Review of The Hideaway Inn (Seasons of New Hope #1) by Phillip William Stover
The Hideaway Inn is the first book in the series Seasons of New Hope.
Real estate developer Vince Amato plans to flip the Hideaway Inn and sell it for the highest profit, and he has a potential bidder in place from the beginning. But New Hope is a small town of small businesses, so he keeps that end goal a secret.
On the way to New Hope, Vince finds himself stranded on the side of the road, and his unrequited high school love picks him up to give him a ride. Tack O'Leary is a farm boy who's in the process of bettering himself, and when the inn is left in the lurch on Vince's first day there, Tack is the only one who can save them. Out of options, Vince hires him as the new chef while he finishes school and installs him as his roommate in the owner's apartment.
Vince just wants to flip the business, but with Tack nearby every day, the past bubbles to the surface. Now that Tack is finally out, they can both have what they'd wanted so badly as teens. But for that to happen, Vince needs to let go and find himself again.
This looked great, and I was really excited about it, but it wound up being forgettable.
I had a hard time connecting to Vince because he was so angry all the time, and his thoughts showed very little vulnerability. It was like a switch flipped between angry Vince and in-love Vince with no transition.
Tack was easier because he was a cheerful guy with a good outlook. His child was a sweet thing, and I loved that his child's bravery in being themselves is what led him to finally coming out. His relationship with his ex-wife also put him in a positive light. Despite that, he had very few layers. He was an open book and held nothing back, but that also meant that he had nothing simmering beneath the surface.
The chemistry was almost nonexistent. There was longing and attraction, but from the beginning, I couldn't imagine these two together. When they did get together, it was nearly passionless. The love wasn't believable because I didn't feel it between them. Show don't tell.
With stronger characters, this book could have been much better. The writing was pretty good, descriptions strong, dialog mostly smooth, but without strong main characters with chemistry, there's no book.
I had good hopes, but unfortunately they fell flat.
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