Publisher: Kim Fielding
Genre: Male/Male Contemporary Romance
Source: Previous Publisher
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Elliott Thompson was once a historian with a promising academic future, but his involvement in a scandal meant a lost job, public shame, and a ruined love life. He took shelter in his rural California hometown, where he teaches online classes, hoards books, and despairs of his future.
Simon Odisho has lost a job as well—to a bullet that sidelined his career in law enforcement. While his shattered knee recovers, he rethinks his job prospects and searches for the courage to come out to his close-knit but conservative extended family.
In an attempt to manage his overflowing book collection, Elliott builds a miniature neighborhood library in his front yard. The project puts him in touch with his neighbors—for better and worse—and introduces him to handsome, charming Simon. While romance blooms quickly between them, Elliott’s not willing to live in the closet, and his best career prospects might take him far away. His books have plenty to tell him about history, but they give him no clues about a future with Simon.
The Little Library is a slow burn romance charms me every time I read it. Simon and Elliott are interesting, refreshingly imperfect characters and I loved watching them go from strangers to friends to lovers to something much more.
Elliott is a college professor whose fast track to tenure was derailed when he was embroiled in his boyfriend’s scandal. Wounded professionally and personally, he has moved back to his California hometown where he teaches online classes and is mostly a hermit. When his brother points out that his love of books has turned into a borderline hoarding problem, Elliott builds a small neighborhood library in his front yard. I absolutely loved watching Elliott come out of his shell and start to interact with people again. The library is a wonderful way to do it and I adored seeing how it brought people together. It’s the kind of thing that would make any bibliophile’s heart happy (although Elliott’s book buying addiction was totally relatable).
The most important person Elliott meets in his neighborhood is Simon Odisho. The former cop is recovering from a shattered knee and is in the process of reevaluating what he wants to do with his life. Both men are at a crossroads when they meet and they start to come out of their shells together. Attraction simmers between them, but Simon is in the closet and Elliott has no desire to be anyone’s secret ever again. Still, there’s no denying how perfectly they fit and I absolutely loved watching their relationship develop. Simon has hidden vulnerabilities and Elliott has been hurt badly, so it’s not easy for them to take the risk of opening their hearts. Their story isn’t perfect, but flaws and all I was rooting for the two men every step of the way.
The Little Library moves at a somewhat leisurely pace but it never feels slow. I live in California and I’m familiar with a lot of the places Simon and Elliott go in this book, so it was an extra bit of fun for me to see where they went as they slowly fell in love. Author Kim Fielding balances romance, personal growth, and community perfectly in this story and it couldn’t have made me happier. I’ve read this book twice and I honestly can’t wait to re-read it again.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the previous publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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