Rating: 5
Steam: 3
PoV: dual, 1st person
Series: Forestville Silver Foxes #7
Genre: contemporary romance, MM
Tropes / tags: love later in life, hurt / comfort, sexual discovery
I can’t get enough of Forestville, and Welcoming the Recluse had some amazing hurt / comfort! I loved every page of this one, it hit close in a lot of ways for me and I don’t think I ever cried this much during a Nora Phoenix book before.
It was such a beautiful and gentle friends to lovers romance, with the best kind of slow burn. Mac and Arek both had a lot to deal with, and neither of them expected becoming friends or falling in love with each other. Mac had been isolating himself on a mountain, doing his best to stay clear of people and avoid dealing with his PTSD. Arek was working too hard, and with being a single dad he was exhausted and balancing on the edge of burnout. They saw each other’s struggles, and I loved the quiet understanding that they shared.
They had a strong connection and it was great to see how seamless their friendship and later on relationship developed. The trust that grew between them was precious, and they were so supportive of each other, knowing when to push and when to just listen. There was a lot of vulnerability and rawness in their story, and I loved every moment of hurt / comfort between them.
Welcoming the Recluse was a beautiful and emotional love story that I couldn’t get enough of! It was a heartfelt romance, and I loved seeing Mac and Arek starting to heal together. I always have a great time in Forestville, and I really hope that there will be more books in this series. If you’re a fan of sweet and emotional romances with love later in life, small town vibes and found family – I highly recommend checking out this series!
Book links:
Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub | StoryGraph
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