This cute romance book will have you believing in love again. The banter is so quirky, and you'll want to hide your smile while reading. This is easily one of my favorites reads this year,

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.
This is the story of Silas and Leo, two old friends/romantic interests who are both from the same very small town, who have become estranged and now reconnect when Leo moves home again.
I feel like this story had a lot of untapped potential. The idea of friends to lovers to breakup to lovers again is compelling but I felt the execution was lacking. Neither character felt three-dimensional to me. Many of their encounters/conversations were very repetitive with no progress or movement of the story.
Leo gave off distinct gray-ace vibes and that was not explored at all—I think it would have added dimension to the story and helped with characterization, as well as worked with his realizations regarding Silas.
I know the side characters are all part of other books in the series but they didn’t feel much like distinct characters in this one. The whole town feels claustrophobic with how interrelated they are.
The beginning was relatively ok but it really bogged down in the middle and entire second half. I felt the pacing was uneven and it could have used more editing to reduce the repetitive nature of Silas and Leo’s encounters.
It took an effort to finish it. I was not invested any more by the end.

I really had high hopes for this book as it seemed cute as a second chance romance novel. This is part of a series which is my fault for not realizing however would say this is not a standalone read in the series as there are far too many characters who I imagine are introduced in the previous book. I unfortunately dnf'd 30% in as I just was so lost in understanding the plot and the characters and what was going on. For me there was too much going on and 30% in and I still don't know much about the two main characters and their relationship - I just had to dnf. I think had there been less plot for other characters in the book and more focus on the two main characters of this book I would have felt more invested but if the romance and chemistry isn't there then I'm not going to force myself to keep reading.

2 stars

This is a case of having too much expectations on a book.
This felt too long.
Too repetitive.
It was the same plot/situations over and over and sadly i got bored.
This had so much potential and it was not it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so Heart breaking, soooo cute!
An absolutely great plot! I could not put the book down.
I was so thanksful for this copy
I recommend this story to everyone who love new beginnings

This has everything I’m longing for in a LGBTQ+ book. This was cute, and it was something that I could read in a few days without feeling on the edge of my seat. Solid 4.5⭐️

Sadly I didn't really like this novel. I couldn't connect to either of the main characters and the plot and story was just... meh. I did finish it but it took a long time and my heart just wasn't in it.

The premise had potential, but the execution was a complete miss for me. I know this is a continuation of a series, but I felt like the side characters took up too much of the plot. There were often so many characters in one scene that it was hard to keep up with who was speaking. On top of that, while I appreciate the strong themes of family helping each other, it felt like the rest of the cast were the ones pushing forward the plot more than the main characters and it absolutely should've been the other way around. I really wanted to cheer Leo and Silas on because I enjoy second chance stories, but this was dragged out (definitely did not need to be 500+ pages) and I didn't have fun with their dynamic.

I'm not sure if it's due to language differences (the book is translated from Italian), but I felt the writing and dialogue was very awkward and at times clunky. There was a lot of inner monologue in both POVs, and some of it was really nice and even emotionally meaningful. But other times it just seemed like I was missing vital information. I can appreciate not wanting to share the whole story of what happened to these guys immediately, but it added to the confusion. I think the book would've benefitted from having some flashbacks to their past early on too so we got some sense of what they used to be because I wasn't too sold on the second chance for a long while.

A second chance romance in the small town of Connemara where everyone knows each other and everyone else's business, this was such a cute yet angsty read. I enjoyed the range in emotions that made it to the page as well as the camaraderie between all the side characters. I especially enjoyed how Silas and Leo eventually come together even though they had become estranged throughout the years.

Silas endeared himself to me immediately, but seeing Leo dealing with the aftermath of the decisions he made and the direction his life went knowing what he really wanted out of life--especially who he wanted--made my heart go out to him too. I could clearly see how deeply connected and emotionally tied they were, even when apart.

Although this is the fifth book in the series, it would help to have read the previous books since this is a very tight-knit group of friends and family and some of their stories are touched upon in this book. I've only read the first two and felt a bit lost in the beginning, but I understood that they're all a found family of sorts and that they all added something to the story somehow. Thankfully, as the story progressed there was more of Silas and Leo's story--more of their development, their engaging interactions and their superb chemistry.

I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who enjoys an angsty character driven story.

While I was a little confused by this book (I did not realize it was a series!), I enjoyed my time reading and will def try out the whole series.

I didn't know this was part of a series, my mistake obviously. But it's something I have to mention because I was confused throughout the book. Many characters are mentioned (I guess from the other books), they even have a lot of weight in the story, sometimes overshadowing the protagonists a bit.

It's not the first time I've read a series that mentions protagonists from other books, but it's the first time I've been so confused by it.

Again, my fault for not checking. In the end, it's something that played against the book for me

I like stories about second chances and reflections on your own life and the direction you want to follow in the future. In that sense, the book is very moving although it felt rushed at times.

But if you want a light and entertaining read with a bit of drama, this might be a good read for you.

I enjoyed The Wrong Man and was happy to see a happily ever after, but it felt like too long of a journey to get there with not a lot really happening to progress the story - the story somewhat felt boring. The very last little bit of the story was phenomenal - making for the 3 star read - and is really what I wanted from the entirety. I did enjoy the characters a lot, I just wish they got a more exciting story.

A sweet romance that shows that sometimes the wrong man can actually turn out to be the right man. As well as a second chance romance.

3.5 stars

While I enjoyed the writing style in this book I definitely don’t think it can be read as a standalone as I regularly felt as though I didn’t understand what was going on with various characters.

Nevertheless I loved the story of Silas and Leo and their complicated and heartbreaking journey to happiness. I wish I’d started earlier in the series to get a better appreciation for the range of characters.

The Wrong Man by A.S. Kelly follows the lives of Silas and Leo, two childhood friends who fell in love but were never able to get together because of Leo’s doubts and fears. Many years later they are both back in the same small town they grew up in and they will try to make things work, but history might just repeat itself and hearts could be broken again.

Even thought it’s a standalone story in a series, parts of this book felt overwhelming. We are quickly introduced to many characters, that appear in previous books of the series, and it feels difficult to keep up with who they are. Other than that, Kelly does an amazing job in creating the small town atmosphere, and the way characters act when it comes to small town gossip is spot on. Has a few spicy scenes which is always a plus in romantic stories.

"When I’m with him, I feel so overwhelmed by him. When I’m not with him, I feel overwhelmed by emptiness."

An emotional read that I could not put down. This was a second chance romance with a broken heart that will have you in your feelings.

I'm afraid that this is not a good novel. I wanted to like it, but wow, it's all angst and repetition. Plus, this is either a small town of 200 people where everyone knows everyone else's business inside and out OR it's a place where people hide away their obvious secrets, but Kelly wants to have it both ways. This novel wanted to be a slow-burn romance, which I would have been all for, but instead it crossed the line into redundant tedium. Bummer.

AS Kelly has become one of my favorite authors to read! I've gotten a few of her ARCS and have spent some time reading her backlist. This was a fun small town story and I loved it! I flew through and really enjoyed the characters the story and the male/male perspective. There were some heavy topics but they were done very well.

I really really wanted to get into this book, However I found the writing quite clunky. I struggled to get attached to the characters and wasn't very invested in the romance.

I will start off with the disclaimer that I have not read any of the previous books in this A.S. Kelly series. Often romance novels feel more standalone even within a series but this book tossed the reader in the deep end and was very self referential with previous books' relationships.

That being said, while I did enjoy that Silas and Leo got their happily ever after, it felt like the book dragged us to get there. The characters kept making the same mistakes in a will they won't they space and I felt like the stakes of this book felt on the lower end.

The last 20% felt more keyed up to introduce our protagonists for book six than truly focused on a wind up of the main story.

Within the context of the series, I think the book would have been really lovely, I just wasmissing some of that context and that did negatively impact my experience with this book.