Small City Heart by Erin McLellan

Patrick Pearl’s career is in shambles, and his love life is in even worse shape. The last place he wants to be is his tiny hometown’s biggest shindig and high school reunion, but he’s decided to stomach it for a chance to see his mom.

After years away, Patrick doesn’t anticipate the longing that hits him the moment he sees his hometown’s hills, the same pull that has him itching for his camera. But Patrick’s biggest shock of all is Charlie North—Small City’s golden boy and resident firefighting hunk.

Charlie has had a crush on Patrick Pearl since they were fifteen, but he avoided him like the plague in high school, intimidated by Patrick’s courage to be different. Now that they’re all grown up, Charlie isn’t going to let Patrick slip through his fingers again.

If Patrick has to withstand the torture of the Small City Alumni Weekend, then he might as well bang the hottest, most popular guy from his graduating class. It’s not like there are hearts involved. What could possibly go wrong?

This is a steamy small-town male/male romance with a happily ever after. It's a standalone at 27,000 words. Newly revised with added scenes and an extended epilogue.

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~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is a feel-good hometown romance. It’s the story of Patrick, a successful artist who returns to the small town where he grew up for his ten-year reunion. And it’s the story of Charlie, the firefighter who stayed in his hometown, even when it wasn’t always accepting.

Both a little skittish after past relationships, the instant chemistry between Charlie and Patrick is enough to make them reconsider just about everything. This is the best kind of hometown return book because at 28, Patrick is able to look at the town he ran from with the objectivity of an adult and the knowledge that big cities have their own problems. Patrick’s relationship with his mum is special and I like that his town is more accepting than he’d previously understood.

Most of this story takes place over a single long weekend. There’s a whole lot of emotion packed into a short book and a couple of fabulously steamy scenes. It’s an easy, entertaining read with a whole lot of heart.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is a real feel-good story of two people who finally find themselves in the right place at the right time. Patrick is home, really tail between his legs, after a disastrous relationship with his boss has left him not certain of his future career moves. He may be a fabulous photographer, but he needs galleries to sell his work, and he knows one unlikely to do so in the future.

When he sees Charlie, the one person he hopelessly crushed on in school, and finds him now out and proud, he finds it difficult to reconcile the nastiness of before with the clear interest now. That Charlie is a big, handsome firefighter is just a bonus.

As the two of them come to terms with their past, and Patrick considers his future, we get to see them get intensely involved very quickly, fearing that this is all they will have. But like all good love stories, there is the happy ending we wanted, even if not quite like we expected it in the beginning.

Erin McLellan is the author of the Farm College, So Over the Holidays, and Storm Chasers series. She enjoys writing happily ever afters that are earthy, emotional, quirky, humorous, and very sexy. Originally from Oklahoma, she currently lives in Alaska and spends her time dreaming up queer contemporary romances set in the Great Plains. She is a lover of chocolate, college sports, antiquing, Dr Pepper, and binge-worthy TV shows.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Small City Heart by Erin McLellan to read and review.