It’s officially spooky season and this was the perfect book to kick it off! This is the 4th book in the Garnet Run series and the second of the series to be put out as a Harlequin Special Edition.
We begin as one of our main characters, Bram, moves into Garnet Run to move on from a horrible break up. Bram lives with his golden retriever, Hemlock, and he is at loose ends. He has just moved into a house at the end of a cul-de-sac on Casper Road, which is famous for its yearly Halloween decorating contest. His neighbor, the intriguing Zachary, has won the last 6 years in a row, which sparks a little rivalry between the two. Zachary is very competitive so he quickly becomes obsessed with winning, and a prank involving yellow paint starts a good-natured prank war as well.
The relationship between staunchly put-together Zachary and easy-going Bram is a lot less contentious than the summary on the back of the book makes it seem. They very quickly becomes friends (friends who maybe think the other is hot 😏) and the rivalry and prank war becomes something they bond over.
I loved seeing two characters who are pretty much exact opposites come together and fall in love. The thing that makes this book such a hit for me is that both main characters are straight-forward with one another and communicate well. The third act break up does involve a miscommunication, but not one where there is a misunderstanding. It involves someone literally not communicating something to their lover that would have a pretty big impact on their relationship. The main characters then lean on great side-characters to come back together and make it work. It was probably one of the most effective third act break ups and make-ups that I’ve come across.
There are also cameos from the other couples in the series, which is a nice Easter egg for folks who have been reading along. This series has become a comfort read for me, and I can’t wait to see what Roan Parrish has in store next for Garnet Run.
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