Book 939: Ben’s Boss (Maine Men #2) – K.C. Wells

I decided to catch up on this series after reading Finn’s Fantasy, way back in April of last year, and seeing the ARC of book six, Aaron’s Awakening, in the last week or so. I enjoyed Finn’s story and the Maine setting so thought why not.

We got a taste of the friend group that provides the characters for each book, but barely enough to even guess at their various personalities. Ben is one of the quieter ones who was bullied in high school and has the opportunity to leave his grocery store job for a little tourist shop. As luck would have it, his new boss is his high school bully, Wade, who was so deep in the closet he lashed out at anyone and everyone, but particularly Ben because he had the biggest crush on him.

I do love a good redemption arc mixed with unrequited love, and this one took plenty of time to play out with lots and lots of confused pining and apologizing. Ben was the best character for standing up for himself and making sure that Wade knew that he’d seriously messed with him, but that he came out the other side that much stronger.

This wasn’t a 50/50 narration split between the two and I that detracted from the story a little bit, with some back-to-back chapters by the same protagonists or even a single chapter split. Thankfully, Wells did a good job with the dual narration, so I knew exactly who was talking, but I felt there were times I wanted to hear from the other one more than the one talking.

‘I just wondered if you had someone who might be unhappy about you working late hours,’ Wade said with a nonchalant air.
You didn’t wonder that at all. You’re angling for information.
Ben knew it was reckless, but he wasn’t about to hide. He looked Wade in the eye. ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend right now. I’m young, free, and single.’
There was no missing Wade’s reaction. His eyes widened, his lips parted, and his expression grew dazed.
Ben smiled. ‘There. Now you know. I’m gay. Looks as if you were right about me all along.’ (52)

Wade’s character I think was better written, with the nerves, anxiety, and fear, but that didn’t stop me from loving Ben more. He made Wade work for it and say what he needed to say (including apologizing profusely when they finally talked about it).

I’m not sure if Wells has ever been to Maine, but she did a great job of describing Acadia and the Ocean Path (which we’ve done!), as well as the general vibe of vacationland, see what I did there? I know that path with the iron rods exists, but no way in hell would I go near it.

The best scenes whereas Ben and Wade were getting to know each other again and stripping back the onion layers. The crises of the novel revolved around Wade’s grandfather getting sick and calling Wade out on his very obvious crush/obsession with Ben and saying go for it. And then Ben finds Wade’s high school yearbook with hearts drawn around his photo.

‘You said you couldn’t believe I felt that way about you back then.’ Ben’s eyes glittered. ‘Wrong tense.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Ben smiled. ‘Then I’ll just have to use your own words to get the message across. Now, what was it you said? “I was crushing on you back then . . . and I still am.”‘ (208)

They sort it out and Ben drags Wade to meet with his friend group, to Wade’s utter terror and hesitation, but it works out in the end and the friends get to know the new Wade that Ben’s in love with.

I hope we get a bit more interaction with Wade and Ben in the other novels because I really feel like there’s so much more to their story, especially the plot purchase with Joel and Finn . . . SWOON.

Recommendation: I enjoyed this one, more than I thought I would. I think it edged out Finn’s Fantasy by just a bit, give me a redemption/unrequited love arc over a May-December romance any day. Both characters were well written and the angst was definitely lowkey. I hope we see more of them in the future and can’t wait to see what the next few books in the series bring.

Opening Line: “Ben White had lost count of how many beers he’d drunk, but he didn’t care.”

Closing Line: “What the fuck?” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)