Review: Smitty's Sheriff by Cardeno C. (Hope #3)
Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.
After three years, Richard Davis decides to cut ties with Todd Smitty, believing that Todd is too young to want to be settled down with a man seventeen years his senior. In the six months since Richard cut communication with him, Todd still has no idea what caused everything to just abruptly end between them. With the town's sheriff constantly avoiding any contact with him, Todd's at a loss but he may finally be able to get the answers his seeks--and maybe even a second chance with the only man who makes him feel worthy--when Todd's sister, who happens to be Richard's best friend, calls upon them to watch over her daughter while she's away. Richard believes living under one roof will be best for everyone concerned, but how long will he be able to resist the one guy he desires?
Hmmm. Now that I'm done giving a synopsis of this third novella in author Cardeno C.'s Hope series, I'm not quite sure how to put into words what I thought of Smitty's Sheriff. Just like the two before it, this latest release uses the May-December trope--which makes me wonder if the town of Hope is like the Mecca for couples like the ones in the series, but there was something about Richard and Todd's story that left me...unsettled. It was difficult for me to want these two men to be together. Richard treated Todd like he was a helpless boy in a man's body who had no clue how to fend for himself or even do the most basic of things such as wash his hands. It wasn't that Richard was condescending but more of him not really seeing this man he claimed to have feelings for as anything resembling an adult, and okay, maybe Todd WAS flaky, but he acted like a man-child because that's how Richard treated him.
I think what bothered me most was that Todd was never respected by either the man who claimed to love him and his own sister. The rest of the Smitty clan and their treatment of Todd is an unknown factor since they're only mentioned in passing. Heck, even Jared McFarland and Lucas Reika, the couple from the first book, McFarland's Farm, seem to realize that there's more to Todd than being some flirty, flaky twenty-something. It's Todd who develops and evolves in the story, but then maybe he's always been thoughtful and observant and it was overshadowed by other facets of his personality. Richard is the way he is and never changes, and frankly speaking, he didn't deserve Todd. I wish I could give Smitty's Sheriff a higher rating but it simply fell short. This gets 2.5 stars. ♥
Hmmm. Now that I'm done giving a synopsis of this third novella in author Cardeno C.'s Hope series, I'm not quite sure how to put into words what I thought of Smitty's Sheriff. Just like the two before it, this latest release uses the May-December trope--which makes me wonder if the town of Hope is like the Mecca for couples like the ones in the series, but there was something about Richard and Todd's story that left me...unsettled. It was difficult for me to want these two men to be together. Richard treated Todd like he was a helpless boy in a man's body who had no clue how to fend for himself or even do the most basic of things such as wash his hands. It wasn't that Richard was condescending but more of him not really seeing this man he claimed to have feelings for as anything resembling an adult, and okay, maybe Todd WAS flaky, but he acted like a man-child because that's how Richard treated him.
I think what bothered me most was that Todd was never respected by either the man who claimed to love him and his own sister. The rest of the Smitty clan and their treatment of Todd is an unknown factor since they're only mentioned in passing. Heck, even Jared McFarland and Lucas Reika, the couple from the first book, McFarland's Farm, seem to realize that there's more to Todd than being some flirty, flaky twenty-something. It's Todd who develops and evolves in the story, but then maybe he's always been thoughtful and observant and it was overshadowed by other facets of his personality. Richard is the way he is and never changes, and frankly speaking, he didn't deserve Todd. I wish I could give Smitty's Sheriff a higher rating but it simply fell short. This gets 2.5 stars. ♥
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Read my reviews for the Hope series:
McFarland's Farm (book one) - 3.5 stars - My Review
Jesse's Diner (book two) - four stars - My Review
Smitty's Sheriff (book three) - 2.5 stars - My Review (posted above)
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Release Date: 17 July 2017
Date Read: 17 July 2017
Learn more about Cardeno C.
Purchase Smitty's Sheriff on Amazon.
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