The Remaking of Corbin Wale

I received a galley of this book from Riptide Publishing via NetGalley, though this has not influenced my thoughts or opinions of this book.

Wow, this book blew me away. I've recently read all of Roan Parrish's Middle of Somewhere series, and enjoyed it (though some books were better than others). This book felt so richly layered with a touch of mysticism* that the book felt reminiscent of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, Nuts by Alice Clayton, and the first book in the Middle of Nowhere series. All that said, the book still felt fresh and new.

Alex was such a likable and empathetic main character, especially with how gentle and empathetic he felt toward Corbin. It was nice to see their friendship/relationship develop over time and with repeated interactions. No insta-love here. I also loved that Alex had strong feelings about Thanksgiving and how problematic a holiday it is, and the nod to his Jewish heritage with Chanukah. Parrish didn't give it lip service but instead made it a strong feature of the second half of the book, and I thought it was very well done.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this one. Excited to see if Gareth and Orin have a book next!

* SpoilerAlthough it's presented as a mysticism and fantastical element, I thought that some of Corbin's actions seemed representative of neurodiversity.

This book made my heart happy. I enjoy romance in books but I usually don't love romance books. This pleasantly surprised me because the characters were lovable, it was kind of witchy, and while there was some tension, it didn't exactly follow the predictable formula that a lot of romantic novels follow.