A Little Village Novella
Heat Factor: Sweet little kisses
Character Chemistry: They actually interact very little, but the way the story is told made me really want this for them
Plot: Man has had a secret crush on his former physiotherapist since physiotherapy started, and it gets blown wide open when his friend plays an April Fool prank on him
Overall: Some people might be super stressed by this prank, but I thought this story was ADORABLE
The description of this story is pretty spot on, so I don’t feel like I need to add much to it. Owen has had a crush on his former physiotherapist since Toma was his current physiotherapist, but he’s too unsure of himself to do anything about it now that the client/provider relationship is over. Then his friend plays an April Fool’s prank on Owen so that Owen starts sending texts not to his friend, but to Toma. SO EMBARRASSING!!
Toma doesn’t realize he’s been involuntarily roped into this prank, so, thanks to the texts, he finally gets up the nerve to ask Owen out for coffee…poor Toma, getting caught up in the middle of all this! But it was just the opening/push he needed to put himself out there.
The story is told in 3rd, but the POV follows Owen, with chapters hopping back and forth between the present and the past. The past moves forward month by month from the time Owen was in the car crash that led him to need physiotherapy, which gives us both insight into Owen and also fleshes out his romance with Toma, which is important because they’re on page together very little. The chapters that occur in the present focus heavily on the one day that changes Owen and Toma’s relationship from friendly acquaintances to lovers.
Some final thoughts:
- Owen’s friend group is delightful. I love, love, loved their interactions together.
- Toma has a beard, and he’s all adorably beary with tree trunk thighs. Owen has a goatee and dimples, and he’s a geek.
- Toma is a bit opaque, but for the length fleshing out both Toma and Owen would have been difficult.
- These guys are all gamers! 👏👏👏
- Burgoine’s Village series is…not really in order. If you want to follow this group of four: this story takes place sandwiched between Handmade Holidays and Faux Ho Ho. But the others in the series aren’t just about this friend group. The Village refers to the neighborhood of the same name in Ottawa, Canada.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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