The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish: After he founds out that his boyfriend and his best 
friend were cheating on him, Bramble “Bram” Larkspur leaves all behind and moves to queer friendly Garnet Run to start a new life. There, he discovers Casper Road’s Halloween decoration contest, and decides to join the competition as a way to meet his neighbors. Soon, he finds himself competing to take down his neighbor—and the contest reigning champion for the last six years—Zachary Glass, while immerse in a prank war with him.
Both Bram and Zachary are very different. Bram is like a sunny day, usually seeing the good in people. His recent breakup forced him to be more cautious, but he still has this kind heart, something we could see in his ability to create amazing sculptures with wood. As someone who has to start over again, Bram has a few struggles to do it but his friendly and open personality helps him overcome everything that comes in front of him. Zachary, on his part, is kinda cloudy. Having suffered a lot in his childhood due to his looks, for being Jewish and a tragic event in his teenage years, he’s more introvert and lonely in some ways. He also has his life so rigorously structured that keeps him away to innovative things. Yet he’s a visionary in his work as an architect, being frustrated when the firm he works with doesn’t get his vision.
Zachary LOVES horror movies, Bam DREAD them. With that in mind, they started to watch movies and sharing points of view, realizing both men have more in common than they thought. And here’s where love makes its appearance, creating an unexpected bond between them.
I have a few issues with this book. Its writing is nice, but it has some awkwardness in Zachary and Bram’s interactions. The extremely slow pace of the plot doesn’t help at all. This is a slow-burn romance…without the romance? I didn’t see it, don’t know why. Also for some reason I didn’t didn’t get fully connected with this couple, and I read enough gay romance books to compare. In fact, I read book 1 of the Garnet Run series and their heroes were better together than Zachary and Bram. Not that Zachary and Bram are bad characters. They’re charmingly great, actually. Although I felt Zachary’s character better developed than Bram’s. It’s just they are a bit odd together. Or so that’s how I perceived them.
Since this is book 4 of the Garnet Run series, you can see characters from the previous books as secondary characters. Also, Bram’s family was perfect for a man with such beautiful heart as his. At the same time, for someone as introvert as Zachary, his friendship with Wes is magnificent.
This book was a fabulous discovery for me because it’s a LGBTQ+ romance. And I LOVE LGBTQ+ books! Ms. Parrish’s town concept is spectacular and alluring. Likewise, she made a fantastic researching job for this story. Also, there’s a nice balance between serious and funny moments. An easy reading if you consider it has a lot of architectural explanations. Looking forward for what this author brings to the Garnet Run series in the future.
Book Info:
Publication: September 27, 2022 | Harlequin Special Edition | Garnet Run #4
He’s in it to win it until he falls under his neighbor’s spell.
Bram Larkspur’s rugged, sexy looks belie his fear of all things horrifying. But as Casper Road’s newest resident, he’s excited to join the annual Halloween decorating contest. The competition is keen, especially from six-time champion, architect Zachary Glass. But when enigmatic Zachary sparks a prank war, it’s game on – until one sizzling kiss turns these rivals into allies. Now only one thing scares Bram: how quickly he’s losing his heart to Zachary.
