Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Hometown Hero
SERIES: Whistleport Hockey
AUTHOR: Declan Rhodes
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 217 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 20, 2024
BLURB:
NHL star Brooks Bennett is at the peak of his hockey career when his widower father experiences a life-threatening health crisis. As an only child, he decides to go out on top, leave hockey, and return to his lobstering hometown of Whistleport, Maine, to care for the man who inspired his hockey dreams.
When he arrives in Whistleport, Brooks is stunned to find his high school sweetheart, Rory Blake, living next door. Rory, now an English teacher and high school hockey coach, is living with his divorced mother, helping her recover from a fractured hip sustained in an overly adventurous cycling mishap.
When Rory swallows his pride and asks Brooks to help save Whistleport’s crumbling hockey rink where they first fell in love, old feelings resurface. The pair, once inseparable, are now nearly strangers, but their shared passion for poetry—a secret language between them—sparks a second chance. However, Brooks’ uncertainty about his future and Rory’s fear of being left behind again threaten their fragile romance.
As they support each other through their parents’ recovery and rally the community to save Whistleport hockey, Brooks and Rory must navigate meddling parents and well-meaning small town gossips to find out whether destiny has a new romance in store for them that could lead to an unexpected happily ever after.
Hometown Hero, the 1st book in the Whistleport Hockey series, is a second chance, hurt-comfort, forced proximity romance with a colorful cast of small-town characters and hockey.
REVIEW:
Brooks Bennett returns from the NHL to his small home town to tend to his father’s health crisis. He’s already lost his mother and it’s still a fresh wound for him since he didn’t get their in time. But going home means seeing his high school boyfriend/first love Rory who is a HS teacher and the town’s hockey coach. AND he’s living right next door to Brooks’s father since Rory’s mom is also down with an injury.
Then there is a disaster with the town’s ice rink and it’s all hands on deck. Brooks should be getting back to his team, but he can’t leave his dad and he doesn’t want to leave Whistleport. He certainly doesn’t want to leave Rory. They parted when he left town to pursue hockey and truth be told, he’s never stopped caring about Rory. Rory thought he was doing the right thing “freeing” Brooks from their relationship while he was left at home, but neither of them have been happy. So what if they could be together now? But if Brooks leaves again, can Rory survive being left behind a second time?
This is a nice start to a new small town series and I really enjoyed getting to know the people of Whistleport, Maine. Rory is the one “left behind” who stayed in town and became a teacher and the high school hockey team coach. Brooks was the star who left town and made it to the NHL. Brooks return due to his father’s health crisis is rather serendipitous since Rory is also taking charge of his mother’s recent injury situation as well. The parallels between the two parents and the their sons is very cute 😉 Also both parents are portrayed as yes, older, but often wiser and still vibrant individuals with was nice to read. I will admit being a bit annoyed with Rory when he makes the same mistake again with Brooks. Rory thinks he’s doing “the right thing” even if he’s making that decision unilaterally and even if he’s miserable. Self-sacrifice isn’t always a noble endeavor – particularly if it leaves two people unhappy 🙂 Thankfully some sense was talked into these two and they realized their true desires before any real harm done. I loved the small town feel and the very real nosy gossiping characters who while having good intentions can throw a spanner into the works from time to time. Who knows what will happen next in this small town? I’m looking forward to the next book 🙂
RATING: 
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