Ari hasn’t written a note, and his album deadline is looming. Then he meets Jax, and suddenly he can’t stop the music. But Ari doesn’t know how to interpret Jax’s flirting—is making him a drink called Sex with the Bartender a serious overture?
Jax jumps in with both feet, the only way he knows how. Ari is wonderful, and Jax loves having a partner who’s on the same page. But Ari’s struggles with his parents’ expectations, and Jax’s with the wounds of his past, threaten to unbalance an otherwise perfect equation. Can they prove their double act has merit, or does it only work in theory?
Comment: I have to say I can't remember why I was interested in this book except that I have read something else by Ashlyn Kane and liked it, therefore I must have thought this would be a good book too...
This story begins when violinist Ari Darvish is about to start a small performance at a bar, where he used to work while he was studying, but one of his fellow musicians can't make it. Luckily, bartender Jax Hall is working and he does have some piano knowledge. After a really quick reading of Ari's work, they do the performance and not only does it go well, but Jax and Ari even so some fun experiences, which is a little bit the extension of their attraction. Days later, they meet again at the bar and after a while, they start seeing each other. However, both have had disappointments in the past and although Jax has this happy persona going on, he is actually anxious about things he need to do, such as defending his thesis. It seems the more they get to know one another, more differences there are, but will they face them and try to go for happiness?
Looking at the cute and colorful cover, I imagined this would be a more laid back type of novel, with a sweet romance being the focus but while this is a romance, it wasn't the easy angst free novel I imagined, no. In fact, there were moments that seemed to go into a road where I couldn't see how the authors would solve it in a convincing way.
Ari and Jax are both musicians but Ari is a professional, unlike what his Iranian parents wanted for him. They are proud of what he has accomplished but they still wish he could be closer to home and they still dream a life for him that isn't what he wants. As for Jax, he only needs to defend his thesis but everything was put on hold when the pandemic hit and he is still not able to process the fact his adviser died during those terrible months.
The two are at different moments in their lives - Jax still unsure and fearing he can't measure up to others' expectations, Ari not wanting to confront his parents he feels happy with his work - but they have more in common than just the interest for music. As their relationship developed, I could see how slowly they were taking things and I must say I can't remember if this style is close to the other book by Ashlyn Kane I had read, and I suppose the input of Morgan James must be influential in this regard, but I think the end result was quite appealing to me.
With this I mean that the mood of the story isn't one of melancholy but this is still present in the story. The story isn't superficial but there are silly scenes here and there too. I'd say the balance is well achieved overall and I did like how Jax and Ari were apparently compatible and wished to be with one another in the long term. However, I wasn't always truly impressed with them as a couple... I must say I liked the scenes where they were simply talking or debating issues, rather than the ones where they were a couple, sex scenes included. I mean, I could easily put that aside....
The real conflict here is how each guy sees himself. Ari has deep roots in what it means to be dedicated to one's family and how traditions play a big role. His parents are OK with him being gay but they still see him in a role he doesn't and push him to find a doctor husband. I suppose this must be culturally meaningful but it did left me with a slightly bad taste because it still feels very...archaic. This ended up causing the big problems between the guys and there was a moment where I felt that a solution would only happen by downsizing the real extent of the issues, because a HEA had to happen no matter what.
Jax seemed to be a bit more complex character to me and not only because of his memories of what went down during the pandemic. Truthfully, this isn't the focus of his vulnerabilities but it is mentioned in a way that added up to his sense of inadequacy so I saw myself being more curious about him and how would be move forward. He had things left undone to finish and he also had to somehow make others understand why he wasn't more ambitious or motivated to do what they felt he had to... I really felt more in sync with Jax as a character than with Ari.
Since this is a romance, after the big conflicts and complications, the guys make up and get their HEA. I was invested in them so I was glad they could overcome the difficulties. Closer to the end, though, we had secondary characters act in ways I think were only for the sake of resolution, and others did some revelations which seemed to exist only to increase drama... along with some elements which border on cultural unfairness (to not use other words), I feel the authors could have written certain situations better.
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