In You Had Me at Merlot, Melissa Brayden sets up a classic romantic conflict in the heart of New York City. Jamie Tolliver owns Bordeauxnuts, a hybrid coffee-and-doughnut shop by day that transforms into a wine bar at night. Her comfortable routine is disrupted when Leighton Morrow, a striking stranger, becomes a regular customer. Jamie’s crush deepens with each encounter—until she discovers that Leighton works as a development coordinator for Carrington’s Department Store, which plans to demolish the entire city block, Bordeauxnuts included, for a new location. The novel plays out the tension between personal desire and professional obligation, with Jamie and Leighton navigating their attraction while standing on opposite sides of a gentrification battle. Brayden uses the donut-shop-versus-corporate-development framework to explore how economic forces intrude on queer community spaces, though the focus remains firmly on the romantic push-and-pull between the two women.
Details
| ISBN: 9781636795447 |
| Subtitle: |
| Genre: Romance |
| Subject(s): Contemporary; Fiction; Lesbian; Lgbtq+; Romance |
| Publication Date: 2024-02-13 |
| Original Publication Date: |
| Publisher: Bold Strokes Books Inc |
| Language: English |
| Format: Paperback |
| Pages: 310 |
| Rating: |
| Notes: |
| Book_ID: 105245 |