Talk about a bad day. Peregrine "Perry" Latimer comes home early to find his best friend since fourth grade, his first and only lover, and his partner, Cray, in bed with some random twink. He develops a stress related migraine and then after a fluke accident next wakes up in a hospital to find that days have passed and he now has the ability to taste emotions. The only good thing to come out of this is that he has landed the job of a lifetime: restore a gothic mansion and build a modern marvel all for one person. It certainly doesn't hurt that the client, one Drew Connors, is also the man that saved Perry's life. Or that he is sexy, attractive, and attracted to Perry as well. But Perry isn't ready to fall in love again and the complications that come from his new "talent" as well as a sudden enemy threatening him harm have him putting on the brakes whenever Drew makes a move. Perry is determined to keep their relationship on a strictly professional level no matter what Drew wants. The only question is who has the stronger willpower?

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Aloes. On the one hand, I loved Perry (hard not to love a character named after a Fellowship of the Rings character), I loved Drew, I loved Joe, I loved the plot, the scenery, the synesthesia, well, just about everything about the story. The hate comes in sometime around the ending of the story. Seriously, Ms. Quinton give a woman a break. You cannot just end the story there! What happens next, where does Perry go from here? I am in a tizzy now and my world view has been shaken to its foundations (okay, I am possibly exaggerating here but really, the book just ends! No resolution to all my burning questions). Aloes is a mishmash of genres, dabbling a bit in the fantasy, mystery, and contemporary, and has strong well drawn characters. There wasn't much chaff to sort in this one and I sincerely hope that there will be more from Perry in the future!

Reviewed by: Hayley