Book Review: Off the Market (Texas BBQ Brothers) by Audrey Wick

Off the Market is the second book in the Texas BBQ Brothers series by Audrey Wick. I did not read the first book, but found I could enjoy it as a stand alone. Although returning readers will enjoy seeing characters return and develop further.

Quinn LaFayette is in her inaugural year as library special programs director of Last Stand, but when the kickoff performance for the children’s summer program goes terribly wrong, she has to save face as well as her job. She has a surprise advocate in Cole, whom she did her best to ignore in school. Seven years has only made Cole more appealing, but Quinn is determined to resist the sparks that fly between them because they are too different. Restaurant owner Cole Hutchinson is no bookworm, but thanks to his fast-thinking antics, he ends up saving the day at the library and earning Quinn’s praise in the process. He’s tempted to seek more, but he’s juggling plenty of female attention from gracing the June edition of Modern Texas magazine featuring barbeque. Cole’s not interested in revisiting a woman from his past, but there’s something about Quinn that he can’t quite ignore. Can Cole prove that opposites really do attract?

Off the Market is a good contemporary, small town romance. I enjoyed the characters, and found the situations and concerns that both Quinn and Cole had to be believable. I have worked in a small town library, and can attest to how politics do play a role in every penny the library gets, and how one or two loud voices can make things better or worse for all concerned. I liked the slow progression of the romance between the two, but found that a lot felt unmentioned or skipped over. Yes, the relationship grew slowly over the summer, but sometimes it felt like a week or two was just glossed over and readers just know that they hung out some during that time. It was sweet, and I liked the characters, but I just never connected with them beyond the issues they had outside their relationship. It was luke warm rather than hot between them, and I do not mean just because there is very little physical between them in the story. There just was not enough spark or drive between them for me, they were good for each other- but I wanted something a bit more from them.

Off the Market is a sweet romance with a good premise. For those looking for a small town contemporary romance that has more sweet than heat.