Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Cherry Pie
SERIES: Mercury Rising #1
AUTHOR: Samantha Kane
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 169 Pages
BLURB:
“You can go home again if you can get a foot in the door.”
A year after packing and moving from L.A. to Mercury, North Carolina, John Ford still hasn’t adjusted to the heat. Or to life without his long-time partner. As he fixes up the old house he bought, the quiet becomes his only companion, and he’s content with that until a deep-voiced stranger plants himself under a tree across the street.
Eight years ago, Connor Meecham left someone behind in that house himself. Now he s back to find the man he used to be, before drugs and prison sent his life careening off the tracks. But it s not his mothers face peering through the window any more. It s a man who seems as lost as Conn himself.
When John learns what the house and the dying town mean to Conn, he finds himself opening the door to his heart. Just a crack. But it’s enough to get mixed up in a world of emotions as complicated as the recipe for the perfect cherry pie. Where one misstep can turn something sweet and juicy into one hot mess.
REVIEW:
As much as I enjoyed reading Cherry Pie, it’s one of those books that I find hard to review because when you think back on it, nothing really happened. And that isn’t a complaint. I don’t know about everybody else but sometimes I really enjoy a book with no werewolves, no murder, no homophobic rants, no spanking and no dramatic breakup-causing misunderstanding that is always overcome by talking that shit out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all that stuff too (except maybe the mandatory breakup scenes), but I can appreciate a story that solely focuses on the two main characters overcoming the issues of their pasts to build a solid relationship together. That’s what Cherry Pie is to me.
John moved to Mercury after the death of his partner left him confused and adrift in his life. The fact that he’s rich enough to not need to work probably makes the feeling of aimlessness worse as he attempts to fill his life with restoring the beautiful old house he’s bought that has fallen into complete disrepair. Then one day he finds a rather hesitant, would best describe him, man sitting under a tree watching the house. After three days of keeping an eye on the young man, John allows Connor inside after he explains that it was once his home and he’d like to look around. When Connor sees that John has only just began the huge job of fixing up the house he offers to help for room and board. Which is how the two men find themselves living together, unsure just what they should do about the attraction that’s building between them.
I think my favourite aspect of this story was witnessing the growth that both men go through due mainly to the introduction of the other man’s presence in his life. It isn’t a case of having to change to suit a partner but of Connor and John becoming the men they were always meant to be or even returning to who they use to be before bad circumstances and life changed them. Connor’s changes are more noticeable because most of the bad things that happened to him resulted from his drug addiction. John, though, is my favourite character. John has a real alpha vibe about him, but it’s as though he gave up his more assertive attitude in a bid to keep his ex-partner Steve happy. I didn’t question at all the fact that John allowed Connor to move into his house and felt the need to make life better for the younger man. It’s no wonder he gets a bit carried away once he finds himself to be the more dominant partner in the relationship.
I also liked the secondary characters that are introduced. Toby makes a great and accepting best friend but I didn’t really understand the inclusion of Evan. We receive enough information about him that I assumed he’d be a part of the story but then he’s never seen again. I’m hoping that since this book was re-released still under the “Mercury Rising series” banner, we may just get a second book that will give Evan a story. I don’t know what it is but I do love me a gay priest.
So, I’m going to call this cute and non-angsty. It’s definitely a book I’d re-read when I’m in the mood for something light and easy.
RATING: 
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