I enjoy Daryl Banner as a writer. I feel like with this series he is capturing a small town, queer friendly vibe and providing that blueprint not only for other creators but for people who read it and can see what an LGBTQ friendly small town could look like. For that, these books are fun to read. 

Overall, though, I didn't care for the romance in this. I struggle with characters who are too filled with anxiety and have a hard time finding their place in the world. One 0f the characters is like this and it's hard to read. I am sure there are people who can relate and I love that they can do that with this character. 

Banner plays with the secret romance and the former friends to lovers tropes well. He knows what he's doing with this genre. The characters care for each other and you want them to succeed, no matter how unlikely the pairing is. 

Banner shines with the supporting characters. A lot of former characters make an appearance and with these brief interactions, we get to see into their lives and what's going on. I appreciate that. I would really like it if he did a short story collection to touch base with them. In this book, we're introduced to a couple of new characters that could make good books for them up. Kudos to him for setting that up.