Martine and Elliot were best friends in Key West for a couple of years as children, both probably seeing in the other what they couldn’t recognize in themselves yet. When they reconnect by chance thirty years later, Elliot is a Coast Guard newly stationed in Key West and Martine owns a rum distillery with her best friend. Their friendship is just as strong as if they’d never lost touch and when they become roommates, they grow even closer, naturally, moving into a friends-with-benefits relationship that feels as comfortable as it is hot. Until it’s not.

What makes Leigh Hays’ books stand out is the way she skirts the line between erotic romance and full-blown erotica. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s excellent chemistry and sex scenes. In Foolproof, the chemistry underscores the MCs journey from friends to lovers to forever as well as their own individual journey to who they are, what they want, what they like. The exploration of power dynamics is extremely hot yet tinged with tenderness, and it’s that tenderness that makes all the difference.

Besides the characters (I hope we get to read the stories of some of the secondary characters someday) and the steam, I also really enjoyed reading about the work and thought that go into making rum (which I very rarely drink, it’s often too round for me, I like sharper spirits). It’s always a delicate balance when writing about a character’s job, describing enough to translate the passion but not too much that it becomes infodumping, and Hays makes it work.

This is a quick and very – very – steamy read that I enjoyed quite a bit. 3.5⭐️

Foolproof @ Bookshop.org / IndieBound / Book Depository / Books-A-Million / amazon

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