4 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition. 2nd edition. 154 pages. Published May 3rd 2019 by Dreamspinner Press (first published March 23rd 2013)
Blurb:
Welcome to Tucker Springs, Colorado,
where sparks fly when opposites attract—but are some obstacles too great to
overcome?
When tattoo artist Seth Wheeler meets his new neighbor, it’s like a revelation.
Darren Romero is everything Seth wants in a man: hot, clever, single, and
interested. For a minute he seems perfect. Then Darren drops the bomb: he moved
to Tucker Springs to be a pastor at the New Light Church.
As a gay man whose parents threw him out, Seth has a strict policy of keeping
believers at arm’s length for self-preservation. But Darren’s perseverance and
the chemistry bubbling between them steadily wear down his defenses.
In a small town like Tucker Springs, Seth can’t avoid Darren—or how much he
wants him. Which means he needs to decide what’s more important: protecting
himself, or his feelings for his neighbor.
Likes:
- Seth and Darren, separately and together.
- The work Darren does with LGBTQ+ kids at his church.
- That Seth doesn’t let his coworker talk him out of tattooing an HIV+ client.
- The smut.
Dislikes:
- The pair didn’t settle their issues until right before the end.
- Would have liked an epilogue.
- Would have liked to have Darren’s point of view.
- Would have liked some resolution with Seth’s family.
I was strangely reluctant to start this book, both because because Dirty Laundry was so good and because religion is one of the central themes of this book. I tend to stay away from gay fiction books about religion because it almost never ends well. To my pleased surprise, Covet Thy Neighbor was an enjoyable read.
It was obvious from the first book in this series that Seth would get a story of his own. From his previous appearances, I knew a bit about his issues going into the story. To say that Seth does not like religion or the people who practice it is an understatement. So I was really curious how L.A. Witt was going to bring these men together. Answer: sex. Lots and lots of sex.
In fact, this book was mostly made up of sex, talks about religion, and discussions of the past. Not in a bad way, but the story felt a little shallow. Like there wasn’t much going on in either man’s life other than the romance and thinking about religion. All the previous books in the series featured main characters with big side issues that had nothing to do with the romance. This one didn’t.
On the other hand I feel like delving deeper into religion and how it can leave lasting scars on people would have put a huge damper on things. Seth was conflicted enough about dating a pastor, to the point that it sometimes got annoying. Any more and the story probably wouldn’t have worked.
I do think the story could have benefitted from having Darren’s point of view as well, but it all worked out. Unfortunately for my tastes, the guys didn’t get their relationship sorted out until literally right before the end of the book. As in, the last chapter. With no epilogue. Their getting together was believable enough, but I’m not so sure about their longevity as a couple.
In a way, I almost liked Darren better than Seth. Darren uses his position as pastor to start a program for runaway and homeless LGBTQ+ youth. I wish the story focused more on the group.
I will definitely be reading more L.A. Witt books soon because she wrote books 6 and 7 of the Tucker Springs series. As for the series, I’ll wait until Dreamspinner Press re-releases the rest. I’m not sure how much editing and revision is being done, but I prefer to be consistent, so all my reviews will be about the second editions.
Be sure to check out the reviews for the rest of the series – Where Nerves End, Second Hand, Dirty Laundry, Never A Hero, and After The Fall.
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