Title: Picked Fresh
Series: Naked Organics #2
Author: Posy Roberts
Genre: M/M Romance
Publisher: Labyrinth Bound Press
Hudson Oliva loves stability. He was a throwaway teen before finding Kaleidoscope Gardens, but has since thrived at the commune. When Jude Garrity moves in, life gets even better, but Hudson still craves more. He knows he has to be satisfied with their exclusive status being temporary and that Jude will eventually navigate his full sexual awakening with their other housemates.
Hudson has a journey of his own to make. It might only require going home to settle his grandmother’s estate, but he plans to use his time away to figure out how to temper his feelings for Jude and bury his jealousy once and for all. But when Jude joins him on his trip, Hudson falls even deeper in love, especially after Jude stands by his side when he finally confronts his mother for rejecting him.
However, it’s not all hearts and flowers while they travel. They’re over two thousand miles from home when Hudson learns a ruthless corporate farm threatens the commune they both love. In order to save their way of life, Hudson must ask his mother for help. And if he wants a chance at a stable future with Jude, he has to tell him the truth about his feelings, no matter if it ruins the harmony he’s tried so hard to preserve.
Jude shifted in his seat and stared at Hudson. Hudson couldn’t take his eyes off the road, but the desire to turn toward Jude and mirror him was overwhelming. “What was your first impression of me when I met you at the farmers market?”
“Should I be diplomatic or honest?”
“Honest.”
Hudson ran that day over in his mind. It was crystal clear, still, even though it had been more than nine months ago. Jude had meandered from stand to stand. He initially stood out from the crowd because of what he was wearing: a bright blue, almost turquoise wool coat over a black turtleneck and tight black jeans. In the blur of quilted plaid flannel and fleece hoodies in various shades of drab, olive, and Carhartt, Jude was all Hudson could see.
“I couldn’t keep my eyes off you. You were… stunning.” He shook his head. “I don’t know another word for it. I was talking to some customer about how we raised our chickens, and when I saw you, I stopped midsentence. I stared, felt like a dirty old man because you looked so young, and when I turned back to the woman to carry on our conversation, I had no idea what we’d been talking about. Literally none. It was like looking at you sucked the words out of my throat and the thoughts right out of my head.”
Jude chuckled. “Seriously? Was it the coat?”
“It made you stand out, but no, it wasn’t the coat. It was everything about you. Your broad shoulders and your hair and your eyes and your fucking lips.”
“You like my lips?” Jude pulled his rose-flavored lip stuff out of his front pocket and made a show of smearing it across the bottom one. Then he rubbed his lips together and licked them, all while staring at Hudson with soft bedroom eyes.
The bus vibrated, a jagged noise piercing Hudson’s ears as he drove too far to the right, edging his tires onto the rumble strip. “¡Coño!” He maneuvered back into the center of his lane.
Jude laughed. Hudson’s heart thundered against his rib cage.
“You’re evil,” Hudson said. “Evil, I tell you!”
“Maybe.” Jude bit at his bottom lip.
“Stop. Stop tempting me with your fucking gorgeous mouth. I can’t have you doing that shit while I’m driving.”
“Okay.” Jude smirked but kept his tongue and teeth from doing anything else. He put away those hazel sex-eyes too. “So, how did you see this trip going down?”
“Just like that?” Hudson was incredulous.
“What?”
“You can just turn it on and off like a switch?”
“With you, sure.”
“Well, I can’t.” Hudson gestured to his crotch, where his dick was obvious, thick, and quickly moving on its way to fully hard, even though Jude had stopped the licking and the biting.
“Want me to touch you?” Jude’s voice was breathy as he slid his warm palm up Hudson’s inner thigh. He thumbed over the head of Hudson’s cock, and Hudson got harder. Jude played with just the head, moving back and forth, his touch light and delicious.
“Want me to drive off the road?” Hudson managed not to sound choked off.
“No.” Jude pulled his hand away and smiled like the devil. “I want you to drive. And I want you to tell me about what you want to do on this trip besides the obvious. And for the record, turning it off doesn’t happen like a switch. Turning me on with one look, easy!”
“You’re dangerous.”
“Damn right I am.”
4 out of 5 stars
Picked Fresh is the second in Posy Roberts' Naked Organics series, and it's important to read the books in order. The first book in the series, Farm Fresh, sets up the relationship between Jude and Hudson and introduces you to life at Kaleidoscope Gardens and all the secondary characters who live there.
The story literally picks up where Farm Fresh ended, with Hudson having to go settle things with his mom for his Grandmother's will. To say he's trepidatious is being mild after what his family had put in through. We saw glimpses of what had happened to Hudson as a young teen but going back to his family has him all tied in knots and bringing the memories to the surface. Since he's going alone back to his mom, he's even more uncomfortable.
Jude is still settling into his relationship with Hudson even though they've been together for a little while. He's made pretty big strides with his therapy to work through what his parents did to him growing up but he's worried about his younger brother and sister still being near their parents. Jude's also secretly trying to fix everything so he can go along with Hudson back to his Grandmother's farm so he's not alone. Unfortunately his keeping quiet kind of backfires a bit because Hudson interprets this as Jude is pulling away from Hudson.
I enjoyed watching Hudson and Jude's relationship grow and them explore their boundaries as a couple. Jude still has a lot of sexual hang-ups but he is working on them. He actually goes into a sex shop while Hudson is napping on their roadtrip. His reaction and experience in there is very cute and also a bit humorous because it is a first experience for him and all the blushes and awkwardness that comes with it. My biggest drawback with both books in this series so far is the lack of communication that goes on both between the housemates, and then specifically between Hudson and Jude, and Charlie and Leo. I know Charlie, Jude, and Hudson have dealt or are dealing with therapy worthy issues but they also forget that communicating with their partners is a big part of working through therapy. Plus it also causes more stress on each of them that tends to help make issues snowball.
There is a lot more of the outside world in this book and very little of the commune and the secondary characters from the first book so the dynamics of the story are much different. All in all I enjoyed it but really missed the addition of the secondary characters. They really made the relationships feel more 'organic' and less focused on just two people. I recommend this for anyone that read the first book and those that like their love from all shades and shapes of the rainbow.
Origin Story:
Interested in reading how Hudson ended up living at Kaleidoscope Gardens? Read Naked Origins—Hudson for free. This is not a romance, but for those who want to dig a little deeper, this story covers much of Hudson’s history that is hinted at in Picked Fresh.
Visit https://posyroberts.com/2016/02/02/free-read-naked-origins/ to read the summary and download it.
Title: Farm Fresh
Series: Naked Organics #1
Author: Posy Roberts
Genre: M/M Romance
Publisher: Labyrinth Bound Press
Posy Roberts writes about the realistic struggles of men looking for love. Whether her characters are family men, drag queens, or lonely men searching for connections, they all find a home in her stories.
Posy is a Jill of all trades and master of the drill and paintbrush. She’s married to a partner who makes sure she doesn’t forget to eat or sleep during her writing frenzies. Her daughter, a budding author and cinematographer, helps her come up with character names. For fun, Posy enjoys crafting, hiking, and singing spontaneously about the mundane, just to make regular life more interesting.
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