Book 916: Stronger Than Hope (Chesapeake Days #1) – Katherine McIntyre

I grabbed this one from Gay Romance Reviews because at first I thought it was set in Chesapeake, Virginia, where my sister lives (I really SHOULD start reading the blurbs), but quickly found out it was Maryland.* The other reason was that I apparently was going through a single caregiver phase. This was the third or fourth over a very short period and they just melt my heart every time.

The fact that I am an incredibly stubborn and very fast reader is the primary reason I got through the first few chapters and found that the book, series, and author have a lot of potential, which seems weird as McIntyre has nearly 50 books on Goodreads and you’d think they would’ve polished some of these things already.

Stronger Than Hope is the story of Nate, fleeing Boston after a breakup to take over the inherited coffee shop his late uncle left him. He’s a mess because he’s clumsy AF and just wants to find where he belongs. A series of clumsy/adorable meet-cutes lead him to Linc(oln) and his son Beckett, and the romance begins.

I want something permanent, something real. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a few random flings, but I’ve been looking for someone who makes me see the future. Who can quiet my mind and tether me to the ground, because I tend to run away with myself otherwise. (Chapter 7)

I thoroughly enjoyed that there was no sex for a large portion of the novel. It slowed it down and a better author could’ve done more to build the simmer and the sexual tension, but McIntyre didn’t so it fell a little flat at times and was a bit of a slog.

Book two’s protagonist stood out right away, Nico in Stronger than Passion, and if I had to take a wild guess, Jeremy will be the protagonist of the untitled book three. Thankfully, McIntyre saved herself and I will give books two and three a chance.

The scenes with Linc’s son Beckett were by far the best written and I was so glad when Linc started to let Beckett interact more with Nate and it lead to the final couple of scenes that were just freakin’ adorable and may or may not (totally did) have caused a single tear to slide down my cheeks while I was reading this on vacation at the pool. You can’t stop that type of annual ridiculous streak right?

Now for why I rated this book as a 3 on Goodreads. It probably would’ve dropped to a 2 instead of the rounded-up 2.5. There were so many little things that when added together it just annoyed the sh¡t out of me:

First, for someone who was really trying to get out of town (LINCOLN), there was no discussion about it with anyone or even internally until more than halfway through the book. There were very brief (final sentences of a chapter) early on, but seriously no plans were being made, no actual thought was being put into it until AFTER he met Nate. It should’ve been encompassing all of his waking thoughts or it should’ve started a lot earlier in the novel.

Second, there seemed to be A LOT that happened off the page. There was an entire scene set around a bookshop,

‘I know you’re a reader, so I thought this place sounded fun to check out. Look at some books and grab a coffee.’ Nate said glancing to the red lit sign reading Book Attic in plain font. ‘ But clearly, I don’t know the area, so I probably picked one of the shittiest spots around.’ (Chapter 19)

that made absolutely NO sense unless it was mentioned in passing that Linc was a massive reader. I think it was a throwaway line, but you don’t pick a date like this on a throwaway line, you dig deeper see if it’s actually a passion or something they’d enjoy.

And FINALLY, there was this start to a quote:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph . . .

Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with this per se, HOWEVER, if you’re going to use it in chapters THREE, FIVE, NINE, NINETEEN, TWENTY THREE, and TWENTY SEVEN, you damn well better explain why it is the only exclamation a character has. I honestly thought I was making it up when I saw it the third time, but when I searched the book after finishing there was some variation of that exclamation SIX TIMES, far too many for such a short work.

Now, not to end on a negative, as I said above looking at the overall book, especially the ending and their make-up after the misunderstanding, successful coffee shop opening (and getting rid of the heinous inherited manager), it probably could’ve gone to a 4 on Goodreads, but the gaps in the story, that one annoying AF quote the seemingly relaxed attitude of Linc trying to get out of town it barely nudged it to a 3. The sex scenes were well written if a little too Neanderthal and heteronormative for my tastes, but I can’t fault McIntyre there.

Recommendation: There are definite improvements that could be made from the storyline and plot holes (?) to truly ramping up the blurb selling points. Don’t tell me a character wants to escape town and have that be such a minor subplot that when it comes to being the crux of the crises I’m like “yeah . . . nope” and definitely don’t put in a common phrase so many times without giving a reason for it, like he grew up without swearing EVER, because I’m GOING to get annoyed. I’m not so annoyed I won’t read the follow-up, because as a minor character says at some point, “Thank f*ck for Beckett . . .” Linc’s elementary school-aged kid who brought more heart to the novel than anyone else.

*I received a copy of Stronger Than Hope via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Nate cranked the radio as he drove down the highway, unrestrained boxes bouncing around in the back of his Hyundai Sonata.”

Closing Line: “Nate had brought him back to life.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Stronger than Hope
“Back in Boston, he had plenty of rainbow-friendly spots to visit, but he always had to roll the dice in smaller towns.” (Chapter 3)

“Nico was in the middle of a conversation with Deb, one of the regulars, as they approached. His friend possessed the sort of stunning features and bright, clever personality that made it a mystery why he was still single, but Nico tended to go through guys too fast for anyone to keep track. With his natural good looks—thick black hair, smooth sepia skin, and sharp cheekbones—the dude could always find a hot hookup, and that had been his MO even back in high school. Linc had always been the opposite—find ‘the one’ and stick with them forever.” (Chapter 6)

“Jeremy’s eyes lit up as he scanned over Nate. The guy was shameless, like half of Linc’s friends, which had made him easy to date when Linc entered the field again. He didn’t have to make any guesses or play any games, and just as easily, their handful of dates and hookups transitioned to friendship.” (Chapter 6)

“Thank fuck for Beckett,’ Sarah chimed in. Another regular here, she worked at the bank in town, which he would’ve never expected from first sight of her. Her look was a splash of sophistigoth, with silver pendants around her neck, a black dress fringed with lace, and dark red lipstick. The second she opened her mouth, she swore like a sailor and reminded him so much of Laura that he knew they’d get along.” (Chapter 7)

“Was he moving forward or just running away?” (Chapter 18)

“Ever since he first entered the dating pool, he’d found guy after guy who pretended they wanted something real on the pretense of hooking up, or ones who tired of the awkward ramblings, his big, bleeding heart, and his neediness.” (Chapter 23)

“This place was his home, and even if no one ever wanted him for the long haul, he’d find his own way to build a future.” (Chapter 25)