Review: The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) by Rosalind Abel

The Garden (Lavender Shores #2) by Rosalind Abel
Kindle Edition, 264 pages
Published July 25th 2017 by Wings of Ink Publications, LLC
Genre: M/M, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Beautiful Gilbert Bryant designs jewelry for the rich and famous, and he made his escape from his gossipy little hometown of Lavender Shores. However, with so many friends and family, he keeps getting pulled back. When he attends his best friend’s engagement party, Gilbert can’t help but sample one of the new men in town. It’s just some innocent—or not so innocent—fun. Nothing that will even cross his mind once he gets back to his everyday life.

Walden Thompson dreamed about living in Lavender Shores since he visited as a child. He finally gets his chance, and he embraces the opportunity to start over, to become someone new. He leaves both hurts and dangerous habits in the past, where they belong. When Gilbert crosses his path, Walden gives in to his baser instincts. He can indulge in the carnal pleasures this once and still be okay.

Their few hours together haunt Gilbert, the two-hundred-mile buffer from home no longer shutting out the past or the sexy man he left behind. Walden is just beginning to recover from the smoldering encounter with Gilbert when they are thrust together once more. This time, neither of them can walk away, no matter how hard they try. But when their pasts crash into each other as surely as the magnetism that pulls them together, walking away may be the only option.

I enjoyed The Garden SO much more than I did the first book in this series, The Palisade. I wasn't sure I was going to like Gilbert - first impressions are everything - but I liked him more and more as the story progressed. And now I can firmly say that he completely won me over! And Walden? Simply too adorable for words! I loved them both so much, and they were just too cute together.

Gilbert and Walden were both such beautiful characters, but they were damaged and carrying a bit of baggage. The story wasn't too weighed down by their issues, and I loved that both characters realized not only were they deserving of love, they were capable of loving each other. I felt they couldn't be more perfect for each other!

My Rating: 4 Stars