Coddiwomple

By: S.E. Harmon

Narrated by: Nick Hudson

As a wildlife photographer, Journey "JJ" Sutton never stays in one place too long. The world is his classroom, and he’s living his dream. His only regret is that he had to sacrifice the love of his life to do it. But as the saying goes, you can never go home again. That’s until there’s a family emergency, and he has to…well, go home again. His easy breezy lifestyle gets complicated fast. It certainly doesn’t help that his ex-fiancé has bought the house next door.

After an unstable childhood, Cameron Foster loves small-town life. He has everything he needs in his vet practice, his friends, and his animals. Despite what numerous exes seem to think, he’s not still in love with Journey. And so what if they add “benefits” to their friendship? As long as he keeps his heart out of the equation, everything should be fine.

Too bad Journey's not onboard with that plan. With summer ending, he has to convince Cameron that this is more than just a fling. This time around, he knows what he wants. He wants a second chance. He wants forever. Most of all, he wants Cameron’s heart.

Journey may have put away his passport, but things are just getting interesting.

©2021 S.E. Harmon (P)2021 S.E. Harmon

A delightful second chance

This was a sweet book with a realistic and interesting second chance romance. It was easy to get invested in these characters and their happiness. The book is full of humor and heart!

I really didn’t like the narrator, who had a weird inflection that took me out of the story several times. Thankfully, it wasn’t so bad that I needed to stop.

The foreword is not in the audiobook, but I did see this in the ebook - the author found the word “coddiwomple” on a list of odd words and was so captivated by it that they knew they wanted to write with it. I’m so tickled by that origin story!

Satisfying romance

Lately, I haven't been reading/listened to a lot of contemporary romance that does not include some kind of mystery, life-or-death situation type thing, but I've enjoyed so much of Harmon's work before that this was on my TBR, and when the opportunity for an ARC came up from Gay Romance Reviews, it seemed a great way to get back into the no-killers-involved romance groove.
I was right - not once did I bemoan the lack of truly evil villains to identify, I was so involved in the characters in Coddiwomple and their story. I could sympathize with both Journey and Cam, how they'd been hurt in the past, not just by their original failed romance, but by others in their lives - and I had an equal urge at times to smack them with their own book, (metaphorically speaking). I also often wanted to smack Journey's brothers, (and occasionally his dad), upside their thoughtless heads and tell the nosy smalltown folks to mind their own business, because GEEZ. There were a fair amount of moments of misunderstandings gone wild, but some were immediately addressed and those that weren't were a flaw to the characters' personalities for them to work on, not a flaw in the story. There were many moments that I felt my heart in my throat in sympathy, but thankfully, there was a ton of humor to keep the story from being too heavy to endure.
As for the audio narration, it was pretty good. I saw at least one review mention the possibly slightly too long pauses in Hudson's speech pattern and I could hear it at the start, but either it stopped or I stopped noticing it quickly once I was wrapped up in things. Hudson's voicing of some of the older female characters in town was a bit caricature-like, but perhaps deservedly so.
All in all, I'm very glad I listened to this book - and it did take effectively get me back into this type of contemporary romance. Mission accomplished.

Wanderlust in small town

This had no right to be so good. The writing as always with this author was amazing. Funny in a conversation/thought pattern kind of way (which is addictive), and emotional at the right times. And just the right amount of angst to keep you going!

-second chance
-wanderlust
-animals
-angst
-small town vibes

Fantastic listen.

When I read this book for the first time, three years ago, it was my first S.E. Harmon book. I always had a fond memory of it, as second chances are very much my weakness. So when I had the opportunity for a re-read listening to the audio, I obviously jumped on it. Well, I did not remember this book being such a tear-jerker, or I guess I am just in a different mind frame, or maybe it was the audio that affected me so much? I don't know, but the book absolutely deserves the five stars I originally gave it. It's poignant, beautifully written and so moving!
Coddiwomple is a lovely second chances story. It’s very sweet but with a biting banter between Cam and Journey, hot as hell chemistry, and two men clearly made for each other, who take a roundabout way to find their place together again.
It’s also a story about healing past hurts, and, in a way, growing up (though Journey and Cameron are both almost 40).
There’s a bit of a dysfunctional family, a gossiping small town and some adorable pets.
Nick Hudson’s performance was great.

Wonderful second chance romance

I was intrigued first by the title, then the fact that one MC was a wildlife photographer and the other a vet. Sounded like a perfect mix if they could ever get together. What made this book as a superb listen for me was the fact that the characters acted like real, adult men. They had been together when they were too young to make it work - each pursuing their dreams that led in different directions. Now, when Journey has to come home to the small town where Cameron has his practice, they reconnect and are older and wiser. They talk things out and show the maturity they've gained over the years and this time you are sure they will make it work. Nick Hudson's performance here is wonderful. He keeps these two totally grounded in reality and hits all the emotional notes perfectly, never going over the top.