BIRDING WITH BENEFITS is the kind of title that does what it says on the can—it’s literally birding and sex. This is the author’s debut novel, and it’s a middle age romance about Celeste who, after going through a divorce and trying to figure out who she is in this era of her life, agrees to go on a fake date with John, a sexy lumberjack birdwatcher (this is how he is described!!), in order to prove a point to his ex, a fellow birdwatcher. When Celeste arrives, she doesn’t realize that she was just supposed to be posing as his birdwatching partner—not his lover. Now that the mistake has been made at the start of a birdwatching competition no less and she was witnessed by all of his fellow birdwatchers, Celeste will have to keep up the ruse for the rest of the competition which lasts just over a month. Birdwatching is a very quiet activity, which gives Celeste and John a lot of time to open up to each other, which leads to them starting to fall for each other. But should they explore the ‘with benefits’ part of their relationship? And what will it mean once the competition is over?
There is definitely a silliness to this premise, but I actually thought the book started off in a fun place. Birdwatching is definitely it’s own unique activity, and I liked the scenes where you get to know more about how John does birdwatching competitively. The two are classic opposites—he’s an introvert and someone who studies people (and birds); she’s a sometimes goofy extrovert with an air of positivity. For a love interest, John is sweet, and I could see how he got mostly overlooked by women but was really a great guy. I loved Celeste’s effervescence when she was around him.
The same things that are interesting about birdwatching, though, don’t exactly lend themselves to driving plot, and sex ends up way overtaking the drive of this story. I found myself tuning out so much of it because it ended up feeling like sex scene after sex scene by the middle of the story. Definitely a book for anyone looking for spice, but I just felt like a stronger balance between the sex drive and birdwatching drive would have been more interesting to me. Ultimately the book is a little sweet, but silly, and very spicy—I think I preferred SUMMER ROMANCE, another middle age romance story to this one as that just had more balance to it.
3.5 stars
Synopsis (from Amazon)
A divorcee embarks on her “year of yes” and crosses paths with a shy but sensitive birdwatcher who changes her life in this charming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Ali Hazelwood.
Newly-divorced, almost-empty-nester Celeste is finally seeking adventure and putting herself first, cliches be damned. So when a friend asks Celeste to “partner” with his buddy John for an event, Celeste throws herself into the role of his temporary girlfriend. But quiet cinnamon roll John isn’t looking for love, just birds—he needs a partner for Tucson’s biggest bird-watching contest if he’s ever going to launch his own guiding business. By the time they untangle their crossed signals, they’ve become teammates…and thanks to his meddling friends, a fake couple.
Celeste can’t tell a sparrow from a swallow, but John is a great teacher, and the hours they spend hiking in the Arizona wilderness feed Celeste’s hunger for new adventures while giving John a chance to practice his dream job. As the two spend more time together, they end up watching more than just the birds, and their chemistry becomes undeniable. Since they’re both committed to the single life, Celeste suggests a status upgrade: birders with benefits, just until the contest is done. But as the bird count goes up and their time together ticks down, John and Celeste will have to decide if their benefits can last a lifetime, or if this love affair is for the birds.
