Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Must Loathe Norcross
AUTHOR: Summer Devon
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 180 Pages
BLURB:
When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as traveling light.
Born wealthy and ambitious, Grady once worked hard and played hard—so hard, it brought him to the brink of ruin. Now, after a five-year retreat into the contemplative life, he’s dipping a toe back into the real world.
Assigned to write a series of articles about a Connecticut valley’s small towns, Grady checks into a local hotel. And meets a bellhop who seems determined to show him around…and maybe indulge in a more intimate tour later on.
When Josh’s boss half-jokingly suggests he get on a first-name basis with the writer who could make or break their town’s reputation, Josh jumps at the chance. He dreams of seeing the world, but the man he thought might be his ticket out turns out to be less influential—and more attractive—than he expected.
Together they uncover a strange plot to detour Norcross’s tourist dollars, a plot that leaves Grady bruised and angry. Now they’ll have to decide how far they’ll go to save the town…and how far they’ll fall for each other.
Warning: Steaming-hot room service, delivered by a cute bellboy in uniform. Stolen towels will not be tolerated, but stolen hearts? Help yourself!
REVIEW:
Having grown up in a valley in New England, with lots of little towns all painted white with red barns and serious competition between them, I thought this book would be a perfect fit for me. It was. I very much enjoyed the book and the main premise of the story.
The town of Norcross Connecticut, like many small towns in New England was dependent on a central mill where most of the town’s residents were employed. When the mill closed, the town lost vital resources and sources of both tax and payroll dollars.
Grady Michaels is sent to Norcross to write an article on the small town at the request of his brother Gregory. The entire town is expecting Gregory, so when Grady checks into the hotel as “Michaels”, a case of mistaken identity occurs.
Josh Turner is the bell hop at the hotel (along with several other jobs which we learn about throughout the book). He is the person who checks Grady in. Over the next couple days Josh, at the encouragement of the town council and his bosses, takes Grady all over town showing him the highlights. The town would like to pimp him out to Michaels, because they are both gay, so why not? There is a lot of sexual tension between the two from their first meeting, so it might work. But what about the other gay guy in town, Corky, where does he fit in?
Through the course of the book we discover that all is not as it would seem in the small town of Norcross. Who is the crazy, leather-clad man on the BMW motorcycle who attacks Grady with a paint ball gun? Why does Grady’s brother insist that Grady “must loathe Norcross”? Who is the spy in Norcross reporting all Grady’s actions and activities to his brother?
This was an entertaining read. I highly enjoyed it because it truly did sound like some towns near where I grew up and their infighting for tourist dollars and state and federal funding. I recommend the book. If you’re looking for a good read on a fall day, pick it up.
RATING: 4.0
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