Book Review: Too Busy for Love by Tamsin Baker

Too Busy for Love
by Tamsin Baker
Escape Publishing (Harlequin Enterprises Australia)
M/M Erotic Romance Novella
Review copy from Netgalley, supplied by publisher
4 Stars

He needed a job — he never expected to need his boss.

Thomas's life can be pared down to one principle: Be as successful as possible by being as single-minded as possible. But his commitment to his goal is tested upon returning home to his mansion and finding his gorgeous new gardener in his library.

Luke is a student, and his new job is perfect: decent income and a place to study that's quiet, peaceful, and stocked with useful resources. The last thing he expects to find there is a stunning man who offers to open up all the doors that Luke has yet to be brave enough to peek behind.

Thomas is happy to wait for Luke to come to him, but when he does, Thomas has no intention of holding back...

Review:

Thomas Hayder is a successful businessman who's made millions from nothing and knows he must keep working hard if he's to stay successful.

He hasn't time for love and commitment and relies on one-night stands to state any physical needs. When he meets his new, young and handsome gardener, he falls instantly in lust and wants Luke in his bed.

Luke, however, has never been with a man before and although he does find his new boss attractive, Luke isn't sure if he is ready to jump into bed with a man.

As it's an erotic novella, you know they will get together eventually :)


The love scenes are quite hot and sensual, with some earthier language than I was expecting. No flowery euphemisms here! The writing flows well and you get to know a bit about the characters in what is in essence an extended short story. I would have preferred a bit more detail on the other parts of their lives, like Luke's life as a student and Thomas relationship with his mother, rather than just when they were together, which was also mostly a sex scene.

I have to admit I didn't care for Thomas at first, he really seemed to only want Luke for sex rather than anything more intimate or long term and I really felt empathy with Luke, who had fallen in love with his boss. I felt more connection to Luke than Thomas and I think Luke should have made Thomas wait a bit more before giving in to him.

Although there wasn't a BDSM or D/s dynamic, Thomas kept calling Luke 'Baby Boy' which was rather off putting for me. It just seemed to come out of nowhere.

But all in all, a good light-hearted read.