Mystic Man (States of Love #40)

Title: Mystic Man (States of Love Book 40)
Author: E.J. Russell
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: June 22, 2018
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 100
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Cody is a Mystic Seaport native and volunteers throughout the year .... when he isn't sailing around the world or solo backpacking in Peru. Cody has a great family, but he's always traveling in search of something:

... it made him want, as if his family, his beloved home, his life, was somehow missing a piece—although he had no idea what that piece might be. That’s why he took off on some kind of adventure every winter.

Aaron, on the other hand, grew up in an extremely unstable home and stability and routine is everything to him:

"Your family life is very different from mine.”
“I think that’s true for everybody. I mean what two families are the same?”
“Yes, but I’m talking about the atmosphere, the support, the security. As a kid, were you ever afraid that when you got home from school, you wouldn’t have a home anymore?”

When these two dissimilar men meet, only because Aaron has very uncharacteristically uprooted his entire life in California and headed to Connecticut, there's a recognition that perhaps they are exactly what each other needs. The romance is slow and sweet, filled with picnics lunches, sightseeing, swimming in the Sound, and a sizzling sexual chemistry (although not explicitly detailed on the page). Also, the Mystic Seaport area is richly detailed in the course of the book, while I especially enjoy when reading the "State of Love" series.

My rating is 4 strong stars for "Mystic Man." It's a great, fun read with interesting characters, a great setting and a sweet romance.