After the Crash

Welcome back to our regularly scheduled programThis is a well crafted, smooth as EVOO, hit-all-the-sweet-spots type of book and I'm not complaining one bit. It's what I wanted at this moment, and having it performed by [a:J.F. Harding 8279965 J.F. Harding https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] was the tinsel & sparkle I needed. I'm happy I'm not a blurb reader because IMO the one chosen for this does it no favors.This is the story of Fox and Marshall who were in the same high school graduating class, but weren't friends, both wanted out of their small town, for different reasons, and at the age of 28??? have come back to said small town, also for different reasons. One day their paths fortuitously cross and that's all she wrote.The particulars are ones we've seen before:Marshall is the geek who made it big in Silicone Valley, he's taken a Sabbatical from work, and has come home to make peace with his past as the kid who got bullied in school for being obviously gay.Fox has come home after being discharged from the Air Force with his severe PTSD.Sam (a local emo teen) has ... problems.All of these are dealt with mostly on a surface level, this isn't a heavy book despite the issues it touches on. The only part that gets any real time is Fox dealing with his demons and it's mostly off page. I'm glad they weren't solved by the power of love or magic D. The other things like Fox's family issues, Marshall's business, the HS nemesis, the small town itself, are mentioned then dropped by the wayside. I guess I didn't mind because the development of Fox & Marshall's relationship takes center stage. Save for Sam, it's almost like a two-character play. It wasn't a chore. The story is told in dual POV and Marshall in particular is good company, he's funny, brave, and utterly compassionate. The smex (again in J.H. Harding's voice) is toe curling great.You can ignore the paragraph bellow and just enjoy this for what it is: a sweet pop song that will have you smiling. We all need that right now.* niggles*I did have some cocking-my-head moments mostly having to do with Fox jumping into the 8ft. side of the gay pool without ever acknowledging that he's gay or at very least bi. This “why label it” thing always strikes me too close to erasure. On the other extreme there's a thing with Marshall towards the end which I know is pretty fashionable nowadays in MM but that struck me as tacked-on and inauthentic to what we, as readers, knew about him as a character. It was like whipped cream on cheesecake, some people like it but I find too much, excessive, and distracting from the cheesecake goodness.