Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE:  Fools

SERIES:  Licking Thicket Book #3

AUTHOR:  Lucy Lennox and May Archer

NARRATOR:  Michael Dean

PUBLISHER:  Self

LENGTH:  8 hours and 17 minutes

RELEASE DATE:  February 28, 2021

BLURB:

Tucker Wright’s Clues for Life:

What’s a 4-letter word for an utterly oblivious, totally commitment-phobic, heartbreakingly gorgeous man with a pet pig named Bernadette?

That’d be D-U-N-N, as in Dunn Johnson, my very best pal and fishing buddy since I moved to Licking Thicket.

What’s a 6-letter word for a nerdy, crossword-loving town doctor who’s doomed to be hopelessly, thoroughly, irrevocably, in love with that straight best friend for the rest of his born days?

That’s T-U-C-K-E-R, as in me.

But when I agree to let Dunn be my 24/7 dating coach, and he decides to get our whole nosy town in on the act, there’s only one 5-letter word to describe the pair of us.

F-O-O-L-S.

REVIEW:

Fools is the third book in the excellent Licking Thicket series by Lucy Lennox and May Archer, aptly named after the small town of Licking Thicket, Tennessee where these series books are set.  Licking Thicket is “quirky” … yeah let’s go with that.  It hosts the craziest town events, mostly bovine inspired.  It also honors unique traditions like symbolic eating of tater tots to declare you’re in a serious relationship, and the Entwinin’ Festival where you twist wisteria vines into mementos for your loved ones.  

We’ve seen in the prior two books, Fakers and Liars, that Licking Thicket is full of interfering, albeit well-meaning, townsfolk.  Everyone knows everyone else’s business.  You can’t keep a secret in a place like this.  Well, that is unless you’re Dunn Johnson and Tucker Wright, who have managed to keep their love for each other a secret from absolutely no one in this town, except each other.

Oblivious Dunn, dedicated dairy farmer with a heart of gold and a penchant for pet pigs, is the brother of Brooks from Fakers, Book 1.  Tucker is the town doctor and longtime “best best friend” of Dunn.  These two have an obvious affection and dedication to each other that is unrivalled.  And yes, Dunn and Tucker do realize how much they care about each other.  But they dismiss it as how best best friends feel about each other.  What else could it be?  After all, Dunn is straight and Tucker is gay and never the twain shall meet … right?   

Things begin to go sideways when Dunn starts to question his sexuality.  He doesn’t realize he’s doing that at first, though.  He’s just very “confused” about these thoughts he keeps having about his best best friend.  In one of the most hysterical and simultaneously heartbreaking scenes in Book 2, Liars, Dunn swoops in and full-on kisses Tucker at the Lickin’ Festival in what becomes a new Lickin’ Festival tradition (“Joyous Pickin’ Tidings”). That kiss rocks both of them.  Half the town witnesses the kiss and holds their breath, hoping that this is it, that Dunn and Tucker have finally realized they belong together romantically. Dunn and Tucker?  Nope, not so much.  So the town goes back to waiting and hoping these two fools will see what’s right in front of them.

When Fools opens, Dunn is still questioning and confused. Over the course of the book, we see Dunn slowly recognize his feelings for Tucker are more than platonic.  He keeps talking himself out of it, though, the hopelessly confused fool.  Tucker is similarly foolish in his refusal to accept that he and Dunn could ever be together, even when that possibility presents itself.  

Dunn and Tucker are two of the most endearing characters you will ever meet and you will root for them to get together.  As with the other books in this series, the story is heartbreaking at times, but overwhelming heartwarming, and absolutely hysterical throughout.  The hallmark Licking Thicket busybody-ness goes into overdrive in Fools.  The interactions between Dunn and Tucker and the stunts pulled by their friends and family in order to get these two oblivious men together are absurd.  The dating scenes alone are priceless.  Couple that absurdity with rife, hysterical double entendres, and you’ve put Fools in a class onto itself when it comes to hilarity.

This book isn’t all humor though.  There’s definitely poignancy beneath it all.  This is particularly seen as Dunn and Tucker’s frustration and confusion borne of mistaken assumptions and miscommunication grow.  The inability to communicate is ironic given that these two know each other so well that they can practically finish each other’s thoughts and sentences.  Their very real fear of destroying the best relationship in their lives, their friendship, is palpable and you can’t help but want to reach into the book and pull them into a hug and assure them that it will all be ok … right before you smack them upside the head for their foolishness.  Because we all know that there is no way on earth that they would ever turn away from each other, not when given the chance to be together.

Narrating Fools is a tall order.  Luckily, Lucy Lennox’s go-to narrator, Michael Dean, is on point.  Given the over-the-top antics and humor laden dialogue, vocalizing Dunn and Tucker and the many other characters that appear throughout the book, is no joke.  Crucial to the endeavor is effectively communicating the poignancy of the pining, confusion, heartache and fear of these two men as they try to navigate Dunn’s sexual awakening while not jeopardizing their relationship by trying for more.  Delivering the trademark Lennox/Archer quick wit and humor while simultaneously preserving the emotional importance of Dunn and Tucker’s journeys is not trivial or easy.

Michael Dean is an expert at his craft and it shows in his narration of Fools.  He finds that perfect balance of humor and heartache, absurdity and attraction, sweetness and steam.  This translates into a nuanced delivery chock full of emotional content.  He is active and engaging and uses his extremely versatile voice to clearly differentiate between a host of characters. 

Mr. Dean has a way of making “more” out of everything that Lucy Lennox and May Archer put on paper/screen.  If it’s funny when you’re reading it, it’s funnier when Michael Dean delivers the line.  If it’s sad, you feel your heart clench from his impactful delivery.  And if it’s happy and heartwarming, you feel those emotions bursting through.  It’s all in his pacing, the timing of his delivery, his intonations and pitch and how he thoughtfully varies them as the words on the page require. 

If you think this is just reading lines, you’d be very, very wrong.  This is a high-caliber acting performance.  Mr. Dean is vocally nimble, but perhaps more importantly, he’s careful.  I don’t mean that he is hesitant.  Quite the opposite.  He is careful in that he takes care to understand what Dunn and Tucker are feeling, doing, saying and thinking, not just at the time of the spoken words, but in the context of the greater story.  He then channels that into his delivery.

The whole Licking Thicket series is amazing and, lucky for us, Michael Dean narrates all three books.  Sure, you can read Lucy Lennox and May Archer on paper/screen alone and you’d love the stories they’ve created.  This duo is truly one of the most seamless writing pairs I’ve encountered.  They are both crazy talented, exceptional writers.  But you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t listen to everything Michael Dean brings to the table in the audiobooks, because he adds a layer to the amazing Licking Thicket stories that elevates them beyond what you even thought possible.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/Fools-Audiobook/B08TK94HNX

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Licking-Thicket-Book-3-ebook/dp/B08L86PVD6