And throughout it all, Brooks and Mal indulge in the spark between them without setting up the partners in their “fake” relationships for negative repercussions. Despite the vast amount of accidental sexual innuendo that abounds, the true humor of the story comes from the various character interactions that stem from love rather than malice. However, the main heroes do spell it out at one point: Licking Thicket might be a bit of a joke, but all the residents are in on it. It would have been so easy for the authors to use small-town cliches to fill out their cast, especially considering the sheer ridiculousness of the town festival that is the primary point of the plot. The resulting relationships that occur are obvious from a mile away, but Lennox and Archer form them out of dynamic primary and secondary characters that are sweet and hilarious. The situation is not as confusing as that epilogue made it out to be, even though the fake boyfriend shenanigans are definitely out in full force. Licking Thicket comes further to life in the series’ first full-length novel that delves into the events hinted at in the prequel novella’s epilogue. However, the imbalance jarred me out of the story every time and is an unconscious bias I wish authors would be more aware of.

This is far from a complaint about forced diversity, and I do applaud how Lennox and Archer never resort to forced exoticism in their description (no food references here!). Pet peeve: White skin is, unfortunately, still the assumed default in fiction, and the authors make multiple references to Colin’s skin tone without also doing the same for Ryder.

This peek into one night between the two men is also an excellent look at the overall dynamics of the town they live in, even without the epilogue that throws multiple future characters at the reader. It’s not like things have changed now, but that those reasons suddenly seem less important in the face of a surprise snowstorm and forced proximity. Ryder and Colin have walked the knife’s edge of unfulfilled attraction for years, and both men had ample reason to resist. This novella blends onscreen sparks and sexiness with a narrative that provides the necessary context for the current relationship (or lack thereof) status of the two main characters.

Fakers lucy lennox