Hands up if you, like me, are a bird fan? I haven’t always been as enamoured of our feathered friends. But when my daughter took a liking to birds I somewhat overcame my fear of them and now I love watching them. We often see chickadees, nuthatches, house finches, and sparrows at our feeders. We also get juncos, flickers, woodpeckers, and bluejays, depending on the seasons. Robins in the spring. Partridges year round. The occasional hummingbird flits through too. And the other night we heard an owl in the park area by our house.
There is something very calming about watching the birds. I read somewhere that watching or even hearing a bird can improve your mental health for hours. And it just so happens that my province of Saskatchewan is home to an exceptional number of birds. Whether birds live here seasonally, year round or migrate through the province, Saskatchewan is an excellent choice for a birdwatching holiday.
Saskatchewan Birding Tips from Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation organization. You can get advice, book tours and find out what birds are where.
Birding With Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb
Published: Simon and Schuster, June 2024
Categories: Contemporary Romance / Romantic Comedy
Blurb:
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.
Thoughts:
This fake relationship book is a lovely read. And also pretty steamy! I love books were characters’ passions are forefront. That is certainly the case in this book. Birds, birdwatching, and the benefits of it play a large role. Also refreshing, were the ages of the characters. They both are 40ish and starting the next chapter in their lives. Celeste is recently divorced and her daughter is leaving for collage and John, who recently lost his job is at a fork in the road. When they end up as a team in a birding competition, they become friends then lovers but with an expiry date. I did feel like there was a lot of repeating the same internal dialogue, especially with Celeste’s character. But despite this, their path to together is paved with entertaining antics and heartfelt experiences.
Until next time…
What’s everyone else reading?