Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Firefly Lane
SERIES: Briar County
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 7 hours and 4 minutes
RELEASE DATE: October 10, 2021
BLURB:
At 43, Holden Barnett is getting along just fine. His job as a pilot keeps him from getting restless, and he’s got a man who doesn’t want promises for the future. One phone call from his estranged sister changes everything. She needs his help, so Holden drops everything and heads to Harmony, a small town in Briar County, which represents everything he’s tried to avoid in life.
Monroe Covington is 45 and happy. He loves his life – running his store, helping at his family’s farm, and spending his days with his best friend, Lindsey, and their son, Wyatt. Sure, half the town likes to forget he’s gay, and he’d love for the queer population to be bigger, but Roe makes do. He misses dating, relationships, and a man to hold at night, but at least he gets new eye candy when Holden, the brother of the woman who’s renting his cabin, shows up.
The attraction is instant, the friendship not far behind, but between Holden’s initial relationship status, family complications, and the two of them wanting different things, they’re a disaster waiting to happen…only it doesn’t feel that way, not with how much time they spend talking, laughing, and eventually, tumbling into bed, a field, or the back of a truck together. The closer they get, the more Holden realizes that just being fine isn’t enough, and Roe begins to see that his life isn’t as complete as he thought. Now, if they could only sort out the rest of it….
Firefly Lane is a small town, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers summer romance with no cheating, mature characters who talk out their problems, like to work with their hands, and have amazing chemistry. Did I mention they watch movies in the company of goats?
REVIEW:
Holden Barnett is called to Harmony by his sister, Marilee, whom he has lost contact with. She kept him at arms length after marrying a man who it turned out abused her, stole and then abandoned her and their teenage son Sean. She is living in a small cabin on the property of Monroe Covington, one of the many Covingtons who are instrumental in a lot of the small town. She’s got a job, but she really could use some help after she’s been left high and dry by her husband. Her son is not in a good place either.
Monroe owns the property that Marilee lives on along with his teenage son Wyatt that he shares with his best friend Lindsey. Roe is basically content with this life, but he does want more. He seems to be the only out gay man in Harmony and that’s not great. But he’s got his family, his son, his best friend, his successful business – and maybe that will have to be enough. When he meets Holden, he’s intrigued. But Holden has a boyfriend and he’s also a bit closed off. When he starts doing work on Roe’s barn, Holden and Roe spend more time together and get to know each other. After meeting Holden’s boyfriend Vince who visits for the weekend, Roe basically assumes that he and Holden are destined to be friends. But when Vince calls it quits with Holden, it seems there might be an opportunity for something more. But what about when Holden’s Leave is up at the end of the summer and he returns to his job in Atlanta? Is this just a summer fling? Could Holden change his mind about small town life or will history repeat itself and he will chafe under the burden of knowing everyone in town will have some sort of information about him and his personal life?
For some reason I don’t think I’ve read a Riley Hart book for a while – the last being the Crossroad series. This book is the beginning of a series that takes place in a small southern town. Roe and Holden are both really likeable characters and they go from strangers to friends to lovers over the course of the book rather organically. Nothing felt forced in this book at all – it was a slow, warm, summer afternoon 🙂 Holden has a lot of issues from his upbringing that make it difficult for him to trust and allow others to help him. His family could not be counted on and so he’s put up a lot of walls to keep himself from being let down again. Roe has a wonderfully supportive family – even though some of them don’t totally get him. Things that I really liked about this story include: mature men who actually communicate, low drama, realistic small town vibes, teenagers who behave like teenagers. There really wasn’t anything not to like, even though the characters may be a bit too “perfect” for some readers. Lindsey and Monroe being BFFs and co-parenting I think isn’t really that much of a stretch, although I think there might be more conflict for most people. Truly though I think these types of relationships are possible if people act like grownups and communicate. Marilee and Sean are really lucky to have Holden and they really do appreciate him. Marilee has been beaten down, but with help of others, she makes a lot of progress towards standing on her own two feet. Sean has a lot to deal with because of his father and Holden is in a position to help him because he experienced many of the same things – but without an adult to guide and support him. I loved how Roe and Wyatt and Lindsey and Holden and Marilee and Sean came together as sort of a family. If you’re in need of a break from drama and angst, this is a wonderful antidote 😉
Kale Williams does a great job narrating this story. There are not a lot of high highs or low lows here, but the story unfolds naturally with reticence on the part of both men initially moving towards genuine sharing, communication and support as the story goes on. The voice choices were consistent and made it easy to know whose POV we were hearing at any given time. His surly teenager was spot on 😉 If you’re in the mood for a low angst romance that has just the right amount of heat, then this might be a good bet for you 🙂 Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible