Life has a way of coming back around. When Jimmy’s parents decide to retire in Florida, Jimmy returns to his hometown to finish his residency at a local hospital. Flamboyant boyfriend Oliver in tow, Jimmy bumps into his old friend. Eric quickly takes a disliking to Oliver though, and for good reason. Oliver proves he’s not only self-centered but also a cheater.
When Jimmy finds out, he sends Oliver packing, not knowing Oliver is vengeful and maybe even teetering toward insane. Soon Jimmy and Eric are fighting to take back their hometown, while Eric finds it more and more difficult to hide his attraction to his best friend.
I’m a complete sucker for country boys and reunited friends-to-lovers so My Hometown called to me with its siren’s song. And then there’s the cover, because, reasons. And while the writing style flows really well, the balance of the MC’s to their issues left me wanting when it came to a connection between them.
Jimmy has come back home to take over the family ranch while at the same time taking a job in medicine after he’s finished his studies, etc. He grew up on the ranch and has a ranch manager he can count on so it doesn’t seem to far-fetched of a plan. I mean, that’s a lot of responsibility there. He comes home with his boyfriend, the “flamboyant” Oliver. This is the part that went too far over the edge for me. Oliver ended up being a convenient caricature rather than an integral part to the story. Honestly, he could have been left out completely and the story would have been better for it.
The blurb had me expecting a villain, but instead Oliver was just a meat sack full of random convenience. I know I was supposed to hate him and on paper, I should have, but I ended up feeling bad for the dude. Jimmy, Erik and their crew ended up reading like jerky immature douchenuggets and their actions were incompatible with their personalities thus far. I would have loved to have had no Oliver and the focus stick on Jimmy and Erik. There would have been more time for them to reconnect and more time for me to get attached to their backstory.
Erik had never been with a man before and his acceptance was a little too refreshing. I loved that he loved Jimmy and was open to his freshly induced man-caused boners, but a little more page time to the adjustment would have read more believable and would have been a really great vehicle for some charming conversation and sweet connection.
Overall I liked the guys very much and would have enjoyed some more page time with them as they navigated the waters of their reconnection and as their relationship became something more. I would have appreciated reading Erik embrace his sexuality and move away from the small town stereotype he’d been rolling with for the bulk of the story, e.g. his reaction to Oliver’s “flamboyant” personality.
I’ve read and really enjoyed this authors work in the past and My Hometown was a great match for me, I’ll definitely be keeping future books on my radar.
For more information on My Hometown head over to Dreamspinner Press.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
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