Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Checking it Twice
AUTHOR: V.L. Locey
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 143 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2022
BLURB:
Will confessing his deepest secret to his best friend ruin their friendship?
Sutter Thompson has spent a goodly part of his life living a lie.
That lie led him to marry a woman he didn’t love as he should while he struggled to be all that his family wanted him to be. Finally, after the birth of his son Zachary, Sutter came to see that he needed to live a life of truth. Not just for himself, but for Zach as well. The truth included coming out at forty, getting divorced while his son was an infant, and trying to readjust to being who he was born to be.
Throughout all the turmoil, Sutter’s best friend, Watley McCutcheon, stood by his side. Watley understood how difficult breaking free could be. He had done it many years ago when they were still on the same college hockey team. Sutter always admired Wat’s bravery. He also admired his best friend for many other things…his smile, his laugh, his adoration of his son, Adam, and his caring heart. Now that Watley is single again, Sutter is hoping he can unlock the final secret he’s been carrying in his heart…he has and always will love Watley.
He’d not planned to do so at the youth hockey awards, but then again, he hadn’t expected an avalanche to strand him, Watley, their sons, and several of the boys’ teammates in a cozy Colorado inn either. Maybe it’s the romantic atmosphere or the sudden realization that life is too short to harbor such strong feelings forever, but he’s ready to declare his feelings to Watley. Can they step out of the friend zone and into a romance, or will Sutter’s heartfelt admission destroy years of brotherly affection?
Checking it Twice (A Snowed Inn Novella) is a friends-to-lovers gay romance with plenty of snow, a heaping helping of romance, snowball fights, terrible dad jokes, pop culture references out the wazoo, and a joyous happy ending.
REVIEW:
Watley McCutcheon and Sutter Thompson have been best friends since their freshman year in college when they were roommates and hockey teammates. Fast forward to them being 50 and still besties. They work together and their sons are the same age and play on the same youth hockey team. They are on a road trip from New Mexico to Colorado for a hockey awards ceremony. The kids are excited and the dads are having a good time too. There’s just one little thing. Sutter has been in love with his best friend for years. Now they are both single and out and the kids are best friends too. But if Sutter tells Wately how he feels, will it ruin their friendship? Is it even possible that Watley could ever consider him relationship material?
Watley is a divorced dad too. His husband never really wanted kids and he’s moved on with his career. Watley is happy with his job and his son, but could there be more? Colleen, one of the hockey moms from another team innocently asks when Watley and Sutter are getting married and they both vehemently deny that they are anything more than friends. But this seems to throw a wrench into their friendship. They are both on edge and uncomfortable.
When the snow keeps coming down at the resort, the kids – and the dads – have a great time. There is a snowball fight and surprisingly there is also a kiss on the DL! This causes even more turmoil for both men. Colleen assumes it’s a lovers quarrel and that makes things tricky! Then there is an avalanche during the awards ceremony and everyone is stuck at the resort. It becomes clear that they are going to be there for the duration and likely won’t be sprung until after Christmas. The resort and the parents make the most of it with crafts and outdoor games and snowperson contests to keep the kids busy. Sutter and Watley are having trouble communicating and so Colleen takes the kids off their hands for the night so that they can work things out 😉 And boy, do they! 😀
Well this was an incredibly sweet story! The story is told from Sutter’s POV and I will tell you that Sutter’s internal monologue was hilarious – particularly if you happen to be a reader of a certain age 😉 It was like reliving my youth in a lot of ways and I was there for it. Sutter and Watley’s relationship goes from 30+ years best friends to so much more. I loved it that other people could see what they were to each other before they acknowledged it. Both had been hiding feelings. And then there is the very real anxiety over potentially losing a best friend if those romantic feelings aren’t reciprocated. And indeed, while they were dancing around each other things did get awkward for a bit. Even after their first kiss, things were a bit tricky with a cabin full of kids 😀 Colleen, the matchmaking hockey mom is a hoot! She is sure that she is so right about what is between Sutter and Watley – so it seems she is more preceptive than most 😉 Including Sutter and Watley! LOL! The kids are adorable, the difficulties between Sutter and his ex-wife are well written and believable and the epilogue is perfect. If you’re in the mood for a best friends to lovers story with a long history of best friendship and lives finally aligning, the you will really like this one. Also if you are a child of the 70s and 80s and 90s, you will enjoy a lot of blasts from the past! Lots of fun, dad joke, low angst and a guaranteed HEA. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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