Reviewed by Roberta

TITLE: The House on Hancock Hill

AUTHOR: Indra Vaughn

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 220 pages

BLURB:

Pastry chef and bakery owner Jason Wood bakes a mean chocolate soufflé, yet his love life keeps falling flat. He’d blame his past if he wasn’t trying so hard to avoid it.

When his family’s farmhouse burns to the ground, he’s summoned to identify a body found in the ashes. Jason returns to Hancock, Michigan, and reunites with a childhood friend, small town vet Henry McCavanaugh. After fifteen years apart, their rekindled friendship soon develops into much more. But Jason’s baggage threatens their blossoming romance, and he leaves town unannounced to escape his feelings—and Henry’s feelings for him. He has learned the hard way if something seems too good to be true, it’s best to run for the hills. Jason stress-bakes more confections than he knows what to do with before wondering if he’s running in the wrong direction.

REVIEW:

I really couldn’t wait to read this story.  I love stories that have MC’s that were friends and move to lovers.  I liked the fact that their story spans years.  Even being away from each other, there is still that magic between them.

Jason is heading to Hancock, Michigan to identify a body found in his childhood summer home.  On his way there, there is an accident and Jason is hurt.  Enter his knight in warm fleece, Henry McCavanaugh. 

Jason doesn’t remember Henry at first, but finds himself attracted to this wonderful, kind, good Samaritan.  Which is actually kinda cute watching them flirt and blush at each other.

Jason has had some issues in his life.  His baby brother died at three days old.  His Mother became an Alcoholic and divorced his father.  His Father died when he was 19.  He’s always kept himself emotionally cut off from others.  That self-defense mechanism that keeps him from fully opening himself up to anyone. He’s a success as a co-owner of a Bakery.  His life is plodding along until Henry makes his reappearance.

Henry is just the sweetest thing.  This big, hulking guy who is actually a teddy bear.  Henry has got a kind heart and he’s just a good guy.  Henry is the local vet and he’s happy to see his old friend, Jason again.  He’s been in love with Jason since they were kids and even in the 15 years since they’ve been separated, that hasn’t gone away.  He’s still taken with Jason and yet, he doesn’t truly understand what motivates Jason.  He just knows that he’ll do ANYTHING to be able to spend some time with him.

Now, as this story goes along it’s a pretty good story.  You get inside the mind of Jason.  You get to see him flounder and try to make his life work.  He gets some things right and a whole lot wrong when it comes to dealing with his feelings for Henry and what he does about it. But as you read along, you see that he’s slowly coming to grips with what he thought and what is the actual truth. 

This story is truly Jason’s story and part of me is sad that we didn’t really get to know more about Henry.  I would have liked to get to know what was in his head and his heart more.  He seemed like such an amazing guy and I wanted to know way more about him than the glimpses that we got.  It was like he was just in place until Jason got his stuff together. 

I loved the character of Annie.  She’s this wonderful, older lady who is sweet and yet she will tell you what the truth is and not sugarcoat it to make you feel better.  You need to hear the unvarnished truth and she’ll give it to you and yet the manner in which she does it, is just perfect.

The other characters that you meet are actually exactly what Jason needs them to be in order for him to make the changes that he does in order to become the man that wants and needs to be.  Each in their own way truly allows Jason to see his worth and yet to also see in which ways he needs to grow.

Overall, I liked the story.  I love that it was a coming to age story in the sense that Jason has to learn and own up to his mistakes and yet also to his ability to make the changes he needed in order to go back to Henry. I again wished that we got to know more about Henry.  I really feel that I would have liked the book better if I had the chance to really get to know Henry.  He was my favorite.

RATING:

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