Genre: Contemporary, Small Town
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
One man looking to set down roots, the other looking to leave…
Fresh out of a relationship, Nate’s searching for a change—what better way is there than renovating his uncle’s old coffee shop in Chesapeake City? He has a new job, in a new town, and a new lease. And when he almost runs over his hot neighbor, Linc, who happens to be his contractor? Well, based on the explosive attraction between them, maybe he’ll find something new there too.
Linc’s been treading water ever since his wife passed away in childbirth, focusing all of his energy on raising his son, Beckett. The obvious solution? He needs to get the hell out of Chesapeake City. But when Nate charmingly fumbles his way into Linc’s life, he finds his defenses lowering for the first time in years. One date leads to another, and hell, this man makes him feel in ways he’d forgotten.
Even though Nate just finished piecing his heart back together, he falls fast. Yet Linc’s made it clear he’s a bad bet. The man hasn’t clicked with anyone since his wife, and if Nate ends up being “not enough” again, that won’t shatter just his heart—the fragile home he’s trying to build in this town will crumble too.
The Review
Stronger Than Hope is the beginning of the new series “Chesapeake Days,” about people who live and love in the small town of Chesapeake City, Maryland.
Nate McAllister had high hopes for his relationship with Sam, who he spent five years with. To Nate’s shock, one day Sam just decides that Nate is not what he wants – apparently Nate is not commitment material in Sam’s eyes. So Nate leaves his life in Boston and makes a new start in the small town of Chesapeake City. He’s found a place to settle down, and is ready to tackle a big new job. He’s going to take over his late Uncle Harold’s coffee shop, Chesapeake Brew.
Linc Lane lost the love of his life, but she left him with a beautiful ray of sunshine in their son Beckett. Linc does all right with his contracting business, but he finds himself frustrated with the small town mentality of Chesapeake City. He has several good friends in town, but he seldom dates.
But Linc does have someone very special in his life – Beckett. When Beckett deals with bulling at school, the incident makes Linc give serious thoughts too moving. He already has a temp job offer in Baltimore, so he’s planning on testing the waters. But he knows that moving away with Beckett will hurt his parents, who love being close to their grandson.
Nate is the cute and kind of clumsy. He has literally run into Linc, more than once. He hires to Linc to get Chesapeake Brew up to current standards. In the meantime, he has his hands full trying to bring a better brew of coffee to his customers. There are bills to be paid and accounting chaos to go through in order to get the brew house up and running. Nate can’t take another screw up in his life, and he feels the pressure from others who have some very nasty opinions.
Nate needs time to enjoy himself too, and to make some new friends. He and Linc make a “not a date” to go to “Port of Call” – owned by Linc’s good friend Nico. And the friendship and flirting begins. But Nate is looking for that one special someone to be in his life, and then he realizes it’s more than that.
Stronger than Hope is a nice start to a hurt/comfort story with a wonderful ray of sunshine. It’s well written and hits all the right emotional notes – grief, loneliness, low self esteem, romance, love, happiness and family. It’s also about sharing experiences with others, as Nate is a life saver when it comes to Linc and Beckett. We also see the darker side of small town living here, with the opposition of few citizens to Nate and his business, but there are also locals who are willing to work with him as he gets his the coffee shop back up and running.
I liked the gradual connection between Nate and Linc. Nate has that sweet personality and is adorably clumsy. Linc is serious and intense and hides his soft side. As for Beckett, he’s the bright star that makes the story very special.
There are some really great secondary characters too: Nico, friend to Linc and owner of the Port of Call; Jeremy bar tender at Port of Call; Sarah the goth bank clerk; Taran, Nico’s younger bother and Sarah’s roommate and Eliza owner of Cozy Corner cafe.
The book is an easy read with some very special moments. It’s also a great start with high potential for the “Chesapeake Days” series. McIntyre has a second book coming soon in the series – Stronger than Passion – I’ll be watching for it!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
