the books in the series) and seeing where they are and how well their relationship are thriving. It doesn't hurt to read about the proposals.