 
 
From the publisher:
High school wasn’t the right time or place for their relationship to grow, but now, fifteen years later, a chance encounter changes both of their lives forever.
No one in the charming river town of New Hope, Pennsylvania, needs to know that Vince Amato plans on flipping The Hideaway Inn to the highest bidder and returning to his luxury lifestyle in New York City. He needs to make his last remaining investment turn a profit…even if that means temporarily relocating to the quirky small town where he endured growing up. He’s spent years reinventing himself and won’t let his past dictate his future.
But on his way to New Hope, Vince gets stuck in the middle of nowhere and his past might be the only thing that can get him to his future. Specifically Tack O’Leary, the gorgeous, easygoing farm boy who broke his heart and who picks Vince up in his dilapidated truck.
Tack comes to the rescue not only with a ride but also by signing on to be the chef at The Hideaway for the summer. As Vince and Tack open their hearts to each other again, Vince learns that being true to himself doesn’t mean shutting down a second chance with Tack—it means starting over and letting love in.
Revew:
When I learned that Carina was producing a romance line specifically for LGBQT stories, I became ridiculously excited. I’ve long been a fan of the Carina line – they’ve made a real commitment to publishing diverse, #ownvoices romances and some of my favorite writers are published by them. When the Carina Adores titles showed up on my Netgalley, I was first in line with my grabby hands to read each one.
This book brings together a few favorite tropes – big city vs. small town pairing, forced proximity and second chance romance. Vince Amato returns to his hometown to renovate The Hideaway Inn, with the intention of flipping it and selling it to a franchise vacation business for a profit before returning to the city. He has no intention of sticking around, since New Hope holds difficult memories of a poor upbringing and his first – and greatest – heartbreak.
He runs into Tack O’Leary within the first five pages of the book and it is clear that there is history between the former “Skinny Vinnie” and the popular high school football star turned chef. But there is serious history and Vinnie barely hides his resentment behind a veneer of toxic masculinity that often made me cringe.
But beneath all that bluster is still the slender, courageous, poetry-loving boy who loved Tack from afar and spent his life compensating for Tack’s apparent rejection of him by armoring himself in a take-no-prisoners maleness that only serves to crush any tender feelings Vinnie might possess. Vinnie is aggressive and rude and frankly obnoxious, but there is no doubt that, no matter how hard he tries to push those feelings away, they refuse to disappear.
Tack, meanwhile, has changed, owning his bisexuality and raising a gender-nonconforming child with his ex-wife, with whom he is friendly and has bonded because she has come to terms with her own queerness. He is handsome, competent, gregarious and easy to love.
The romance builds slowly and when they get together, it is steamy and heart-felt. Vinnie slowly grows into his feelings and even when he botches everything, he is always the poet who pines for his first love.
The rep in this book is excellent, featuring not only the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community but also disabled and neurodivergent representations. New Hope is a wonderful creation – a town that exists as a safe haven for everyone. It’s an excellent example of found family and an inclusive society that does not interfere, but supports the full spectrum of human expression and it is, frankly, magical. As an #ownvoices offering, it was a must-read for me.
I received a copy of this book from Carina Press in exchange for an honest review.
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A new Carina Adores title is available each month:
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