I got this short free download because it was described as being about coffee and romance. I love coffee and was not disappointed by the descriptive writing of this author. You could hear the beans being poured into the roaster or popping as they cooked. But the romance was with a married woman which made the narrator a cad.
Sean (whose name is so close to Bean), loves his job roasting coffee beans at a local coffee shop. His best friend is a lesbian named Lynne who warned him that Kelly's huge husband Mike was on his way to confront him about the affair and probably end the best job he had ever had. Sean knew that he should not be sleeping with Kelly, but he could not withstand the erotic onslaught of her lavender, jasmine and apricot smell and buckled under it every time she came near him. The only place he felt unassailable was as Roast Master in the roasting room. The overwhelming coffee bean smell was able to overpower the lure of her perfume and make his resolve to leave her alone impenetrable. I just don't like Sean and his lack of self control. It is obnoxious.
J. K. Swift is such a talented descriptive writer whose gift lies in making you feel as if you are in the room smelling and hearing each sound. His story had me captivated with the rich smells of Sumatra, Kona and Ethiopian beans chattering within the walls of the roaster, popping and dancing while Sean looked on like a "giant squid peering through the portholes of a submarine" and then, like burning sulfur or rubber mixed with week old trash, the story reveals an adulterous affair. That is not the taste I want left in my mouth (or mind). Sure, I know adultery happens and that it hurts people like Mike. That is why, while I love Swift's style of writing, I would not have read this story had I known. If this is not a problem for you, then you will like this story more than I did.
Would I/Did I buy it? Free Download
Would I read it again? No
Would I recommend it to friends? Yes, the author, not the story
