Thirst for You by Jaclyn Quinn

Narrated by Kirt Graves

Thirst for You is the second book in Jaclyn Quinn’s Beyond the Cove series, and my first book by this author; it’s an age-gap/best friend’s brother contemporary romance with a suspense sub-plot that is effectively threaded throughout the main storyline, and I didn’t feel I’d missed out on anything by not listening to the first book, so it works just fine as a standalone.

Forty-year-old Zach Taylor owns a successful bar in the quiet town of Riverside Falls where he’s built a life he loves amid family and friends. Over the past few years, however, he’s watched his siblings and his friends gradually coupling up, and can’t help thinking that maybe that part of life has passed him by. He’s had a few girlfriends and boyfriends over the years, but nothing has stuck; in fact, his previous girlfriend Lisa is now dating his best friend, Grant Belford, whose brother Drew works at the bar. Zach has known Drew for years, but now, he has to keep reminding himself not to notice that Drew has grown into a very attractive man – and that, as his best friend’s little brother, he’s firmly off limits.

Drew Belford is twenty-eight and has carried a torch for Zach for the past seven years. He’s dated a bit and doesn’t lack for company when he wants it, but he just hasn’t been able to get over his crush on his older brother’s best friend. If he was 100% certain there was no chance of Zach returning his interest, then he might be able to move on, but he’s sure he’s caught Zach checking him out once or twice and that the real reason for Zach’s reticence is rooted in his friendship with Grant and the twelve year age-gap between them – which, as far as he’s concerned, is totally unimportant. He’s bubbly and chatty – which make him good at his job behind the bar – and can’t resist pushing Zach’s buttons, just a little bit, dropping flirtatious suggestions now and again. But Zach seems as determined to push him away as ever – and Drew may finally have to accept that things are never going to change.

The suspense plot begins when Drew leaves work late one night to find that his car has a flat tyre and he has to call Grant to come and pick him up because he doesn’t have a spare. While he’s waiting, Drew has the unnerving sense he’s being watched – but all he can see wandering around in the dark is a black cat. When he goes back to the car the next day, he sees the tyre was slashed, but puts it down as a stupid prank and thinks no more about it. Then he’s driving home the next night when he notices a piece of paper falling from the passenger seat onto the floor; he’s damn sure he didn’t put it there, so he pulls over and reads:

Those sounds you hear at night… Feeling like someone’s watching you… I’m always there.

Drew is freaked – and angry. Someone’s been inside his car – someone is messing with him, and he’ll be damned if he lets this get to him. But when he begins to receive creepy texts from someone who has obviously been to the bar, he has to admit that this has gone way beyond a joke and he’s scared. He has to tell Zach and Grant what’s going on and ask for help.

The stalker storyline is well-integrated into the romance; so often an author will set up something like this and then seemingly forget about it until the end, but that’s not the case here, and Ms. Quinn does a good job of keeping the momentum going, throwing in a few red herrings along the way. The romance, on the other hand, feels too drawn out; Zach’s only objections to taking things further with Drew are a) he’s an employee (and okay, that does make sense) and b) Drew is his bestie’s little brother, and that’s a trope that doesn’t usually work for me. I mean, if you’re friends with someone, wouldn’t you want your sibling to be with a good person you actually like?

Drew is fun and resilient and I liked his sassiness – even if, at times, he comes across as too pushy – but I found it hard to warm to Zach, who pushes Drew away one minute and sends mixed signals the next; his belief that Drew will soon grow tired of him (after seven years of waiting!) went on for too long and got irritating fast. Zach is forty-going-on-ninety and seems to put everyone else’s happiness above his own; I couldn’t help thinking that if Drew hadn’t been so determined in his pursuit, Zach would never have made a move on his own. But essentially, they’re both one-note characters – Zach is Mr. Protective; Drew doesn’t want his protection if that’s all that’s on the table.

Kirt Graves delivers a well-paced and expressive performance in which all the characters are appropriately portrayed and clearly differentiated. He does a great job with the two principals; Zach’s voice is deep and his delivery is measured, choices which work well to paint a picture of a big man who feels his responsibilities keenly, and he expertly captures Drew’s upbeat personality and good humour, and, in the darker moments, his terror and frustration. He brings a real warmth to their connection, and also uses a variety of tone and accent to render the secondary characters, who are all easy to identify aurally. I did notice a few mispronuncations however; one which really stuck out was saying “yoo” (or “eeew”) for “Eau” (oh) – as in Eau de Cologne, which is said multiple times in quick succession in one particular scene and thus very obvious. Other than that, however, it’s an excellent performance that kept me listening through the weaker points of the story.

Thirst for You takes a handful of oft-used tropes and executes them competently but not at all originally. Kirt Graves’ narration gives the whole thing a real boost, but there’s nothing new to be had in terms of story or characters, and although the suspense plot works fairly well, the romance is less successful.

Caz

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