Wow!

This is my first time reading a book written by Aurora Rey....why did I wait so long? I’ve noticed her books before when browsing the Kindle store but never had the funds at the time to make a purchase. After reading The Last Place You Look I now own a total of 3 books written by Aurora Rey!

I fell in love with Taylor after her first scene! Wow this woman is amazing!

There’s so much growth and development with these characters that are inspiring. I definitely connected with both main characters on certain things and it got me thinking about my own life.

Usually I’m not a fan of the “player” type...I was afraid the wingman situation was going to last longer than it did. I seriously wanted to cover my eyes at some of those date scenes but then I would’ve missed out on what had happened and what Julia learned from the encounter.

I loved how the main characters valued communication and didn’t run away from having vulnerable conversations. Even when there was misunderstandings they took a moment to process and then came together to understand what the truth of the matter was.

I also loved how encouraging they both were. Both had areas in their life to improve upon and they encouraged each other to make positive changes that would push them into living their best life! It was truly beautiful!

The story and writing is fantastic! I’ve added it to my re-read list and can’t wait to go back to it but I have so many other books to read...

Netgalley Review:

"The last Place You Look" kept me reading but I'm not sure it was memorable. I will definitely be willing do read other Aurora Rey books. 3 stars for me.

I loved this book and loved the characters. Thé lové between them was so apparent and Taylor is so romantic. Made me wish that I could meet someone like that - the chapter with the meteor shower was everything!

Of course the evil ex wife made an appearance and I thought I was going to be let down but thid was such a beautiful, thoughtful, romantic yet real story. I loved it and was really sad when the story ended

I love books about small towns. Julia comes home with her tail between her legs after her wife of 10 years drops her like a hot potato. Taylor loves her life. She makes furniture for a living and couldn't be happier, or could she. She has always carried a torch for Julie Pierce so maybe this is her chance with Julia. Julia's wife was her 1st so she thinks that she needs to spread her wings a bit and not being very savvy about it Taylor becomes her wingman. The story is very well developed and you become engaged with these women and root for them

This book has hit all the best kinds of feelings and themes, and you just will not put the book down. Romance, as always, sex,of course, and friendship. You just want to get to the end, or tell the characters to.

Divorce can be such a bummer especially when one person wants out and the others wants in. The marriage did not work out and now I need to process and move on. In this case, move back home and into your grandmother's house. Entertaining read with sadness and humor. Julia Pierce is heartbroken and "pierced" after her wife leaves her for another woman. Broke and broken, she has no other choice but to return home and work at the family winery which she is very good at. Taylor Winslow is happy to see Julia back in town but unhappy to sign on as Julia's "wingman" as Julia attempts to make-up for loss time and mend an emotionally battered heart. Easy to read romance with low angst. Taylor is a wonderful character with a big heart and I enjoyed reading about her woodworking.

3 stars

After Julia Pierce's wife leaves her for her trainer, Julia is forced to return home to her hometown, Kenota, where she struggles to redefine herself. She decides to go on a series of dates and picks up a wingwoman, Taylor Winslow, along the way. Taylor has had a crush on Julia since high school, and it never really went away. If only she could convince Julia that she's better for her than any of the other dates she's met...

I was really drawn in by the premise of the book, but sadly the story fell short of my expectations. I thought the main plot line would involve Julia going on dates while Taylor pined angstily by her side. But the dates storyline is pretty short lived. <spoiler> Taylor and Julia get together by the halfway mark. </spoiler> After the two MCs get together, the story really slows down. Don't get me wrong, they are cute together. Taylor is pretty much the dream girlfriend. But beyond them having marathon sex and Julia continually thinking about how Taylor is so much nicer than her ex, not much else happens. In the last fifth of the book, the angst I asked for arrives, but in a way that made me start to dislike Julia. The conflict involves (broadly speaking) <spoiler> lying, distrust, jealousy, and general irrationality. </spoiler> The conflict is quickly glossed over because the MCs just love each other so much, and the book ends.

I was probably with the book for the first 60% of it. After that I had to force myself to keep reading. Like I said, Taylor's a perfect girlfriend. She's charming and sweet and thoughtful. As a person in general, I'm not sure I'd be friends with Taylor. She's definitely portrayed as slow and steady, with an emphasis on slow. She lives a slow paced life and is very opposed to change. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wasn't super into it. Her steadiness also made her actions toward the end of the book seem way out of character.

I felt bad for Julia at the start of the book and was looking forward to watching her rebuild her life. More than halfway through the book, her continued lack of self confidence annoyed me, especially when it led her to make bad decisions. Every time I thought Taylor helped her work through her lack of self confidence, she would doubt herself again. (I realize that realistically, it's not a problem that will go away overnight. But it was frustrating to see Julia fall back on the same ways of thinking she'd had since the start of the book, with the only sign of progress being an added thought of, "oh, I shouldn't think this way.")

More minor things I wasn't a fan of:
- At one point, I think they bring up that both women are in their early thirties, but the way they were written made me think they were forty or older.
- While Taylor helps Julia work through her issues consistently throughout the book, Julia doesn't really do much for Taylor until way later on. It made the relationship seem a bit unbalanced to me.

To wrap up, this book was an okay read, better in the beginning, worse in the end. Maybe try it out if you're looking for a slow, lazy read, or if the things I ranted about above don't bother you.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

After reading my first Aurora Rey book a couple months back I couldn't wait to get my hands on a new one. And it does not disappoint, once again she gives us characters you can like with Julia, newly divorced and back in her home town with self esteem issues and Taylor, the confident girl that never left but has her own insecurities as well. The development of the relationship is realistic as are the bumps in the road. It read like something that could happen to me or you or anyone and for me that makes it a book I can easily lose myself in for a few ejoyable hours.

*** An ARC was provider by Netgalley in exchange doe an honest review. ***

Aurora Rey gets better with each book. The characters get better rounded and better developed, her building the chemistry gets more addictive to the readers...
This book is, according to me, by far the best from Aurora Rey so far.

“I used to think love was all about losing yourself in another person. But you make me feel seen, loved, as a whole person, exactly as I am.” #awww

This snippet of dialogue is one of several touching lines that Aurora Rey crafts in her queer romance, The Last Place You Look. Reading Rey’s eloquent, often insightful proses are a pleasure. However, her narrative is wholly unremarkable and contains moderately likeable protagonists and a sluggish plot.

Full review published on ALL ABOUT ROMANCE

This is the latest book by Ms Rey and I must say here and now her writing just keeps getting better.
Taylor Winslow is more than content with her life. A nice home with a barn, that she’d turned into a wood workshop where she makes a living making furniture for other shopkeepers to sell for her. Making chairs for decks and cottages keeps her afloat but her real passion is making things like dining sets, dressers, etc. The one thing missing is a woman to share her life with. Since she’s a good looking butch she has no problem meeting women but what she really wants is a wife and for her that dream would only be filled by a class mate, who truth be told didn’t really look at her back then. Now said classmate has returned home, so maybe, just maybe she’ll get her chance.
Julia Pierce couldn’t think of anything better then getting away from her home but when her marriage ended because of her wife's cheating she couldn’t think of anywhere to go but home. Home where she could live in her late grandmother's house, work at the family winery all the while going out with as many women as she can. She got together with her ex-wife soon after leaving home and feels she now needs to take a chance and put herself out there. Meeting up with Taylor, a girl she knew from high school was perfect especially since Taylor has agreed to be her wingwoman.
And so the story begins. Another very nice read by Ms Rey.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

This was an enjoyable, feel-good romance. I think this is the 7th book I have read by Rey and it is my new favorite by her. Rey mentioned in the beginning that this book was the most personal to her and her favorite too. I think her love for this book really shined through and it’s one of the reason I can say that this is her best book so far.

The story is about Julie, who has come back to her hometown trying to get over a divorce from a cheating wife. Her life and identity was so wrapped up in her ex that she doesn’t even know what she wants to do with her life. What she does know is she wants to date and have lots of sex since it’s something she never experienced since she got married so young. When she meets the attractive and total gentlewoman Taylor, Julie is hoping she will get the chance to sleep with her. But Taylor isn’t looking for something fun, she wants to date someone that could turn into forever. Can two people so at odds in what they want have a chance at something more?

I was late in reading this tonight and figured I would just get in a few chapters in before bed. Well it’s after 3am now so that just shows how much this book hooked me in. I had to see it all the way through to the end and considering it’s a feel-good romance and not a thriller or action book, I think that is pretty impressive how much it hooked me in.

I loved everything about this story, from what Taylor did as a job (woodworking) to the crazy hook-ups that Julie went on. For a romance where not a ton of things happened, I was into the story from beginning to end. And while I have been recently craving emotional and angsty reads, this was such an enjoyable feel-good romance that I didn’t even mind. The angst is super low, just a tiny baby amount but I was never board and I just really enjoyed the sweetness of the characters connection.

I don’t know what is going on but I am on a stretch of totally crushable butch main characters. I think Taylor was just about perfect. Maybe even too perfect, but it’s like please send the Taylor's my way, thank you. And what was also nice was that while Julie’s low self-esteem bothered me at times, she was pretty wonderful too so it was great having such likeable main characters. Connecting and caring about the main characters are so important to me as a reader so I appreciated how great they were right off the bat.

I’m sure you’re wondering about the actually romance, and besides the great characters, this is where the book really shined for me. I loved the romance. I keep calling this a feel-good romance and it was because it just kept a smile on my face the whole time. I really liked that while the attraction was there from the beginning, this was actually a slow-burn romance. Having it be slower paced helped keep their chemistry growing until it was just about perfect. The sex scenes were good too. They had a bit of baby kink, which was nice since it gave the scenes more variety, plus you could see the characters falling in love the more intimate they were.

All in all this was a really enjoyable feel-good romance. It wasn’t the book I thought I needed, but it surprised me in the best way and I love when that happens. If you are looking for a romance with good chemistry but will also make you smile, I would recommend this book. I have always liked Rey, but this was by far her best book IMHO. It makes me excited to keep a lookout for her next new book.

This is a very good read! Taylor and Julia's story was so interesting. As the story unfolded, I really enjoyed learning just how great Taylor is and couldn't help but think that everyone should have someone as principled, kind, and supportive as Taylor. Even though I completely understand why it was important for Julia to "date liberally", I couldn't help but root for her to recognize how great Taylor was. And I was glad when Julia finally recognized exactly what was missing in her life and exactly who she needed. Very well done!

This is my favourite Aurora Rey novel to date! It was fantastic.

This book is the perfect book to kick your feet up, relax with a glass of wine and enjoy. I’m a big Aurora Rey fan because her deliciously engaging books feature strong women who fall for sweet butch women. It’s a winning recipe.

This is my favourite Aurora Rey novel to date! It was fantastic and ticked heaps of boxes for me. I think the author also wrote outside her comfort zone more in this book and really developed her craft to a higher standard which must have been tough because she already writes impeccably.

I loved Julia from the get-go and could honestly understand her plight. She was left in the wreckage of her marriage so guarding her heart was the priority and boy, did she try and avoid heart ache. I really enjoyed her dating antics and more than once had a cringey moment and wished she would just run into Taylors arms.

Taylor was everything that I love in a strong but sensitive butch. I nearly swooned right off of my seat more than once. And the change in the typical dynamic of the femme being the non-fling types and the butches are looking for no strings was awesome, and I love when authors mix it up.

I loved the short-lived secondary characters Amber and Bianca. Especially Amber, I’d love for her to find love, she was my favourite secondary character. I laughed a lot in her scene.

Oh! The sex in this book is sizzling hot. Some light BDSM moments and some very hot sexy talk. Aurora Rey really surpassed herself with these scenes. This reviewer was left all hot and bothered.

Fantastic book. I cannot recommend this book enough. I think this book is a little bit of substance for the soul during our current global pandemic. ‘The Last Place You Look’ will lift you up and make you forget for a while. And leave you feeling like you’ve had a warm (but sexy) hug. Go grab yourself a copy and enjoy!

Star Rating:
5 stars

There wasn't anything particularly stand out about this novel but it was still a fun read. Although both characters were likeable and fun to read I preferred Taylor quite a bit more. Although Julia's quirks were reasonable and well explained I still found them tedious, specifically the serial dating. It felt like pure filler, since we all knew that they would amount to nothing. However it did serve to develop Julia's character where she found herself as well confidence in herself. Really though Taylor and Julia had a fun dynamic, their romance was fun and sweet. Their relationship's development was appropriately paced and believable. This was aided by the constant communication and interactions between them, there was no need for pure exposition, you could witness their feelings and relationship develop. This was only marred by the contrived angst but this is to be expected and the resolution was fairly quick.

4.25 stars!
It's a sweet romance between Julia and Taylor. Julia was back in her childhood home after a divorce. Taylor always liked Julia when they went to the same school together.
When Taylor helps Julia with the shopping at a hardware store, it begins a friendship with them. Soon their friendship develops into something more.
Julia after the divorce from a ten-year marriage, becomes less passionate about her dreams and goals. She's certain that what she needs is to date again, or to have at least a few night stands. Taylor becomes her "wingman", even if the price is to pay is to see the woman she always liked meeting another women.
There are a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications with the main characters. I liked how Taylor was always there for Julia to cheer up, to her ugly truths, and to make her feel like she's enough. It's hard when you're in a relationship with someone with so many years that sucks the life out of you. Like happened to Julia and Erica.
Julia is always feeling like she doesn't have nothing to offers to the world, but I liked how Aurora Rey didn't make her a victim, just because her ex made her feel boring and uninteresting.
I like Taylor's view of life, always seeing the glass half full, her strong personality, she's a very likeable character. Both are.
The secondary characters are well written as well, they don't appear very much, but it's enough to like them.
The beginning was kinda slow for me, it was the reason why I stopped reading the book a few times to read others. But I'm glad I finished and it was worth it.
The romance is really good, the little angst, I thought it was really necessary (I love some drama) and the sex scenes were really good, it was hot.
Overall, the book in general is great, I recommend it.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a nice, sweet romance. The MCs are Julia, who is returning to her hometown to work at the family winery after a bad break-up of her long term romance. She was a bit of a doormat in the previous relationship and her ex cheated, so she has self-esteem issues. Taylor is a furniture maker who had a crush on Julia back when they were in school.

The two meet up again, and there’s instant chemistry but Julia wants to play the field after her break and Taylor’s more of a commitment type. Not gonna lie, I found the first part of the book where Julia was dating other people a bit tedious, just because it’s obvious it will amount to nothing and some of the date scenarios seemed a bit contrived, so it felt like a waste of time. But the scenes between the two leads and their growing friendship were very sweet.

Julia also finds her feet in other areas and discovers a knack for photography. Taylor is supportive of everything Julia does, and is a real sweetheart. Julia’s self-esteem issues get a bit tiresome after awhile, but I did like that she kept pushing herself. There’s also some good supporting characters, especially the two MC’s siblings and a nice circle of friends.

Their relationship unfolds over a period of time and in a nice believable way. Once they get to sexy times, there’s also a bit of light bdsm type stuff in their sexual relationship. Towards the end we have a bit of manufactured angst, but the resolution is sweet, and pretty swift, so it didn’t bog the story down. This is probably a 3.5, but I’m rounding up.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Julia is heartbroken and back home, living in her grandmother's home, working at her parent's winery. This is not the life she envisioned when she left 10 years ago.

Taylor has always had a crush on Julia - Taylor is everything Julia is not. Taylor loves where she lives, is confident and smart. She owns her oi wn custom furniture business and is, a talented woodworker.

Their paths cross as Julia is trying to figure out how to fix a window screen

The meeting leads to several things. 1) Tayler fixes the screen. 2) Taylor offers to be Julia's wingman as Julia attempts to date again. And 3) Taylor decides she is going to show Julia she is smart, beautiful and deserving of love.

I enjoyed the love story and reccomend this for a cozy afternoon of reading.

I always enjoy Aurora Rey’s books, and this one is just as good as the others. I find her characters are real and relatable. After being away for 10 years lead character Julia finds herself back in her hometown after a failed marriage. She is embarrassed and decides to play the field and sow her wild oats. Hometown girl Taylor has always had a crush on Julia and when she arrives back in town Taylor hopes for romance. After a few attempts at online dating Julia realizes maybe it’s not a great thing and she decides to see what will happen with Taylor. It isn’t smooth, but it’s a fun ride. With some spicy scenes to make it steamy. I got this book as an arc for review.

Not surprisingly, I liked this book a lot.

It's the story of Julia and Taylor. Julia and her wife just broke up their marriage (Erica did most of it, running off with her personal trainer). So, Julia goes home to live in her MeeMaw's former house (MeeMaw has passed away before the story starts) and work at her family's winery.

Taylor is a woodworker who makes furniture as well as other things, and she and Julia graduated the same year (oh, and Taylor had a crush on Julia in high school).

When Julia decides she's going to play the field a bit when it comes to women, Taylor doesn't want to be one of Julia's notch's, but is falling in love with Julia, so, she says she'll be Julia's friend and wingwoman.

Of course, that only goes on for so long as they slowly start falling in love. But, it's most definitely not a smooth road, and there are lots of bumps in that road.

I loved the main characters, and really liked the secondary ones too. The families were really cool, as was Loretta (owner of a consignment shop where Taylor sold her wares), and Vanessa too (loved Vanessa).

It was an all around fun read and it even had Fig in there.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.