A review by mollyreadsandcrafts
Down and Out by Parker St. John

3.75

Nate moves back to his hometown of Sweetwater to help his family out, but the last person he wants to run into is his ex-best friend Tucker. Tucker isn't the boy he once knew and as Nate sees a new side to Tucker, he starts to understand that there's more than meets the eye.

Nate was an interesting character and, as usual with this series, he's got a big old bone to pick with someone from his past. Nate comes in hot and furious but soon sees that he was wrong about his old friend. Tuck might be a closed off, grumpy as hell cowboy but he has a gentle, patient side when working with horses (and for Nate). Nate is reminded of his fondness of Tuck when he starts to understand why Tucker is the way he is. He appreciates Tucker's strength and determination and even more so, he admires his gentle vulnerability. Tuck has lived a rough life but the one constant has been his secret devotion to Nate. He can't trust himself, but he can put his trust and love in Nate. Nate might not have understood when they were kids, but now he's the steady rock for Tucker to lean on and prove that he will never leave again. 

One thing that bugged me was I never really understood what exactly happened that made Nate and Tucker have a falling out. We got a flashback that went up to that moment, we were told what happened after, but the actual big turning point wasn't really talked about. I would've liked to know what went down to make Nate drop his best friend and then basically turn his back on someone he trusted his entire life and not even try to help Tuck when he was struggling. Weird thing to do to your soulmate, though I will give Nate the benefit of the doubt that he was a closeted kid in a small town. 

I like this series overall but it's not really hitting me with the emotions or grabbing my attention. It's fine but each book has just kinda lost me at some point. This book started strong and had some amazing dramatic one liners. There was also a really exciting 10% in the last bit and a cute ending, but it doesn't really change how just okay I felt about the middle. I did really like seeing Cal and Eli all loved up and getting some closure between Cal and Tucker. The next book looks really promising, and I'm hoping it picks up the series a bit! 

Read if you like: 

• friends to hate to lovers    

• small town romance    

• redemption arc    

•••••••••••••••••••••