Review: Hollis by Ashley James (The Moore Men #2)


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via The Author Agency.

Things are getting hotter in Wolf Creek, Texas as we return to this fictional small town in the second book of Ashley James's The Moore Men series. Older brother and single dad Finn Moore has gotten his happily-ever-after, and now, it's his younger brother's turn! Hollis Moore is the main character in his eponymous M/M romance, and this twenty-eight-year-old isn't looking for an HEA anytime soon. What this bisexual rancher is after is some no-strings-attached fun, and what better way to get that than through the Hive app? He matches with a guy whose profile photo doesn't show his face, but the rest of him certainly captures Hollis's attention. Their conversations make it clear that he's older, gay, and had a relationship end recently. And then Hollis's mystery man drops a major clue as to who he may be, and when Hollis picks up on visual confirmation, he comes to an intriguing realization. While he had no idea who he had been matched with in the beginning, forty-seven-year-old Ford Wesley, Wolf Creek Fire Department's very own captain, knew it was Hollis he was messaging all this time. Convincing Ford to engage in casual shenanigans isn't too difficult; convincing himself he wasn't falling for Ford? Impossible.

This was a rather fun read, with a lighter feel to it compared to Finn and Ash's story. Hollis and Ford seemed like such opposites, but the former definitely brought out a different side to Ford. I liked how Hollis nudged, prodded, and pushed Ford's boundaries, allowing the older man to embrace his sexual freedom and do things he may not have had the opportunity to while he was married. Then there was Ford being the man who made Hollis realize that being with one person and one person only wasn't some horrible fate after all. The whole keeping things on the down-low was an exercise in futility because it was rather obvious to everyone around them that something was actually brewing between them. It was fun seeing how their relationship developed over the days, weeks, and months, going from two people who knew each other because they lived in the same town and were connected by Remi, Hollis's best friend and Ford's lieutenant (and the son of his late best friend), to matched by hook-up app to lovers and then more. I'm giving Hollis 4.5 stars, and I'm already looking forward to reading Papa Gentry's book!

Date Read: 16 July 2025

Learn more about Ashley James.

Purchase Hollis on Amazon.

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