TEST
They say you can’t go home again. I don’t know how true that is really, but as you get older, I think how you see home, and how you see other’s actions, changes pretty drastically. In Lickety Split we get to see that return to home, and a view of the people you knew through different eyes. Especially that guy you always had a crush on…
After seven years, Patch Hastle is back in nowhere Texas, very much against his will. Patch’s parents died in a car accident, and there are the regular things to take care of – funeral, belongings, and inheritance of the family hay farm. He and his parents, however, had parted on bad terms – with Patch basically running away at sixteen after his parents reacted poorly, to put it mildly, to his sexual preference – and Patch’s father left his best friend Tucker as executor of the estate. Patch is furious.
The focus here really is on Patch, and how he deals with coming home to a place he’s been running from for years, a place where he thought pretty much everyone hated him. It’s the kind of homecoming no one wants. Patch has spent years getting his life to where he wants it; he’s a DJ, a model, and has plans to open a New York club with a friend and fellow DJ, and now he’s just… back home. But then he heads over to Tucker’s trailer, catches sight of Tucker teasing himself to orgasm, and all he can think is how much he wants.
And so, once Tucker catches him watching and Patch gets the invite to join in, there is a lot of getting it on happening. The thing is, what obviously starts as a way to get off quickly becomes Patch’s touchstone for the entire trip, with Tucker helping Patch with all the arrangements while also keeping him on a more even keel. Patch has a tendency to get stuck in his head, overthinking and rethinking everything, and Tucker gives him an out, both with and without some pretty hot, BDSM-lite sex. Tucker even joins Patch on a last minute New Orleans trip for Decadence festival (think mini Mardi Gras but specifically for gay men. There’s a fair amount of leather and semi-nudity. And lots of drinking and dancing). The two of them work well together, both in and out of bed, and their relationship just shines.
The thing is, I didn’t really like either Patch or Tucker for a good part of the book. Tucker just seemed like a lazy ass, and Patch was kinda obnoxious. Not really my thing. But by the the time the sex started to move more towards romance, I was fully invested, and I still have no idea how that happened. I fell in love with the idea of Patch-and-Tucker, even when I still didn’t like Patch or Tucker separately. Does that make any sense? Not to me, at least, but there you have it.
Heads up, though – if you can’t stand written dialects, be forewarned: this book is chock full of them. That, combined with the absolutely dirty way Patch and Tucker talk to each other, there were times it was a bit hard to read. I mean, I don’t need Tucker to repeat how he or Patch are “gonna nut.” Or talk about goo. Or jam. Really, all the sex scenes are pretty heavy in euphemism, which isn’t really my thing. They were pretty darn hot, though, so please excuse me as I sit here fanning myself! Tucker is pretty hot, with just the right hint of dom, Patch fell head over heels without even knowing, and the two of them together are hot like the burning sun. My goodness.
It wasn’t a perfect story, but I found myself enjoying it anyway. It was an interesting idea, written well (there were times it was downright lyrical), and the romance and erotica sides worked 100%. This was my first book by this author, and I think I’m gonna have to give him another go – just, maybe I’ll try to find one without dialects. Cause other than that, I’m a fan.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Erotic Romance
Sensuality: Burning
Review Date: 19/03/17
Publication Date: 03/2017
New Orleans native living in Boston. Yeah, it's a bit cold. Hello, winter.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.