Welcome back to Cozzi Cove, seven guest bungalows on the New Jersey Shore where magic and romance happens.
Welcome back to the romantic and magical place called Cozzi Cove, seven guest bungalows on the New Jersey Shore. This summer, Cal and his new husband Michael, along with sister, Taylor and her wife, Carla, prepare for the first in the next generation of Cozzis. To add to the action: Cal finds his great-grandfather’s diary, exposing a shocking surprise; Michael and Taylor weigh new job opportunities that could take them far away from Cozzi Cove; red-letter Christian and new houseboy, Billy Dean, gets his wish when meeting Jesus and John at the cove; summer guest, Nijad, can’t decide which sibling he prefers—Annabel or Andrew; and Jonathan, an occult enthusiast, encounters a sexy vampire. As usual, nothing is as it seems when romance blossoms once again at Cozzi Cove. What secrets, mysteries, and passions lie waiting to unfold? Find out in Book Four of the Cozzi Cove series.
Excerpt
Just as they were finishing breakfast, Carla Mangione lumbered through the back kitchen door and announced, “If this watermelon doesn’t come out of the patch soon, I’m going to kill someone.”
“Hey, you’re talking about our watermelon!” Cal replied as he got up to help her to the table. He put pancakes on a plate as Michael went to pour juice and milk for her.
“It won’t be soon enough for me.” Carla rubbed her enormous stomach; she was only thirty-five, but these days looked more like fifty-five. “I never knew you could get varicose veins on your stomach.”
“And I’m sure yours are beautiful.” Cal served Carla breakfast, kissed the top of her dark hair, and took a seat across from her at the table.
Carla leaned forward to massage her lower back. “I must be the biggest pregnant woman ever.”
“That’s because you’re carrying our big, beautiful baby,” Michael said, joining them.
After taking a sip of juice, Carla gagged. “Why does everything taste like fish or liverwurst?”
“Maybe our baby is the antichrist,” Cal offered.
Carla took a bite of the pancakes. “What kind of huge genes do you two guys have?”
“Don’t blame us.” Cal put his arm around Michael. “It must have been the egg-donor.”
“She must have donated ostrich eggs.” Carla pushed her plate away.
Michael pushed it back in front of her. “Eat up, honey. You’re having breakfast for two.”
She looked down at her enormous stomach. “Really? Do you think?”
Cal finished his juice. “Whatever happened to, ‘As your dear old friend and sister-in-law, it would be my honor to help you and Michael bring a child into this world. I can’t think of anyone who’d make better parents’?”
“That was before I gained forty pounds and my back started aching constantly—before my breasts swelled up like helium balloons and my ankles expanded faster than a conservative politician’s pocket after meeting with a Super PAC.”
Cal fed her another piece of pancake. “But isn’t it all worth it to bring a new life into the world?”
Carla groaned. “I used to get offended when people said God was a man. Now I’m sure of it. No woman would put another woman through this.”
“Did you do your exercises this morning?” Michael asked.
Carla laughed. “I stopped being able to see my toes weeks ago.”
“Have you been meditating with your crystals?” Michael sounded like a teacher with a lazy student.
“I think I threw them at your pictures when the baby kicked me like a Radio City Rockette. Meanwhile, you two were no doubt going at it last night like a running back and a wide receiver.”
“A tight end, please,” Michael said as he handed Carla her glass of milk.
“If I get any more milk in me, my breasts will explode.” She took a sip and swallowed as if drinking fish oil laced with liquid soap.
Cal asked, “Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?”
Carla nodded. “Maybe that’s why this kid has been jumping around inside me like a Mexican hat dancer. Do either of you have any Mexican blood?”
“African and Scandinavian,” Michael replied.
“Scottish and Italian,” Cal said.
“Well, maybe he was doing a tribal dance and the tarantella.” Carla flicked back her long dark hair. “While I was lying awake in bed, I did the baby’s astrology and numerology charts.”
Michael asked, “How can you do that without knowing his birthdate?”
Carla glared at him. “I decided if he doesn’t come out of me by the end of the week, I’m pulling my nephew out with tongs.”
“What did the charts show?” Cal didn’t believe in the occult, but he was thankful to get Carla’s mind off her discomfort.
Carla smiled. “He’s going to be kind, strong, fair, honest, and quite successful.”
“Of course he is. He’s our son.” Cal kissed Michael’s cheek.
“Let’s hope he’s kind enough to make an appearance soon.” Carla ate more of her breakfast.
Michael asked, “How is Dotty doing running the restaurant during your maternity leave?”
“Fine.” Carla sat back. “I should never go back.”
Cal grinned. “You wouldn’t leave Carla’s.”
“You’re right.” She winked at Cal. “That restaurant is as much a part of me as Cozzi Cove is a part of you.”
A month ago, complaining more than a right-wing politician at a Planned Parenthood meeting, Carla had moved into Bungalow One so that Cal and Michael could help take care of her. She had also insisted that she wanted to have their baby at Cozzi Cove, assisted by a midwife, and not in a hospital. It had seemed the perfect solution; however, since sound carried between the two bungalows, it meant inadvertently sharing their more intimate moments.
Michael seemed miles away.
“What’s wrong?” Cal asked.
Michael shrugged, his head hanging down.
Carla said, “Don’t be shy, Michael. You know I’m family now. I married Cal’s sister. Remember? You were there, marrying this guy.”
Since Michael wasn’t talking, Cal asked Carla, “When is my dear sister coming for a visit?”
Carla sighed. “Taylor said she’d be here after her business meetings in Paris and Rome, but before her meetings in Washington, DC and New York.”
“What does that mean?” Cal asked.
“It means Taylor and the conservative big-money boys are making sure the top one percent stay that way.” She turned to Michael. “You’re not off the hook so easily about your pouting. What’s up?”
“A lot, last night.” Michael patted Cal’s crotch.
Cal put his arm around his husband. “We know something’s wrong, Michael. Spill it.”
“And feel free to spill my milk while you’re at it,” Carla said, pushing away her glass.
Michael pushed it back in front of her. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“But?” Cal asked.
Michael rested his chin on his hand. “Cozzi Cove has been in your family for generations, like Carla’s Seafood Restaurant has been in Carla’s.”
“So?” Cal asked again.
“So you both belong here. I’m just a guy who fell in love with the man I tried to gay bash.”
Cal took his hand. “Michael, you’re my husband. Cozzi Cove is as much your home as it is mine.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
Carla groaned. “Did my wife say something obnoxious to you the last time she visited?”
“Taylor said lots of obnoxious things to me the last time she visited, but that’s not it.”
“Then what is it, Michael?” Cal asked.
Michael bit his lower lip. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I can’t think of a place I’d like living more than Cozzi Cove. But this is your land, your inheritance, and your soul. Sometimes I feel like an outsider.”
At that moment, there was a knock at the front door. “That must be my new houseboy,” Cal said, getting to his feet.
Carla leaned on the table and pushed herself off the chair. “I don’t want anyone seeing me like this. I’m going back to my bungalow.”
“Take this for the road,” Michael said, handing her the glass of milk.
She downed the milk in one gulp and cringed. “If I don’t come out of my bungalow in a week’s time, send in the bulldozer.” Carla left out the back kitchen door.
Cal paused at the kitchen entry, looking on as Michael cleared the table and started stacking the dishwasher. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said.
“It’s fine, really.”
Unconvinced, Cal left for the living room.
Professional Reviews
Three Books Over the Rainbow
Part of my anticipation in reading the Cozzi Cove Series is finding out who’s checking in on the Guest List this season and their baggage that they are bringing with them – and I’m not talking suitcases here……
Each guest that checks into one of the Cozzi Cove bungalows has a story to tell, some hilariously funny, some sad but in the very capable hands of this author, we know it’s going to be another memorable season.
We were given a quick catch up with the Cozzi’s themselves – Cal and Michael have been married a year now, as have George and Aaron and Taylor and Carla with the Hot-Off-The-Press news that Carla is heavily pregnant with Cal and Michael’s baby after offering to be a Surrogate for them. My trolley-dolly Connor has been replaced by Billy Dean Boyd, he is studying theatre but spouts his Grampa’s expressions with such a fluency that I was left with that 24 carat feeling which made great reading, I think my favourite being “I’m dryer than a tree bribing a dog” but it’s a hard decision because they are all such little gems.
So who were our Guests this season? Well, we had a Travel Agent, Flight Attendants, a Tax Auditor, a senior Editor of a very famous magazine, Jesus and his disciple John (yep, you read that right) and let’s not forget the unforgettable method actor, Count Dracula….
As you can see, quite a bunch of somewhat oddball, quirky but definitely interesting group of Guests. And Joe Cosentino gets full kudos for giving every character their own specialness that made such entertaining and somewhat gut-busting reading, so remember the hankies when reading to mop up the tears of laughter, as they come in quick succession!
For me, this Series is about love, finding yourself and most of all acceptance. The author always subtly infuses a moral message into his stories and this one was no exception, a wake up call to remind us that though someone may be different, it doesn’t make them a lesser person and being different should be embraced, not disgraced or shamed, but accepted for whom they are.
I’ll always check in with Joe Cosentino, he is the “thinking author” of sexy fun, memorable characters and creativity, where hope can become reality.
Five big fat stars from me.
Divine Magazine Review by Janice Birney
Cozzi Cove : New Beginings is the fourth book in the Cozzi Cove series and its storyline follows on from Stepping Out. It could be read as a standalone but I don’t recommend doing so. The four books in the series allow for in depth character development of the MC’s and you’d be missing so much of their back stories and in jokes that you’d be doing yourself a disservice. Regardless, this series is superb so if you haven’t read the first three you are in for a treat.
Cozzi Cove is a gay friendly resort built by current owner Cal Cozzi’s great-grandfather. The resort has passed from one generation to the next and consists of seven bungalows spread around a beautiful cove on the Jersey Shore. Cal and his husband Michael are permanent residents and the other bungalows are rented out over the summer. The cove is a magical place where love and laughter abound and strangers become friends, and often so much more.
As the season begins we find Cal employing a new houseboy, now that Connor has married and opened a bed and breakfast in town. Enter Billy Dean Boyd, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, muscular specimen of a man. He is a theatre major on a football scholarship and a red letter Christian who has signed a chastity card to remain celebrate until marriage. As a tolerant and accepting gay man it seems he’ll fit right in, and if the magic of the cove makes him question his long term goals, well then it might just be more than a job that he finds. An unexpected visit from Jesus and John may help guide this sweet young man in the right direction.
Nijad Hadad is a 30-year-old, bisexual travel agent who has been unlucky in love. Despite his kind heart, beautiful dark-skin, black-hair, dark-eyes and muscular body, Nijad has yet to meet ‘the one’. At check in he meets Andrew Urban, of a similar age and with a similar history of bad luck in love. Andrew is a beautiful, pale-skinned blue-eyed blonde of slim build and a shy nature. He is staying in the bungalow next to Nijad with his twin sister Annabel and, since she is yet to arrive, he agrees to dinner with his new neighbour. Each man has a secret they are loathe to share, however, and with Annabel’s mischievous interference who knows what can happen in a week at the cove.
Malcolm Wolfe is a rich, successful magazine editor taking a break from the pressures of working on a very high profile magazine. Or so he says. There’s something about this buff, confident, black man that rubs Cal the wrong way. When he discovers their shared history, Cal is concerned by Malcolm’s strong interest in Michael’s talents as a photojournalist. Something doesn’t sit right, particularly when Cal discovers that Malcolm is married to a woman and lives a secret life as a gay man. His motives in helping Michael may not be all they seem.
Jonathan Harper is a middle-aged tax auditor with an obsession with Dracula and all things horror related. He has been extremely unlucky in love with few men willing to support his hobby. Staying at the cove while attending a horror convention Jonathan has a chance meeting with Dracula and it appears all his fantasies have come true.
Vlad Lesti is a straight, middle-aged, struggling actor, staying at the cove while playing Dracula at the horror convention. A chance meeting with Jonathan, whilst in character, leads to an unlikely friendship and attraction. With Jonathan convinced that Vlad is a direct descendant of the ‘real’ Dracula, strange and magical events lead these two lonely men in an unexpected direction.
There is much going on in Cal and Michael’s lives in New Beginnings . Big changes are coming. A visit from Cal’s sister Taylor and the discovery of Cal’s great-grandfathers diary lead to a series of events which will impact all their lives. Can Michael find a job that fits in with the life he and Cal have planned? Will Taylor move closer to home with Carla, or halfway across the world where a lucrative job offer tempts? Will Jesus and John bring more than the Holy Spirit into Billy Dean’s life? Can two sets of lonely men find love and acceptance with each other? What is Malcolm’s real agenda? So many questions and so much intrigue.
With Joe Cosentino’s utterly unique, dry humour, and sense of the absurd, the answers will come amid many giggles and laugh out loud moments. With lines such as “I’m just a guy who fell in love with a man I tried to gay bash”, and “Maybe our baby is the antichrist” said with complete seriousness, you know this is no ordinary author, or story. No one writes like Joe, and no book of his is less than a five star journey into farce, laughter and fabulously original characters and HEA’s. New Beginnings, like all of this author’s body of work, is surprising, beautifully written and giggle-snort wonderful. Highly recommended.
Star Rating: ★★★★★
OptimuMM - Home of MM Book Reviews
Joe Cosentino does it again. The fourth outing for Cal and Michael and the characters of Cozzi Cove is yet another winner. A fresh set of guests arrives at the bungalows set for a quiet week. Alongside the guests’ stories, there are revelations about Cal and his tight-knit family and mysteries to be unfolded.
Residing in bungalow 1 is Carla, Cal’s sister-in-law. She’s heavily pregnant, acting as a surrogate for Cal and Michael, the next generation of Cozzis. I loved the scenes with Cal’s sister Taylor behaving like she’s the one carrying the baby, hilarious! In bungalow 2 is Malcolm Wolf an ex houseboy at the Cove from when Cal was a teenager. He’s married but not honest about his sexuality and according to Taylor he used to have a crush on Cal. Malcolm is now senior editor of a magazine and he offers to mentor Michael in his photojournalism career. But does he have an ulterior motive? Bungalow 3 is taken by Jonathan Harper, a tax auditor, who’s there for a local horror convention and who just happens to bump into Vlad Lesti, an actor playing Dracula at the convention and staying in bungalow 4. Vlad says he’s straight but will he still believe that by the end of the week? Their story is beautifully mirrored by that of their dogs which is a nice touch. Bungalow 5 houses Nijad Hadad, a bisexual travel agent who gets entangled with Andrew Urban in bungalow 6. Andrew and his ‘sister’ Annabel are flight attendants, but with a huge secret that may well ruin any future, they might have with Nijad. Two more of Kamael’s Angels (Kamael’s story is in book 3) are in bungalow 7, Jesus and John, who set out to help Cal’s new houseboy, Billy Dean. Billy Dean is a committed Christian and carries a signed virgin card. He fully believes in no sex before marriage, but how will that work when he meets Jesus and John? Some of the most humorous lines in the book are when Billy Dean quotes his grampa, they had me laughing out loud.
As well as the guests’ stories there is, of course, the Cozzi family story running alongside. Cal finds his great-grandfather’s diary from 1937. For me, this was the most poignant part of the book. The way Cal’s great-grandfathers’ story mirrors that of himself and Michael is clever, and the final twist at the end is awesome, bringing a real sense of closure and warmth. The ending not only sees the guests’ stories tied up, as they leave Cozzi Cove but also brings together some of the family members and friends we’ve met in previous books. They arrive for a very special occasion and, no, I’m not giving it away!
I thoroughly enjoyed this outing to Cozzi Cove, as I have the previous ones. If you want characters that win your heart and make you laugh and cry and endings that leave you feeling really satisfied, then these books are definitely for you.
Martin Powers wanted an ironing board for Christmas. Instead, he got . . . Matthew Kieler, a non-returnable gift, but a gift that kept on giving. A powerful tale of survival, compassion and unapologetic love in the time of AIDS.
