There are three kinds of people in Honeybridge, Maine: The Honeycutts, who know a lot about love and loyalty; The Wellbridges, who think they’re the epitome of wealth and refinement; and the rest of the Honeybridgers, who know better than to get in the way of the centuries-old rivalry between the two.
There wasn’t a time when I didn’t know Flynn “Firecracker” Honeycutt.
He’s been my childhood friend. My high school rival. The guy I couldn’t stop dreaming about, long after I thought I’d left him and Honeybridge in my rear-view mirror.
Now he’s the key to the giant promotion that can make or break my career… if I can just convince the man to give me the distribution rights for his award-winning mead.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.
Flynn’s not the guy he used to be. His gorgeous eyes used to spark with dreams and fire, but now he looks at me with cold fury. And just like Achilles had his heel and Samson had his hair, I had Flynn Honeycutt, the one man I’d never been able to charm, despite an entire life spent winning people over.
I’m not giving up, though. Because I’m not the kid I used to be, either. And because, if the two of us can survive a long, hot summer filled with his family’s crazy antics and my mother’s single-handed determination to keep the Wellbridge-Honeycutt feud alive, there might just be a chance for both of us to get what we want:
A new dream.
The fulfillment of an old town legend.
And another chance to spark Firecracker to life.
[I received a digital arc for an honest review]
Firecracker by Lucy Lennox and May Archer is the first book in the Honeybridge series. JT Wellbridge has built a life outside of Honeybridge, Maine and away from the rivalry between the Wellbridges and Honeycutts. His worlds collide when his job wants him to secure a contract with Honeybridge Meade, owned by his childhood nemesis and one-time hookup Flynn ‘Firecracker’ Honeycutt. Returning to his hometown turns into JT trying to avoid his family’s expectations while trying to convince Flynn he should sign off with his company for distribution. JT and Flynn have always had chemistry but with JT’s return for the summer, Flynn finds he doesn’t really know the truth behind their history and that could change everything.
JT Wellbridge has tried to put Honeybridge, Maine in his rearview mirror and not look back. He doesn’t want to participate in the crazy rivalry or the town’s absurd occasions but work has brought him home. He loves to hate Flynn Honeycutt and hopes that their past won’t keep him from scoring the big promotion he desires. He and Flynn burn so hot together that when they give into their intense attraction you can feel it steaming off the pages. There is so much they choose to keep from each other that it becomes frustrating.
“I have never seen someone crave another person so deeply before. It’s, like, this tangible, electric thing that stretches out between you whenever you’re in the same room.”
Flynn ‘Firecracker’ Honeycutt is a complicated man who feels the weight of his family’s expectations on his shoulders. He wants to see his siblings thrive and knows that his parents can’t be trusted to help. He wants to hate JT for leaving him and their small town behind. He wants to see their past as only negative moments and hurt feelings but when the truth comes to light, he sees how much JT shaped the man he’s become. He is quick to assume the worst and that blows up in his face on multiple occasions.
I grinned. Thunder and lightning and sweetness. A man like that was worth all kinds of complexity.
When I saw Lucy Lennox and Mary Archer were coming together for another small town collaboration I was like, sign me up. I was not disappointed. This Maine town has a collection of silly characters to help JT and Flynn find a way back to each other. I love the Honeycutt brothers and am so excited to see more of them in the future.
4 stars for JT and Flynn finding how hot they burn for each other.
—Written by Katie—
OnceUpon_A_BookDream 