Review
I adored this book, like from top to toe, absolutely ADORED it! Stand in Place by Mary Calmes was my first read of 2020, and until the last chapter of the book, I thought it was going to be my first 6 star read as well. It didn’t quite get there for me, because we all know I’m such a stingy bitch with those 6-star reviews, but regardless, Stand in Place is magical.
We learn very early in the story that Kaenon Geary isn’t a typical character. As the reader, there is something about his voice that draws you into the story. It was really about him and finding his way back home, not just about the romance between him and Brody.
A little background and maybe some spoiler, Kaenon hasn’t been back to his hometown in little over a decade. His Grandmother, who raised him along with his Grandfather and Great Aunt, finds out she is dying and asks Kaenon to come home. As Kaenon gets acclimated back to small-town life, we get snippets from his childhood and how he came to live with his Grandparents. I cannot even describe to you how I felt when I read his coming out scene. I’m a straight white woman from the middle of nowhere, small-town USA. I have no experience of what it would be like to come out or being gay. But reading this scene, I sobbed, and it was ugly, uncontrolled sobbing. All I could think about was my three babies. Those beautiful, wonderful girls who I love more than my own life. The way that his family reacted to him coming out was heart-shattering. As a parent, it was unimaginable that they would verbally and physically abuse him. The writing was fantastic because it made me feel his emotion. This scene was probably the most emotional coming out scene I’ve read to date.
Mary Calmes story telling in this book was perfect. The only reason I couldn’t give it a 6-star review was the ending. I enjoy books that give me a little closure — tied up just a tad bit prettier than this one, which had more of a fading scene at the end. That isn’t going to stop me from recommending the hell out of this book to anyone and everyone who will listen! Five great big beautiful stars for Stand in Place.
*Side note- I listened to this book on audible, and Greg Boudreaux narration is epic. He really took this book to the next level for me.
Blurb
One summer won’t be enough….
Kaenon Geary was done fighting the small minds in his sleepy Texas town when he made his escape and never looked back. But now, for the first time in more than a decade, he’s returned to Braxton to spend the summer with his beloved grandmother—her final summer—and no longer recognizes the home he’d left behind all those years ago.
Everything has changed.
Everything but the man he’s never stopped wanting.
Brody Scott was the local football hero who became a gridiron champ, but he retired from the fast lane to forge a new life as the Chief Constable of Braxton. He longs to put down roots in the community he is now sworn to protect. Though he’s not at all sure he can protect his heart from the quiet, earnest boy he once knew. The boy who has come back a man.
Starting something would be a mistake. Kaenon plans to fly away at summer’s end, but his love is something Brody desperately wants to have…and to keep. Their days together are numbered. Unless some simple hometown magic can make all the right things bloom and show them the true definition of love.
