Review: On The Honey Side

On The Honey Side (Blum's Bees #2)

Staci Hart

Published February 24, 2022

No one can ever have Keaton Meyer.
Least of all me.
The brooding construction manager is a man of myth and legend, rarely seen in the wild. Once upon a time, he was the star quarterback, the smiling homecoming king, royalty in our small town. Until tragedy struck. And then he disappeared completely.
Now he’s resurfaced, and I can’t keep my eyes off him.
He’s an island surrounded by lava, bound by a desert and guarded by dragons. I don’t stand a sunshine’s chance in a hail storm.
Our siblings disagree and are out to prove it, nudging us into each other in the hopes we’ll fall. But with our town in tumult and the two of us firmly in the middle, nothing between us is easy. And when he’s faced with an impossible decision, I learn the truth of what I already knew.
No one can have Keaton Meyer.
And I have the broken heart to prove it. - from Goodreads

Thank you to the author for providing me with a complimentary ARC of this book.  All thoughts are my own. 

Daisy and her sisters want to help the homeless population of their small Texas town, so they decide to build a community center and tiny houses on their family farm.  To help with the construction, they recruit Keaton Meyer, who retreated from public life after the death of his wife.  As they work closely together, Daisy and Keaton can't fight their feelings for each other anymore, but something may be brewing that could keep them apart.

 

Staci Hart has become one of my go-to authors, and it's because of books like this!  I loved both Daisy and Keaton - both are hardworking and family oriented, with Daisy being a ball of sunshine and Keaton the more silent type (although the way he opens up as the story goes on is really heartwarming!).  However, there is an air of sadness around both of them.  After Keaton's wife died in a car accident and Daisy lost her high school sweetheart, both of them kind of cut themselves off from potential love for years.  That's why I was rooting for them from the start - I wanted these two to find happiness together because they so deserved it.  They are surrounded by great families who are also pretty invested in their relationship, leading to some fun and funny moments.  And Staci never disappoints with the steamy scenes - when these two finally get together, wow!

I also really enjoyed the small-town setting that Staci has created in this series.  In the last book, the characters fought off a big box retailer that was threatening the small businesses of their Texas town.  In this story, the homeless population has steadily increased, and there are mixed feelings about what should be done about it.  While of course I enjoyed the romance between Daisy and Keaton, it was also really nice to see real-life issues like this and how the community works together.

Overall, if you love sweet yet steamy romances, beautiful writing, small-town settings, and just enough drama to keep things interesting (and the characters on their toes), definitely check out this book!

4 stars