Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Firecracker
SERIES: Honeybridge, Book 1
AUTHOR: Lucy Lennox and May Archer
NARRATOR: Michael Dean
PUBLISHER: Thicket Productions LLC
LENGTH: 11 hours and 30 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2022
BLURB:
There are three kinds of people in Honeybridge, Maine: The Honeycutts, who know a lot about love and loyalty; The Wellbridges, who think they’re the epitome of wealth and refinement; and the rest of the Honeybridgers, who know better than to get in the way of the centuries-old rivalry between the two.
There wasn’t a time when I didn’t know Flynn “Firecracker” Honeycutt.
He’s been my childhood friend. My high school rival. The guy I couldn’t stop dreaming about, long after I thought I’d left him and Honeybridge in my rear-view mirror.
Now he’s the key to the giant promotion that can make or break my career…if I can just convince the man to give me the distribution rights for his award-winning mead.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
Flynn’s not the guy he used to be. His gorgeous eyes used to spark with dreams and fire, but now he looks at me with cold fury. And just like Achilles had his heel and Samson had his hair, I had Flynn Honeycutt, the one man I’d never been able to charm, despite an entire life spent winning people over.
I’m not giving up, though. Because I’m not the kid I used to be, either. And because, if the two of us can survive a long, hot summer filled with his family’s crazy antics and my mother’s single-handed determination to keep the Wellbridge-Honeycutt feud alive, there might just be a chance for both of us to get what we want:
A new dream.
The fulfillment of an old town legend.
And another chance to spark Firecracker to life.
REVIEW:
Firecracker kicks off a promising new series from power-writing duo Lucy Lennox and May Archer. Lennox and Archer’s tone and premise for this series leaves behind the OTT world of the Licking Thicket: Horn of Glory series and returns to their wheelhouse with small town Honeybridge, Maine, its families, nosy townsfolk, quirky, endearing characters, and absorbing love stories.
Firecracker, aka Flynn Honeycutt, and his nemesis, JT Wellbridge, eldest son of the rival, rich Wellbridge family, haven’t seen each other in seven years – not since JT fled after an incendiary hookup with Flynn. Both have been reeling since, trying to deny the very non-platonic feelings left behind from their strong connection. Flynn’s anger over JT’s abrupt disappearance and lack of communication since has been festering like an open wound so when JT unexpectedly resurfaces in town, his anger and, frustratingly, attraction towards JT resurface as well.
Despite this being a new world with all new characters, it’s easy to engage with the story from page one. That being said, it does take some time for anything to really happen, and it’s the momentum of the second half of the story that makes Firecracker hard to put down. Lennox and Archer understandably need to do a good amount of worldbuilding and introduction to the large Honeycutt family and the dynamics between them and their rich “enemies”, the Wellbridge family. Setting the stage for Flynn and JT’s acrimony also requires context, but some of the sniping and petty antics between Flynn and JT feel a bit juvenile. It takes some time, but stick with the slow pacing because Firecracker gets its feet under it partway through. Then, I easily found myself fully on board with this new world, and I particularly enjoyed how the last quarter of the story plays out. The story also includes more humor and found family in the latter parts, two of my favorite things from this writing duo. The early parts felt more sedate.
Flynn and JT are a couple with crackling chemistry – that is obvious right from the beginning and the UST is off the charts. I loved how their story developed and resolved. Michael Dean layers on plenty of emotion and well as complex characterization of Flynn and JT in the audiobook, and it takes what’s already great about Firecracker and makes it even better.
The Firecracker audiobook provides a whopping eleven and a half hours of Michael Dean’s voice, Michael Dean’s acting, and Michael Dean’s unique ability to perform a myriad of characters in a seamless way. Where Firecracker stalls in pacing, Dean effortlessly gives it a needed push. In his hands, Firecracker’s characters and the plot will have you hooked. He creates a fluid, immersive listening journey that will pull you into the story and block out everything else.
Lennox and Archer almost exclusively employ Dean to narrate their stories, and the deep synergy between their intention and Dean’s intuition shows strongly and clearly. He understands what Lennox and Archer want to accomplish because he knows how they construct their characters and scenes. That familiarity also extends to the listener. If you are a Lennox and Archer devotee, you’ve undoubtedly heard Dean’s many performances of their work. There’s a comfort in knowing what to expect and hearing him deliver it. Listening to Dean breathe life into these authors’ stories is like wrapping a fluffy blanket around you as you settle in with some tea to read in front of a fire on a cold, snowy day.
Lennox and Archer’s wheelhouse is sweet, sexy, low-angst love stories that revolve around extensive families living in quirky small towns inhabited by well-meaning nosybodies. They lean heavily on found family, and few authors do that better than them. The witty banter, humor, sexual tension, and emotional connection inherent in Lennox/Archer scenes between the leading men requires deft handling to balance the competing elements. Dean is superb at doing so, which is why his performances on these authors’ stories are overarchingly excellent. Dean’s strength lies in group dynamics with different characters with distinct personalities, and he never shirks the side characters either. He showcases his extensive vocal skillset in that environment, and Firecracker serves up a perfect meal for him to sink his teeth into.
The Honeybridge series is off to an auspicious start with Firecracker. Lennox and Archer get back to basics, and I’m thrilled that they have because if Firecracker is any indication of how this series will develop, we are in for a treat. Highly recommended.
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