This is the year’s last K Webster book. Sheriff’s Secret is the first in a new world, and the next book that comes out in this series is from Misty Walker, next week. It’s an MM series and it takes place in a little town in Maine. I live in a little town in Maine, and I have to say my little town isn’t nearly this exciting.
We have Jax. He’s the sheriff, a second generation sheriff, of Brigs Ferry Bay. His father, who was sheriff before him, is now the mayor and expects great things from Jax, and puts Jax under a lot of stress and pressure. He never really approves of his son, and Jax just works harder. He goes out with the women his mother sets him up with, and he tries to keep the order. Jax has his best friend, Cato, who runs a pet grooming business on the second floor of the building the sheriff’s office is in. And he has the ex he keeps obsessing over. The problem is that is ex isn’t an ex-girlfriend, he’s an ex-boyfriend, and they had to keep their relationship secret. When Kian came out, that ended their relationship. But that doesn’t keep Jax from wanting him, even though he’s so far into the closet that he has pulled the closet door in behind him and is in another closet. Jax may hate having to hide himself, but he feels like that’s the only thing he can do.
On this particular day, he and Cato are headed to the Chamber of Commerce meeting where Dante, who is from NYC and trying to put up a B&B, is supposed to show up. Jax is pretty positive that Dante is the devil, and he doesn’t want Dante around, because that means that all the tourists will invade and that will change little Brigs Ferry Bay in bad ways.
Dante, along with his sister and younger brother, have come to Maine to open a B&B after their father died. They want to get away from all the memories of home, and Maine seems like the place to do it. But, they’ve not had a whole lot of luck in getting anyone to actually, you know, like them. Obstacles and roadblocks keep getting thrown up in their way. On the night of the Chamber of Commerce meeting, he lays his eyes on the hot sheriff, and realizes that the guy is closested, and oh, it’s going to be so fun to fuck with him. And, oh, maybe fuck him too.
OK, as a person from away who moved to Maine, I have some things to say. One is that Mainers are delightful and friendly people. Second is that if you were born away, you are always from away. We moved up here when my son was 7, he’s more a Mainer than anything else, but he’s still from away. That’s the way it is in a lot of places, so that’s not just Maine. Also, small towns are small towns are small towns, and people are always going to be all up in your business.
With that said, let’s move on. I like, hate, and feel sorry for Jax. I can’t imagine being so worried about hiding who you are and having to keep all that hidden. I understand his reasons for it, and they make me mad. I’m not going to blame him for those at all. Coming out is a very personal journey, and you do it in your own time and in your own pace, and if you aren’t in a safe physical or mental space, then you do what you have to do. I like how devoted he is to making sure that he is doing the best he can for his town, and how he is when he’s with Cato. I kind of hate him for the way that he acts about Kian. But, again, that’s a really complex area.
Dante is a really interesting character. He loves his family. He’s the guardian of his younger brother, since he’s only 15, and he’s trying to do his best, but there have been all kinds of changes, and no one can handle all those changes. I think that Dante is doing really well. I do think that there are times when he kind of loses sight of the new culture he’s moved into and tries to do everything the NYC way and not work within the BFB way. Of course, I think that the people of BFB could definitely have worked harder to make people feel welcome.
I can’t wait for the next books in the series. I have some thoughts as to who is going to end up with whom.
OK, that’s all for this one. Go check it out! Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 