Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hollis is the next book in The Moore Men series by author Ashley James. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Finn, and was looking forward to the next in line and it did not disappoint.
Hollis Moore is Finn’s younger brother. He’s young, outgoing, easy on the eyes, flirty, likes women, likes men, likes to have fun. He works hard and he plays hard. He has close friends but no interest in a relationship. Captain Ford Wesley is the Chief of the Wolf Creek Fire Department, and possibly as different from Hollis as can be. Ford can be fun, he might have even been flirty at one time, but he’s recently divorced from his husband of almost twenty years. At forty-seven he’s wondering what he should do with the rest of his life. Definitely not looking for a relationship; the way he feels right now he might never be ready for another one. But Remi, his young lieutenant and good friend, convinces him to sign up on a dating app. What could it hurt? Ford could just have a little fun for a change, nothing serious, or maybe just some interesting chats. So Ford reluctantly agrees and very carefully creates a profile, being purposely vague, marking his identity private and posts a couple of photos that don’t show his face. He’ll learn later that he wasn’t actually as careful as he thought, but for now he’ll give it a shot.
Wolf Creek isn’t that big, and everybody knows everybody else. Ford knows the Moore men: Finn and his son Tucker and boyfriend Ash, Hollis, their father Gentry and their friend August and his boyfriend Tripp. Paths cross all the time. And Remi is Hollis’s best friend. As Ford is innocently scrolling through the profiles of men who want to match with him, saying no, nope, heck no and looking at the profiles of others on the app, he comes across ‘KnockinBoots’ and is intrigued by the first photo – an ab shot. As he keeps looking at ‘KnockinBoots’ a face he recognizes comes into view. He’s back to no, nope, and heck no . . . . except for some reason he can’t even explain to himself, he swipes right. It will be okay, right? Even though he recognizes Hollis whose profile is not private, Ford’s is, so Hollis won’t know who he’s talking to. Ford knows this could blow up in his face but he just cannot help himself. And their first few encounters are fun and hot and sexy – and anonymous.
Fate has a way of stepping in. No matter how careful you think you are, something can always fall through the cracks. Like the unique tattoo you have that is visible in your profile photo and also visible when your shirt rides up in front of Hollis. Oh, oh. Fun for the reader. Not so much for Ford. He’s a good guy but still shaken by the loss of a marriage he knew wasn’t working for a long time but was afraid to end. He’s embarrassed and panicked. There’s no answer he’s comfortable giving why he knew it was Hollis and swiped right anyway but didn’t reveal who he was.
Hollis is amused and enjoys making Ford uncomfortable, but it’s more than that. He’s always thought this silver fox was sexy, and their chats have been hot and fun and interesting. Since neither of them is looking for anything serious why not take this a little further and have some under-the-radar fun. Not so simple, though. There’s something between them they can’t explain. An age gap, yes, but something else that feels good and somehow right.
Author James has done another fantastic job of taking us back to Wolf Creek, spending more time with the Moore family, giving us a story that’s not only spicy but sweet and tender, filled with humor, about friends and family and taking a chance when your heart is telling you yes even if your head is telling you no. I received an advance copy of Hollis. I thoroughly enjoyed it, recommend it without hesitation and can’t wait for the next book in this satisfying series. And maybe there will be an audiobook?? I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.