Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: Sweet Something: MM Small-Town Romance
SERIES: Wood Hollow Stories #2
AUTHOR: Lane Hayes
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 286 Pages
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2026
BLURB:
The baker, the grumpy lumberjack, and a new dad journey…
Dexter
The donut business is booming in Wood Hollow, along with my flag football program. Now I’m ready to take on a new challenge—parenthood. See, I’ve always wanted to be a dad and it’s finally happening. Wood Hollow is the perfect place to raise a child. It’s quiet, safe, and the folks here are friendly.
One glaring exception is the grumpy lumberjack…who ends up being besties with my surrogate. What are the odds?
Yeah…this will be interesting.
Viggo
I’m a logger. I like wood. That’s it. Maybe that makes me a solitary person, but so what?
Unfortunately, I can’t ignore the handsome donut man’s new dad-to-be situation. Not when it concerns an old family friend.
Look, I don’t want to be involved, but I have no choice. And if that means I’ll have to step outside of my comfort zone and do people-y things to make sure Dexter is a going to be a good dad, so be it.
It doesn’t mean I like Dexter. He’s accidentally funny, kind of sweet, very hot, and—
Okay, fine.
Maybe I like him too much.
Sweet Something is an MM bisexual, grumpy/sunshine, small-town romance featuring Wood Hollow’s hottest baker and the grumpy lumberjack with a big heart.
REVIEW:
This is the second book in Lane Hayes’ Wood Hollow series and I loved it.
Dexter moved to this small town eight years before the start of the story: he comes from a very healthy family, ruled by an overbearing and strict mother, who became even more controlling when Dexter had an injury on the football field that resulted in a severe concussion and ended all his dreams to go pro.
Dexter’s life after the injury was difficult and he made terrible choices until he decided to leave the big city and go where his best friend from college, Troy, is living. In the years that will follow, Dexter will become an active member of the community by opening a successful business (Dexter’s Donuts), making friends (besides Troy, he’s very close with Reg) and volunteering (he coaches the flag football team). Dexter is now ready to make his dream to become a father true.
Viggo came to Wood Hollow for a change of scenery too: he’s from Sweden, but he arrived in the States for college and decided to not go back. Wood Hollow was perfect for his need for peace and quiet and, despite he’s been living there for a few years, he didn’t really make friends, he actually preferred a solitary life. Nonetheless, he’s also the first to help when someone is in need: in fact, his grumpy exterior hids a golden heart.
Viggo and Dexter start spending time together because Viggo is Dexter’s surrogate best friend: Viggo is protective of Freya and, consequently, of the baby too and he wants to keep an eye on the father, while Dexter wants to know more about Freya and help her through the pregnancy and Viggo seems to be a good source of informations.
But the more time they spend together, the more they are attracted to each other, not only physically, but also emotionally.
I adored how Viggo had a calming effect on Dexter and helped him to avoid spiralling, while Dex gently pushed Viggo out of his comfort zone and made him see how many people were fond of him and considered him a friend.
The sex scenes are steamy but my favourite aspect was definitely their emotional connection that kept growing through the whole story.
What prevented me from giving five full stars:
I definitely needed more time of them being together “officially” and I didn’t appreciate that the birth of Dex’s child is told in the epilogue like it was just a secondary fact whereas it’s a very poignant event of the whole story.
And maybe this is not a big deal for other readers, but I didn’t like the few scenes where Viggo and Freya talked in Swedish in front of Dexter, I thought it was very rude of them.
It was amazing to see Cooper and Silas again and also all the other characters who made Wood Hollow such a special place.
I can’t wait for the next book that will be, finally!, about Reg, the Police Chief.
Very recommended
RATING: 
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