[ARC Review] Sapphire Dawn by C. Travis Rice

☆ PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: Donnie Bascombe has made a lot of people’s fantasies come true in his life, first in the bedroom, then on the set of his adult entertainment studio. But his best friend Logan Murdoch has just presented him with his tallest order yet—help plan the wedding of his dreams. Desire has always been Donnie’s forte. But lavish nuptials at one of Southern California’s premier oceanfront resorts? For that job, he’ll need a partner. And a mentor.

Richard Merriweather has devoted his life to planning fairy tale weddings for celebrities and royalty—only to have his own husband shatter his heart into a million pieces. Remaking the special events office at Sapphire Cove is just the distraction he needs to get his fancy and luxurious life back on track. But the groom’s brash and undeniably sexy best friend has a powerful attraction to Richard Merriweather he can’t keep secret. Problem is, Richard doesn’t do hookups, and Donnie doesn’t do relationships. The closer Donnie gets to Richard, the more he wants something different, something he’s never had before. Something that will force both men to confront the heartbreak in their pasts as they plan Sapphire Cove’s wedding of the decade and find an unexpected future for themselves.

☆ MY THOUGHTS: While I ended up really enjoying Donnie and Richard's romance, and the rocky road it took for them to get there, it did take me a bit longer than I would've liked to fully get into the story. This is definitely a story that requires prior knowledge of the first three books (and the first three couples) to fully grasp or enjoy the events and interactions in this book. However, if you're familiar with Rice's Sapphire Cove world, then Richard and Donnie's story does an excellent job at tying up plots from previous books while simultaneously crafting a new adventure full of action and drama for our main couple. 

It admittedly took me a while to warm up to Richard and Donnie; they weren't unlikable characters by any means, I just didn't feel like I had much reason to get into their relationship at first. I did finally start really getting into Donnie and Richard's romance about halfway through, and after that, I couldn't put the book down. What started off as a slower plot and a slow burn escalated into a steamy romance that had some unexpected twists and drama. While this story started off as three stars for me, the second half of the book more than made up for it and easily turned this into a four-star read for me. 

[A huge thank you to Blue Box Press for providing a review copy of this book! All opinions are my own.]

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Release date: 6/25/24

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: the publisher