Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Sheriff’s Secret 
SERIES: Brigs Ferry Bay Book 1
AUTHOR: K Webster
PUBLISHER: self
RELEASE DATE: 12/29/2020
LENGTH: 307 pages
BLURB:
When you’re the sheriff of Brigs Ferry Bay, certain things are expected of you.
Marry a local girl, settle down, have a few kids. You know, the small-town dream.
But I’ve got a secret I’m terrified will get out.
I’m gay.
Not bi. Not curious. Not confused.
Just gay.
So, settling for that dream won’t be happening.
If this secret gets out, the people I serve and protect, especially my father, won’t be accepting.
I’m not brave like my high school sweetheart, Kian.
The day he came out was the day I had to let him go, and with it, love.
I’ve done a great job of pretending I’m perfectly fine being single. Until a villainous and annoyingly charming new B&B owner, Dante Kincaid, rolls into town. The spark between us is electric and undeniable. He wants to give me a taste of what he has to offer, and better yet, he vows to be discreet. I’m too selfish to refuse.
But my secret is still a heavy burden, leaving me handcuffed to expectations and unable to fully grasp what I want—him. History has a way of repeating itself, but this time around, with Dante, it’ll hurt a lot worse.
I have to decide if I’m going to let love slip away again or if I’m going to finally fight for it.
***Brigs Ferry Bay is a steamy MM romance series. While each book can be read as a standalone, in order to get the full experience, they’re best read in order. Enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, hurt comfort, age-gap romance, and so much more. Fall in love with the charming small-town gay romances of Brigs Ferry Bay…***
REVIEW:
The title of this can’t-put-it-down first book in K Webster and Misty Walker’s Brigs Ferry Bay series is Sheriff’s Secret, but the Sheriff, Jaxson Bell, isn’t the only one harboring a secret in this small town. This gripping suspense story pits closeted gay, Jax, against his inner demons and domineering, homophobic father, while the new B&B owner, Dante Kincaid, a New York City transplant, is embattled against the townspeople of Brigs Ferry Bay. If you think BFB has those quaint small-town vibes à la Lucy Lennox and May Archer, you’d be wrong. BFB is no Licking Thicket or O’Leary, NY.
Dante and his sister Shelly sold their profitable family company after their father died and moved to BFB with their younger brother Callan to get a fresh start. Enthusiastic about the prospect of remodeling the Red Hake Bed & Breakfast, Dante’s optimistic outlook is quickly doused by the homophobic negativity that exhibits itself in town. Change is antithetical to the unyielding ways of the BFB townspeople. That view is actively demonstrated in the way they shun Dante and family, as well as their friends who also moved to BFB and opened up a business in town. Stereotyping runs rampant and no one, not even Sheriff Jax, keeps an open mind.
Welcoming is not a word I would use to describe anyone in BFB. The town feels as cold as its Bay, and despite Dante’s attempts to ingratiate himself with the locals, the vitriol spewed at him and his high school aged brother Callan, is vehement and unrelenting. As the story unfolds, so does escalation of hateful speech and conduct towards the Kinkaids.
Jax, for his part, is less bothered by Dante’s interloper status than he is by Dante’s gorgeous face, drool-inducing physique, and penchant for flirting with Jax’s estranged ex, Kian. Jax is lonely and miserable, plain and simple. He committed himself to following in his homophobic father’s footsteps and denied his true self every step of the way out of fear of recrimination and rejection. Now, Jax is Sheriff, his father is the BFB Mayor and Jax is so deep in the closet, he can’t see the light of day.
K Webster hooks you with the premise and reels you in with this engrossing, suspenseful plot. Layer on top of that the complicated romance between two complex Alpha males, Dante and Jax, and you’ve got one hell of a story. What I admired most in this story is how simultaneously and oxymoronically flawed and perfect both Dante and Jax are in different ways. The writing that achieves that balance is remarkable.
Sheriff’s Secret could have turned into your typical closeted gay romance. But it didn’t. Not by a long shot. True, the main “secret” in this story is the one Jax guards with his whole being: his sexuality. He had the chance to come out in high school when he was in love and in a relationship with Kian. Instead, he chose fear and denial over Kian, who just wanted to be himself, out and proud. Kian stayed true to himself but wasn’t enough to entice Jax to do the same. It broke the entire relationship between them, romantic and friendship. Even in the present, so many years later, their interactions are relegated to strained, unavoidable encounters.
Now Jax thinks it’s too late to go back, to make a different choice. There’s no simple wake-up call for him. His fears run deep and his keeping the secret of his sexuality is ingrained, even habitual.
It’s easy to like Jax and feel sympathetic towards his situation and loneliness, even though self-imposed. However, Jax also acts like a selfish jerk, particularly as it relates to Kian. Despite barely speaking to each other, Jax still goes all caveman on anyone who so much as looks at Kian with any romantic or sexual intent – such as Dante. Jax is that guy who breaks up with you because he doesn’t want you, but doesn’t want anyone else to have you either. That level of possessiveness and selfishness flies in the face of everything else we know about Jax. Yet, the author deftly balances these conflicting aspects of Jax in such a way that he is relatable and real, even if sometimes frustrating.
Dante is initially an aggressive instigator, particularly towards Jax. He reads him like a book on first sight, easily ferreting out his secret. He then needles and provokes Jax about it in infuriating ways. However, we also see how altruistic and unselfish Dante can be, particularly towards his family. We also see that despite his expensive suits and NY corporate success, he’s still a man who’s grieving for his father, who feels very alone, and who is struggling to recover from his own scars from a past relationship. Achieving that balance in presenting Dante as imperfect and yet perfect in his good hearted nature and protection and love for his family – and Jax – is a writing feat for sure.
I don’t want to say too much else here for fear of spoiling the organic unfolding of this terrific story. Suffice it to say, nothing is straightforward or as it seems. Secrets and mysteries abound here, and the book refuses to resolve it all by the end. It’s not a cliff-hanger by any means, though, and there is a definite HEA. However, there’s material left open for exploration in later books in the series.
If this book isn’t on your TBR list, put it there posthaste. If it is on your list, move it right up to the top spot. I’m not revealing any secrets when I tell you that Sheriff’s Secret delivers a romance and story that linger much longer than the time you spend within the pages of the book itself. And hey, if that was a secret … I’m unapologetic because, well … some secrets are meant to be told.
RATING: 
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