Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Best Friends, Tennessee
SERIES: Hard Spot Saloon
AUTHOR: Raleigh Ruebins
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 234 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 20, 2025
BLURB:
I’m not attracted to men.
But I’ll break all my own rules for my best friend.
One thing is true about Ori he hates small town Tennessee. We were always I played football, he was in art class. I was straight, he was gay. I was popular in school, he never fit in. He fled to the city the moment we graduated.
It ain’t perfect here, but I love our country home. I missed Ori like hell, but now he’s back, living in my guest room after years apart.
Best friends reunited, right? …Like hell.
He says I’m too Tennessee for him now. So what if I love the local saloon, volunteer with horses, and wear a Stetson hat? I want a white-picket-fence life, and he wants all things casual. When I try to show him how good it can be here, he tells me to back off.
But I’ll check his cocky attitude when he calls me stubborn. He pushes? I push back.
I’ve got him up against the wall within 24 hours.
It’s a full-on fight, but it turns into… something else. A craving. Some twisted need to be close to him.
Being physical with him was what I missed most, but we were never physical like this before.
…He sure doesn’t mind how country I am when he’s in my bed.
Now I can’t get enough. But if he won’t commit to anyone, why would he with me? And how can I show him exactly how deep I’m willing to go?
REVIEW:
Ori Adams has returned to his hometown of Bestens, TN. Something he vowed he’d never do. He’s been in LA after he left town right after high school. His growing up was NOT the greatest. Being an out artistic teenager in a small southern town wasn’t a recipe for success. It was a recipe for bullying and feeling extreme alienation. Ori is back and relying on the hospitality of his childhood best friend Finn since his old bedroom is now the room of his niece since his single mother sister Danielle still lives with their parents. He’s agreed to stay temporarily with Finn and go back to working at his parents’ diner until he figures out his next move.
He and Finn have grown apart while he’s been gone. Ori doesn’t really know what to make of Finn these days. The same could be said for Finn. he doesn’t know what Ori wants or why he still seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Finn always stood up for Ori when they were kids – kept the bullies at bay when he could. But they also fought like hell too. Now their are adults and on different footing. And Finn doesn’t know what he wants from Ori either.
It seems like Finn gets a little possessive and protective of Ori and although Ori claims he doesn’t need Finn’s help, it still makes him emotional when Finn steps up. Then Finn shares that he’s bee intimate with another guy and he’s very curious about doing stuff with Ori. Ori has not been a commitment guy. But maybe that’s because he didn’t see a future with anyone. Finn has other ideas though and he wants Ori. This could be the greatest thing ever or a horrible idea. Or maybe both 
I have to admit I struggled with this one. I kind of had a hard time liking either of these characters for at least the first 40% of the book. Ori and Finn are supposed best friends, but it definitely didn’t feel that way when Ori came back to town. It felt like frenemies at best. Ori and Finn have definitely grown apart during the 6 years Ori was gone. I’ll be honest – I couldn’t quite figure out the timeline since supposedly Ori got an Art History degree during that time AND worked in galleries in LA. So did he go to LA for college and stay? Didn’t seem like his family had the money for that so if he didn’t get a full ride scholarship I can’t imagine he didn’t have debt – CA colleges are HELLA expensive for non-state students, not the mention the cost of living in Cali is high. So he’s been out of school for 2 years but has almost three years of experience? Timing just seemed off to me. Finn has had a bit of an awakening it seems since Ori was gone and even let a guy get physical with him. Ori has firmly locked the door on anything with his best friend because yeah, falling in love with your straight best friend is NOT a good idea. I really did appreciate that the story ended up being more about finding your place in the world and belonging rather than running away from the past. Ori was running TOWARDS a place where he belonged. He just didn’t find it in LA and so he’s back to regroup. Turns out that maybe both he and Bestens have changed and belonging is different than he pictured it as a bullied gay artistic teenager. Thankfully this book ended stronger than it started for me and I am looking forward to the stories coming for Mason and I’m assuming Thomas – maybe even Max or Kane??? Recommended.
RATING: 
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