Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Feels Like Home
AUTHOR: Casey Cox
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 321 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 6, 2025
BLURB:
Doctor x firefighter in a steamy, small-town, friends-to-lovers MM romance…
Courtland
I swear I’m not deliberately avoiding telling my best friend I’m in love with him. Life just has a funny way of getting in the way…for the last fifteen years or so.
Take prom. Buzz was my date, and I was planning on telling him that night. One week before, my mom and his dad drop a bombshell—they’ve been having an affair. The aftermath destroyed two families.
I moved away to Boston and pursued my medical career. Buzz stayed in Clovelly and became a firefighter. He started dating. We stayed best friends.
Now, thirteen years later, I’m back in town after Grandpa Arnie dies. He leaves me his inn in his will. On two conditions. One, I get married, and two, I stay in town for at least six months.
Buzz loves that inn as much as I do, so he offers himself as tribute. Now that we’re married and living together, nothing is going to get in the way of me telling him how I feel.
Not his annoying new himbo-rific friend.
Not even my lifelong habit of avoiding talking about my feelings.
Nothing.
But then my mother drops another bombshell—and it makes what happened before prom look like a warm-up act.
Buzz
The last guy I dated dumped me because he said he wanted a boyfriend, not an emotional support animal. All my relationships have ended the same way—guys leave because I’m too needy, too clingy.
The sad truth is, they’re all right.
The only person who accepts me for who I am in all my needy glory is Court.
Having him back in Clovelly is great. And marrying him has come with some unexpected benefits…of the bedroom variety.
But just because we’re releasing a little steam doesn’t change the fact that I want to settle down and have kids, and Court has a career waiting for him in Boston. Even though this fake marriage feels better than any relationship I’ve been in, the reason it works is because it has an inbuilt end date.
Once six months are up, he’ll inherit his grandfather’s inn and leave like he always does.
Why would this time be any different?…
REVIEW:
Friends-to-lovers is a favorite trope of mine, and I was excited to read this. Court and Buzz were best friends, inseparable, and had a date to go to prom together. Unfortunately, Buzz’s dad and Court’s mom decided to implode the families, and it affected so many people. Court’s dad took him to live in Boston, away from Buzz, and Court can’t stand to come back much. His relationship with his mom has suffered. But his grampa just died, so he’s back in his hometown of Clovelly, just for a day or two. Until he gets wind of his grampa’s will. The Inn, which his grampa owned and has been in their family for generations, has been left to Court but only if he fulfills two things. First, he has to be married (with a week to do it!) and he has to live in Clovelly for six months. Buzz is ecstatic – six months with the best friend he’s been in love with forever. Of course, he doesn’t realize Court is in love with him too and the communication between these two is lacking. Buzz offers himself as tribute to fulfill the will, and they get married.
While yes, the lack of communication drove me crazy, I also could see how fear would get in the way. Court is a world traveler who just got back from volunteering in Africa and his dad and family live in Boston. Buzz is a firefighter, definitely a small town guy, who wants to stay in Clovelly. They have some awesome history together but also some really crappy history that has affected them. Court never dates, Buzz gets dumped for being too needy. Buzz knows what Court is like underneath. “Sensitive and kind, and when we were younger he used to believe in the goodness of people.” Now, no dates, he struggles to make friends, and he doesn’t get vulnerable for anyone.
So off they go to the courthouse, get married, and are now living at Buzz’s place and trying to navigate this new reality. But things difficult when you are in love. “But we lead two very different lives in two very different places. That’s never going to change.”
For some side characters, there’s Buzz’s other BFF, Ramzi, who is awesome. Howie, Buzz’s twin, is also awesome, all nacho-eating, no-pants-wearing gorilla that he is. He is the one that calls them out and I loved it. The people at the Inn, who have known Court and Buzz since they were kids, also awesome, as are Scooter and Cyrus, Buzz and Court’s other besties. Also, Court’s dad is lovely. I knew immediately who the “himboriffic friend” mentioned in the blurb was as soon as he came in. He is irritating. Yes, he mostly redeems himself but still…irritating. And Court knows right away. “I don’t know what it is about Zane that rubs him the wrong way…” To be fair, Court does try with Zane, knowing he’s Buzz’s friend. And, while I didn’t think Court was out of line (much), I also thought Buzz needed to step up early and make things clear to Zane. “I’m a chickenshit who hates letting people down, and I’m desperately trying to avoid a situation where I have to tell Zane to his face I’m not interested in him romantically.”
There’s a lot happening between these two, and Zane features in some of it. Monopoly, art class, and so on. I did laugh when Buzz goes to a chocolate class with his friend and not romantic partner, Zane, and makes “…what basically looks like dog shit…” because I have been to a class like that and mine didn’t look good either. Luckily for me, and Buzz and Court, they still taste good. I could go on and on about Ramzi, and Buzz and Court, and Zane being a non-chocolate type turd, but the best thing is to read it!
RATING: 
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