I am a huge fan of brain candy gay romance novels.  Never gonna be ashamed of that, they’re delightful, predictable, comforting, and lots of them are free on Kindle Unlimited.  And Cherry Picked by May Archer is all of those things.

Hawk Sunday has had a crush on Jack Wyatt since the first day he met him when Hawk was 17 years old.  Jack is the height of tall, dark, and handsome, just like every Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice novels, movies, and retellings that Hawk loves.  Hawk Webb has always been the outlier, the bookworm in the family of outdoorsy lumberjack apple growers that makes up the rest of his family.

In Jack Wyatt he finds someone who finally sees him and pays attention to him.  Actually listens when Hawk goes on about the latest Pride and Prejudice adaptation he’s read.  The only problem is that Hawk wants to be more than friends with Jack and he can’t figure out how to make Jack see him as more than just the little brother of his best friend.  This summer Hawk is determined to change all that by asking Jack if he’ll be the one to take Hawk’s virginity.  

Problem, when Hawk asks him that on a hike together, they nearly fall off the mountain together and Jack seems horrified by the idea.  And then, to make matters worse, Jack refuses “to do the deflowering himself, but also, erm... blocking any other potential plant-lovers from getting all up in my garden.”  This story is set against the backdrop of a huge resort company trying to build an alpine resort on the mountain that Hawk loves.  Hawk needs to protect his home but can’t seem to understand why no one else seems to care.  Can he convince Jack that’s he’s desirable AND preserve the mountain at the same time?