REVIEW: A One-Time Thing by Kate Hawthorne & EM Denning

A ONE-TIME THING

by Kate Hawthorne & EM Denning

Release Date: January 30, 2025

Review

I’m a sucker for a grump! Especially a grump who can’t say no to a kid.

Gil is a loner who keeps everyone at arms length and I love every minute of him. Especially as the kind, optimistic neighbour, Rowan, manages to work his way under his skin. Well him and his son.

The closed-off ones always fall the sweetest and their no-strings hook-up of convenience was a lot of fun to watch as each late-night knock brings them closer and closer to love.

Both of them are great guys and ones that you will root for and want to be friends with. And Rowan’s son is a wonderful addition to the story.

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Synopsis

Gil Valentine knows three things: he doesn’t want kids, he doesn’t want a relationship, and he likes to be alone.

He spends Sundays tinkering in the garage, cruising on his motorcycle, and enjoying the luxury of a bed that he doesn’t have to share. After his last relationship with his best friend’s brother ended in disaster and nearly cost him a friendship, Gil swore off anything that might lead to complications.

Rowan Verne knows two things: being a single dad is hard, and being a single dad to a pre-teen is harder.

After the death of his wife and a tough few years as a struggling single dad, he’s determined to give his son a better life in a new town. Between moving into a fixer-upper and handling the demands of parenting a twelve year old, he’s juggling more than he anticipated—and then his son turns up down the street, talking to a very handsome, and very single neighbor.

Rowan is everything Gil doesn’t want and Gil is everything Rowan doesn’t think he needs. Even though they’re opposites, the chemistry between them is undeniable. What’s supposed to be a one-time thing quickly turns into something both men want to continue. And when tensions get high and memories from the past flare their ugly heads Gil and Rowan realize everything has changed, but they both know one thing to be true.

Once is never enough.

About Kate Hawthorne

With over two dozen published romances to her name, Kate Hawthorne has built a recognizable brand around telling emotional stories that pack a figurative (and sometimes literal) punch. Existing on a steady diet of wine and coffee, Kate spends her days dreaming up angsty stories full of heat, kink, and heart. Kate now lives in Louisville, where she spends her time writing romance, reading romance, and hiding from the humidity

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About EM Denning

E. M. Denning is a Canadian author and lover of gay romance.

I was born in the '80's in small town Canada, and I still live there. I have three kids, a husband, and a cat who is in his twilight years. I love writing and I especially love writing gay romance. I had a friend in my teens who was deeply closeted and I often think of that friend, and how different his youth would have been if there had been the books and acceptance that are out there now. The world isn't perfect, not yet, but I hope to make it brighter.

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