Book 89, 2024
Hot as Heller by Lucy Lennox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since I didn't have to work today, I stayed up until the wee hours to finish reading Hot as Heller by Lucy Lennox. It's the third book in her "Aster Valley" series of male/male romances. Main characters are Sheriff Declan Stone and Hollywood star Finn Heller.
Declan moved to Aster Valley from LA to get away from the Hollywood crazy. Now Hollywood has come to Aster Valley in the form of a production crew. An action movie is being filmed in Aster Valley, disrupting the peace and quiet. Declan is particularly annoyed with Finn Heller, especially after Finn mistook him for a valet and instructed Declan to park his car. Still, there's something about Finn that brings all of Dec's protective instincts to the fore. He's both gorgeous and vulnerable, and Declan can't help but be drawn to him.
Finn got his start in acting as a child on a wildly popular TV series. Ever since then he's been trying to make it as a serious actor. He's only working on this film in hopes of landing a role in a Shakespeare adaptation. Finn is accustomed to people wanting a piece of him, using him for connections, and riding his coat tails. Sheriff Stone, however, is different. He seems to see right through Finn's front to the insecure young man he is. With Declan's encouragement, Finn may just learn how to stand up for himself and reach for what he really wants out of life.
A lovely, tender story. Humorous, although not laugh-out-loud funny. You couldn't help but feel sorry for Finn. It's as if there was no one in his life who truly cared about him as a person, rather than as a commodity, including his own mother. Spending time with Declan and his friends makes Finn feel like he belongs for the first time in his life. The drama was exciting, sexy times were delish, and characters were marvelous--even the ones I wanted to punt off the mountain.
Favorite lines:
♦ I was still busy backing up my salt truck over this latest outrage.
♦ "She comes in here with Pickles all the time and makes everyone laugh."
♦ "Everyone knows Scooby-Doo."
♦ "I swore to myself not to treat you like a piece of meat, and now here I am with my steak sauce out and my knife sharpened."
♦ "No matter what nefarious plans were afoot, our intrepid sheriff was all in."
I really liked this book. I'm hesitant to give it five stars, but it deserves more than four. Why can we not give halfsies?! As a nod to the author, I'll bump this from 4.5 to 5.