Review & #Giveaway: A Touch of Maple (Love in Maplewood #3) by Amy Aislin
- Archaeolibrarian
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Book Details:
Book Title: A Touch of Maple
Author and Publisher: Amy Aislin
Cover Artist: Morningstar Ashley Designs
Release Date: May 30, 2025
Tense/POV: past tense, third person, alternating POV
Genres: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Rival’s brother, small town, hockey, divided loyalties, found family
Heat Rating: 2 flames
Length: 56 000 words
It is a standalone story and does not end on a cliff-hanger.
@AmyAislinAuthor @gaybookpromotions @debbiereadsbooks
@amyaislin @gaybookpromotions @debbiereadsbook
After being traded numerous times over the course of his pro hockey career, all Bellamy Jordan wants is a place where he belongs. Burlington, Vermont, home of the Vermont Trailblazers, his newest team, might just be that place. The bonus: he’s within spitting distance of the grandparents who raised him. The drawback: his long-time rival’s gorgeous brother—who he can’t get out of his mind—also lives nearby.
And he hates Bellamy on sight.
Jason Zervudachi is busy enough trying to diversify his family’s maple syrup farm while completing his master’s degree. Adding in an attractive complication like Bellamy? Hard pass. Even so, there’s something more behind Bellamy’s eyes that draws Jason in, but Bellamy is his brother’s rival. There’s a sibling rule against that, right? There must be.
Except Bellamy isn’t at all what Jason expects—and neither is the connection between them.
With the highest percentage of LGBTQIA+ residents in Vermont, Maplewood is a town where everyone belongs. And with festivals year round, there’s always something fun happening! This multi-author, low-angst queer series features ten standalone romances—each set against the backdrop of a different festival. Come for the celebrations, stay for the happily-ever-afters!
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Inhaling a slow breath, Jason rounded the table to face Bellamy. He held two half gallon jugs of maple syrup in the crook of one arm that Jason hadn’t noticed from the back. “Hi.”
Bellamy jolted, clearly off in his own world, and met his gaze. Confusion crossed his face as he shoved his hood back and looked around. “Where’d the lady go?”
“Sheila? She’s gone home for the evening. You get me.”
“But I was going to ask her how to get more of these.” Bellamy held up a bracelet made of green, white, and red beads.
“How many more?”
“Uh…” Bellamy picked two similar ones off the rack and said, “Twenty? No wait. Like, forty? No, twenty. Definitely twenty.”
What did he need twenty bracelets for? Christmas-themed ones no less. In March.
Jason rotated the rack. “These won’t do?”
“No, it has to be these colors.”
“Okay, well…” Jason scratched his cheek. Why was he finding it adorable that Bellamy wanted twenty beaded bracelets? “I can ask Sheila to get in touch with the maker tomorrow. Can’t guarantee they’ll have enough beads in those colors for another twenty bracelets, though.”
Bellamy shrugged. “It’s cool. I’ll start with these.”
“And the maple syrup?” Jason asked, leading Bellamy to the cash desk. “Are those for your grandparents? Guessing you didn’t drive an hour out of your way for something you can find easily enough in Burlington.”
“My grandparents,” Bellamy repeated tonelessly, avoiding Jason’s gaze. “Sure. Yup. This is for them. They love to buy local.”
“Most people do around these parts. Vermont’s philosophy might as well be buy local, shop small.”
“Hm. So what’s the deal with these bracelets?”
“They’re made by a local artisan,” Jason told him as he rang up Bellamy’s products. “Everything in here is.”
“Yeah?” A smile pulled those pouty lips upward. “Cool. Do you have any keychains with the Trailblazers’ logo? Little ones, like those maple syrup-shaped ones over there?”
“The ones you said were unimaginative?” Jason snapped, despite telling himself he didn’t care.
The smile fell off Bellamy’s face. “What?”
“The other day when you were here with your friend.” Jason scanned the second maple syrup jug and plopped it onto the counter with a loud thunk. “You said it was unimaginative. I heard you.”
“I didn’t…” Bellamy’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t mean… I just wanted to…” He trailed off, and his entire body seemed to wilt. “Never mind. What do I owe you?”
Well, fuck. Now Jason felt bad, and he couldn’t say why. “We used to have keychains in the shape of the Trailblazers’ jersey,” he found himself saying. Bellamy’s gaze flew to his, eyes wide with surprise. “We haven’t had any since the beginning of the hockey season, but I can get in touch with the artist. If she’s okay with me passing on her contact info, I can send it your way if you want to commission something.”
“Just give me her social media handle and I’ll look her up,” Bellamy said, his phone already in his hand.
“She’s not on social media. Here.” Jason flipped over one of the shop’s business cards and slid it across the counter along with a pen. “Give me your number.”
Bellamy began to scribble it down, then peered up at Jason a little mistrustfully. “You’re not going to sell it, are you?”
“Who would want it?” Jason quipped, gratified when Bellamy laughed.
No, not gratified. He was—oh, fuck it all.
Jason inspected the top half of Bellamy he could see—his bottom half was blocked by the counter—while Bellamy wasn’t looking. For a hockey player, he wasn’t overly big, though Jason supposed that wasn’t saying much. These days, there were a lot of smaller players.
Not that Bellamy was small, not in the usual sense. He was just leanly muscled rather than bulky.
His black winter coat was open over a plain blue sweater, a well-worn scarf dangled around his neck, and his hair flopped over one eye as he wrote his number on the back of the business card.
What was that on his scarf? Were those…?
“Here.” Bellamy slid the business card back toward Jason. “I appreciate it.”
“I like your scarf.”
Instant scowl. “Don’t be a dick.”
Jason blinked at the vehemence. “I’m…not? I like it. The little embroidered dragons are cute.”
It took a moment for Bellamy’s frown to reverse itself. When it did, a slight furrow remained between his eyebrows. “Thank you,” he said tentatively, like he was waiting for the punchline. “My grandma made it for me.”
5 out of 5 (exceptional)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is part of the Love in Maplewood series, I have not read any others and I don't think you would need to, they all appear to be linked only by Maplewood and the low angst tag. I wouldn't say no to reading any more, though!
Jason lives in Maplewood and helps run the family maple syrup farm. Bellamy is traded to the local ice hockey team. He has been moved a lot, and it's beginning to get old. Meeting Jason and things seemed to be looking up, that is, until he finds out that Jason is the brother of Ryland, his arch enemy.
What I especially loved about this book is the low angst. I have some stuff going on right now, and it absolutely hit the spot I needed it to! Jason and Bellamy are aware they will upset Ryland , but still know that what they have is special. And, as Bellamy points out, Ryland is the real instigator in their "feud"
I found it steamy, but not especially smexy, and I really enjoyed that I could just fall into the book and watch these two men fall in love, without smexy stuff taking over. I love a smexy book, don't get me wrong, but for these two, I think it was a perfect balance of steam and emotion.
I loved that there was not a break up/make up thing and I loved that Ryland, while initially... not hurt, but more put out... by Jason being with Bellamy, he comes around in the best way!
Loved the epilogue and the bonus chapter.
Thank you, Ms Aislin, for really making my day with this book.
5 full and shiny stars
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
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Amy’s lived with her head in the clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her infrequent newsletter.
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