There was a lot I enjoyed about Hot Potato, but the drama and miscommunication between the two main characters took away from the charm and romance of this story leaving me a bit disappointed. ~ Slick – Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Synopsis:
As Seacroft’s resident weirdo, Avery proudly flies a lot of freak flags. It’s a constant battle to be taken seriously when everything, from his red hair to his sexuality, makes him stand out in this small town.
Small towns are also a terrible place to keep secrets, and Lincoln has a bunch of them. But his demons aren’t going to hold him back from his dream job at the Seacroft Fire Department. His life is finally coming together, until the red-haired twink with the big smile and fast mouth calls in an emergency.
Pining for the hot firefighter is Avery’s newest flag, even if he agrees to be “just friends.” For Linc, every minute with Avery is a temptation. He needs to let go of his fear and admit the truth. Linc doesn’t want to be Avery’s friend; he wants to be his everything. But just as Linc is ready to risk it all, Avery gets an unexpected offer to spread his colorful wings and fly away.
Hot Potato is an 80k slow burn friends-to-lovers contemporary MM romance. It features a fast-talking accountant who’s cooler than he thinks, the closeted firefighter who loves him more than he should, and a great big happy-sigh HEA.
The synopsis for Hot Potato drew me in and as I do try to read a few new authors each month, I decided to grab it for review. There was a lot I enjoyed about this story, but the drama and miscommunication between the two main characters took away from the charm and romance of this story leaving me a bit disappointed.
Avery has been out and proud since he came to Seacroft at age 15 to live with his aunt and uncle after his super religious parents kicked him out for being gay. Being a ginger, gay, and your whole story known around town, Avery hasn’t had the easiest life, but he is thankful every day for his aunt and uncle, his job, and his very own apartment he just moved into. When he accidentally sets off the smoke detectors cooking a sweet potato in his microwave, he never expects his life will be changed forever.
Despite all the rookie bs, Lincoln loves his job at a member of the Seacroft fire department and the town he now calls home. Sure his roommate and his girlfriend are a bit loud and obnoxious with their carnal activities, but overall he is adjusting to his new home. Answering a call where a ginger twink grabs his attention has Linc locking down all his urges. He isn’t out and given everything that happened in his past he’s not sure he ever will be, but he can’t stop thinking about Avery.
I adored Avery with his inability to filter what comes out of his mouth, his awkwardness, and his ability to bounce back even when he is down. There is no doubt life hasn’t dealt Avery the easiest of lives, but he is determined to help his uncle with the business, get a social life, and actually enjoy life.
Years ago Linc’s life was turned upside down by his homophobic, violent father and it has kept him away from his siblings and firmly in the closet. As the new man in the department and in town, he’s not ready to share his sexuality with anyone but soon finds it difficult to stay away from the enchanting Avery.
I really enjoyed watching these two figure out how to be together as friends until Lincoln was ready for more. The tension between them was so thick and while Avery felt it, with Linc insisting he just wanted to be friends he didn’t push it. I enjoyed the slow burn, but what I didn’t enjoy was the drama that surrounded them mostly due to Lincoln’s past, his inability to be truthful with Avery, Avery’s job situation, and the misunderstandings that seemed to come one after another. After the third or fourth time that they misconnected or misunderstood, I was kind of over it and just wanted to skip to the end. I didn’t but it was really tempting.
What could have been a meet cute, fun friends to lovers romance turned into drama central which lessened my enjoyment of this book making it a bit of a miss for me.
3 stars