For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes

Moving from Seattle to Austin for a new job, hoping to find some action at Frankie’s Kink Club, and meeting April almost immediately may have seemed a godsend to Dennis…at first…but the road to their happily ever after takes longer than it could have and is VERY interesting to read!

What I liked:
* Stepping into the shoes of two people that took me outside of my norm
* April: complex, intriguing, intelligent, giving, loving, mother-hen-type, has some issues to deal with, good friend, pleaser, transgender female, sub, and so much more.
* Dennis: wealthy, attractive, dom, good friend, brother, son, bad breakup in the past, has much to learn and is willing to do so.
* Jason: wealthy, tech guy, friend of Dennis and April, owns Frankie’s, wise, would like to see him have his own book at some point in the future.
* The supporting characters
* The main characters had real issues to contend with in addition to their attraction to one another
* That the story was educational in addition to being a romance
* How issues were worked through and getting to see how the characters were thinking while acting
* That I liked the people in the story and cared about them, their lives, and the outcome of their stories

What I didn’t like:
* Knowing that bigotry still exists and how difficult it must be to live on the receiving end.
* That April and Dennis were not open at first but in the end it did work out alright.
* Having to say goodbye to the characters

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. For The Love of April French by Penny Aimes was a nice balance of angst and steam. The heroine April French is a trans woman. She’s insecure because she’s been beaten down by countless micro-aggressions and an abusive first marriage. When she meets Dennis Martin, the new Dom in town, at a kink club called Frankies, which has become her second home, she’s interested but cautious. As a means of protecting her heart, she’s always going to have one foot out the door. She finds trust hard because of her past experiences. When Dennis’s marriage ended badly, he sought a fresh start in a new town, and he’s ready to learn how to make a relationship work. He’s going to ask questions, not make assumptions and will seek out help when he’s not sure he’s on the right track. He’s pretty sure April is the one for him, but if she can’t love herself as much as he loves her, how can they make it work?
I enjoyed reading this book very much. The combination of steaminess and sweetness in their relationship had me cheering for them to find their HEA. Steam Level: Medium Hot (BDSM). Publishing Date: August 31, 2021. #ForTheLoveOfAprilFrench #PennyAimes #Harlequin #CarinaPress #CarinaAdores #ContemporaryRomance #LGBTQIARomance #OwnVoicesRomance #BDSMRomance #RomanceReader #bookstagram #bookstagrammer ( )