Title: Old New Town
Author: B.A. Tortuga
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: April 20, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary
Page Count: 161
Reviewed by: Vallie
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5
Blurb:
3rd Edition
Danny Avers is a teacher in small town Colorado. Back in the day, before high-speed Internet, social media, smartphones, or streaming anything, Danny’s just trying to live down his wild teenage years and carry on the only way he knows how: one day at a time. The last person he expects to see back in town is Harlan Quinn, his old best friend and former consummate bad boy. And when he finds out Quinn is the new sheriff and his new neighbor, it’s even more of a shock.
Quinn knows there’s more to his old hometown than meets the eye. There’s more to Danny than old memories and quiet living too. But as in the past, stirring things up is Quinn’s specialty, and he sets out to do that, in more ways than one, pushing Danny to admit there’s more to life and that their old town just might manage to be new again. That’s if old town thinking doesn’t get them both killed.
First Edition published by Torquere Press, 2006.
Second Edition published by Torquere Press, 2007.
This was unfortunately a big miss with me. I have noticed that the last books I’ve read by this author have either received a low rating or I haven’t been able to finish them at all. I think this might be a case of my preferences not agreeing with this author’s writing style.
This story actually started off in a promising way. I love childhood friends-to-lovers stories and especially second chance romance. Even more so when they involve a hot sheriff and a school teacher –naught naughty things were just waiting to happen, I was so sure! And for a good 15% of the book or so I can’t say I had any major issues. But then, the mystery subplot started unravelling and the town from hell started revealing its evil side, and what I was reading was not enjoyable enough for me to suspend disbelief to that degree.
First off, I was under the impression from some references about how long it’s been since Quinn and Danny last saw each other and how old they were when they went on their different ways that they were both in their mid-late 30s. But then there were comments that made the characters sound like they were in their mid-late 50s instead. Comments such as:
” I look like what I am, a middle-aged teacher.”
“I’m okay. Just getting old, yeah?”
“Dan chuckled, looking damn near young for a minute.”
“I…Fuck.’ Dan shifted, rubbing his fingers for a second. ‘You make me feel young.’”
And then, in the complete opposite direction, comments like:
”He had years and years to be an old man after Quinn moved on.”
So, I don’t know what happened there. But if you’re trying to tell me late 30s is considered middle aged, I’ll have a mini freak out and come back to you when I’ve calmed the f@ck down.
The sex
I am not one to complain about too much steam in my books. But honestly, this takes the freaking cake. Every single interaction they had after the initial reunion started or ended with pages and pages worth of sex scenes, which,frankly, were not that original or inspiring, and they didn’t do anything to advance the plot in any way.
The town
Danny was under investigation of abuse and paedophilia because they found out he was gay. And Quinn’s lieutenants told him to his face that if he showed up there to be sheriff simply because he wanted to hook up with Danny, he was doing their police department a disservice. WTF? In what world does this shit happen?
Skimming, so much skimming.
I was very underwhelmed and unimpressed with this story. Cannot recommend.
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