This is a long, complex story that tends to repeat itself. Other than that, it's an interesting story with fascinating characters. It has a bit of humor, a bit of mystery and a little sadness. I not a fan of Leo, but he is sweet, and he adds some of the best comic relief. Silas is compassionate and easy going, he has a calming effect on everyone. I did enjoy the story, it just could have been a shorter.

Parent’s guide:
Sex & Nudity: moderate (multiple open door sex scenes, oral and anal sex, frotting)
Violence & Gore: mild
Profanity: mild (a couple f***)
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: mild-moderate (major location is a bar)
Frightening & Intense Scenes: mild

While this book is a standalone book, I recommend reading it in context of the rest of the series. It works without the context of the series, but it makes more sense if you know the characters and setting (there are a few things that are referenced that don’t appear in this book).

I like Leo and Silas. Their past romance and how it ended leads to a strong tension between the two. They have to regain trust and learn what it would take to be a couple. I like their history and that it takes them time and communication to get together. They figure out together what a relationship would look like and what it would take to make it successful. I like that they really take time to resolve their relationship, and deal with issues that come from breach of trust. I also like the people from the town and how they are all so supportive and helpful to everyone. I also loved Leo’s ex-wife, I just wish her character was given more of a plot than just pushing Leo’s forward (even if it was from his perspective).

My biggest issue with this book is that I don’t love the soulmate theory. Both Leo and Silas have this belief that they cannot love anyone else the way they love each other. Which is fine, but not really my thing. In my opinion Leo reads graysexual/grayromantic but neither of them really seems interested in taking the time to explore that. They both have a mentality that they will just be sad and pine forever if this doesn’t work out. It was also frustrating that Leo pins the failure of his marriage on Silas, since he was still in love with him so he couldn’t love his wife. That’s a lot to put on any relationship. And nobody really addresses how bad that is.

*ARC copy provided through NetGalley

I would recommend reading the previous four books in the series because it's hard to follow all the characters without that additional info. It felt like I was missing out on story lines. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware this was part of a series when I requested the ARC. I saw the blurb and thought it was a great story and jumped in with both feet. It's a cute, small town romance but I would definitely not consider it a stand alone book.

I wanted to enjoy this but was overly unimpressed with the relationships, the dynamic, and the plot felt convoluted.

A beautiful love story, beautifuly written. However, I had some problems with it. First, the context of the sex scenes seemed to me more of an escape route for the author to not develop more the characters. The sex scenes themselves were super crude and badly written. Second, the way the story was going, I think that just one of the sex scenes that are in the book was necessary. Third, the idea of a woman talking and writing about gay sex, and so poorly written made me feel a little uncomfortable. But in general, the whole context of the book, of being a story of finding yourself, being happy with who you are and who you love, and accepting that without expectations, it was a fantastic story. There were amazing moments in the book, that I am not going to write down, to not give any spoilers, but it is worth the reading. But if I could give some advice about it, it would be to cut some of the sex scenes, cause they make the story stop, and I think it would become more fluid if there weren't as many as that were.

I want to say by the end of this book I really enjoyed it but the start was very hard for me. I came into this book not reading any of the others and even with it being a standalone the previous books always give some insight to the following books. With that being said I love second chance love, the love of knowing it was always you I just couldn’t get myself to realize it was you is top notch for me… a lot of tension between Leo and Silas.

The start is a lot I felt like (being I didn’t read the others) that you had a lot of characters all at once and it was hard to keep everyone straight., once you get that down it is worth the read absolutely.

This book was good.
Didn’t know that it was apart of a series from the description, and it felt like a character overload. I didn’t understand who or what was going on at the beginning! Besides that, I thought the book was good! I love books where characters questioning themselves and finding their sexuality, something I feel that need to be protracted more in media! Now I want to read the whole series!

The Wrong Man is an "it's always been you" second-chance romance. This story follows Silas and Leo who grew up in a small town together. Leo broke Silas heart when he decided to leave. When Leo returns to their small town years later, they face the question of "are they meant for each other or not? can they get past the hurt?" Overall, I enjoyed reading their story, but it did feel repetitive, meaning they kept going through the same notions over and over.

However, it was hard for me to get hooked in the story at the beginning. I did not know this was part of a series and although it is a standalone, I was lost. There are many side characters and although the author tries to introduce each one I couldn't keep up with who was who, even at the end of the story.

I wasn’t aware this was part of a series when I requested the arc, so that’s my bad. Because of that it was a little hard to follow along sometimes because I felt like I was missing a lot (I was 🤣). Other than that it was a cute small town romance!

I think that the writer really had some great intentions and wonderful ideas with this novel, but it was actually hard to follow. There were many times that I found myself lost and not really sure what was going on.

However, I really liked the concept of the childhood friends that turn into more. That is one of the most adorable topics to read about.

A cute small town romance that has some childhood friends to lovers with a devastating end to now enemies to lovers as adults! Also with some great side characters and found family vibes! Definitely recommend this adorable romance!

When I read the blurb for this book I was super excited for it, and I still think it’s a great concept and story. The will they/won’t they between Silas and Leo is full of tension, the anxiety of Leo figuring out his sexuality is something I think a lot of people will identify with, and the small town universe and associated cast of characters was wonderful.

However, while I loved all the side characters who I now know appeared/will appear in other books (I didn’t know this is book #5 which is my own fault), I was very lost. Just when I thought I had it together I’d get confused again. Some form of family tree/relationship map in the cover would have helped immensely. Unlike other interconnected series I’ve read, I wouldn’t recommend reading this as a standalone.

It was also too long, or maybe too repetitive, or both together somehow? I became so frustrated with the two main characters continually pulling away from each other that I almost DNF’d the book somewhere between pages 550 and 630 (but my brain needed to know what happened and I’m glad I got my HEA).

Also, I was missing random pages here and there in my copy? Like an entire page or two of dialogue/key scenes which was super jarring and I kept feeling like I missed things.

Would I recommend to others though? Yes. Would I re-read? Probably not unless I actually read the whole series.

It was a bit difficult to jump into a book with a world that has already been built up from other books (no fault to the author, I just haven't read the other books), so it was overwhelming at times. Silas and Leo are sweet main characters, and I love the "will they, won't they" trope. As the story progressed I found it difficult at times to keep reading because of how repetitive the pattern of Leo pulling away from Silas.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book.

This story was cute, but I pretty lost half the time having not read the previous books in the series. There are A LOT of characters, and a ton of names and surnames and intricate relationships to remember and keep track of, which I felt definitely hindered my ability to follow and enjoy the story.

The MCs were really sweet and while it had a slow start, I did enjoy the will they/won’t they aspect of their relationship. I was certainly rooting for them.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley and XPresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own.

The Wrong Man by AS Kelly was so much more than I hoped!

Readers find themselves immersed in a small town with interconnected families who have lived through hardship and joy. We meet Silas, who has stayed put, warm in the comfort of his many family members, but lacking in the romantic love department. His one true love Leo left years ago after marrying a woman, despite his close relationship with Silas. When Leo returns to town, suddenly single, Silas is wary about opening himself up to Leo. He doesn't want to be hurt again.

This book is full of angst. Mind you, it takes a little time to get moving - there's alot of players to map out in this book. There's alot of background and in the scheme of things pretty relevant, when all things are said and done. There's alot of backwards and forwards between Leo and Silas - Leo is unwilling to commit as he believes he's totally the wrong man for Silas, and Silas is clear as clear can be - he wants everything, and is unwilling to settle for anything less. There's alot of dialogue about being out in a small town, but these aren't the only gay couple, and the book looks at how the respective couples navigate their individual circumstances. There's conversations about labels, attitudes, and stereotypes, and alot of what would be considered masculine stereotypes who are strong allies of the gay characters in this book. There's other heavy themes in relation to grief and loss, physical disability, and parental alienation and fracture in families. There's also plenty of banter, jokes and sarcasm which plays out well - and some hella sexy scenes between our two MCs.

Loved this one, once it got going.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I wanted to like this one I really did. I love the “it’s always been you” trope. And Silas and Leo have some sweet moments. But….it’s painfully repetitive and it starts making less and less sense as it goes on. It starts with them being apart because Leo broke Silas’ heart and married someone else. Now Leo is divorced and back in town. After some charged interactions you learn they’ve always wanted to be together and they try to have a relationship. But they get together and break apart countless times in this book and it’s kind of ridiculous. I think 2 stars is pretty generous all things considered.

It was a solid Rom-Com that leaned a little toward general fiction. The two leads were well-developed with distinct personalities. I enjoyed getting to know them. I got the feeling other characters in this book appear in their own books. It was a little jarring being dropped in the world and having to sort out the different relationships having never read this series. I enjoyed the writing style. It was a good, easy read. Thanks to NetGally for the ARC

This book is part of a series and all of the characters are a huge part of this book. I have not read the other books and so I am overwhelmed. There’s too much going on and I skimmed the book to read about the main characters. If the book was solely about them I could finish this but there is so much I am lost about. The writing is good but I don’t read much m/f so I don’t think I’d read the rest of the series. No rating since I didn’t fully read the entire book.

*ARC received via NetGalley