Jared lives a lonely life as a gay guy in the small Colorado town of Coda. Matt is a policeman who moves to town and soon befriends Jared. He's not gay, but he and Jared click. They mountain bike together and hang out. Matt puts up with jibes about his friendship with the town's gay guy. When it gets too close to home, he starts to sleep with an unsuitable woman to block the rumours. It's hardly ethical, or satisfying. Very slowly, Matt opens up to Jared about the man he's long denied, and his bisexuality.

I liked the storyline which I found quite provocative. I must have read many novels with this same bi/gay denial trope but this seemed quite real - the way Matt was so stuck. He worked in a macho work environment, was a minority in a small town, and was terrified of being branded queer.

Thanks to the tropes of the romance novel, he rises to claim happiness for himself and Jared. Thanks to the times, maybe this scenario is more likely than it once was. The book was released in 2010 - I'm guessing the 10s was a decade when the POV of this novel was still mostly a fairytale. But perhaps in the current decade, the 20s, the storyline could appear in popular fiction? ie outside the Romance realm. (Can anyone comment whether it has appeared in mainstream fiction?)

(After reading the reviews below) - Wow, this book has garnered 32 reviews - that's so many more than I usually find. Reenz38 - we are of like mind - I was actually going to comment that Matt and Jared were not characters I'd forget too soon. And I'm glad you pointed out how hard it was on Jared too, to wait for for Matt. ( )

Promesse è un romance carino che racconta dello sviluppo della storia tra due uomini che vivono in un piccolo paese sperduto dove ci si conosce tuttə e l’omofobia scorre a fiumi.

Si tratta di una storia piuttosto classica, senza grandi particolarità dal punto di vista dell’evoluzione dei personaggi, ma, visto che è un cavallo di battaglia così radicato nel fronte omofobo, mi sento di citare la presenza del tema dell’omofobia in ambito scolastico, intesa come rifiuto di avere insegnanti gay per “proteggere” l’incolumità dellə studenti, sia fisica (dalla presunta sessualità rapace delle persone omosessuali), sia morale (dalla presunta capacità di convertire lə giovani innocenti all’omosessualità).

È bello vedere nel romanzo come l’ignoranza cada di fronte alla conoscenza e di come le giovani generazioni siano più propense a imparare. ( )

This was such a sweet story. I'm never sure what to expect from m/m stories, as so many are written just for the sex, but I'm so glad I gave this one a shot. ( )

I have read the entire Coda series from Marie and though the collection does not live up to this first book as I would have liked it to, it was good.

This book is GREAT. Some days I'm reading other male erotica and STILL find myself thinking about jared and matt! how strange is that? Like the characters themselves just wander into my mind once more.

With this story, I found it to be real. Marie didn't wrap Matt in ribbons and just made him a straight turned gay guy. It was difficult for him, as much as it was for Jared to wait for him to adjust. I also loved that this book wasn't the sex in every chapter one either.

I would definitely read this again. Just for fun . ( )

This is a great start to what I'm sure is a wonderful series. I fully intend to find out. In this story two main characters had lots of ups and downs. Some hard times and some that gave you big smiles and some laughs. The characters are wonderful...well, with the exception of one.... but I guess you need at least one bad guy. I found that it was a book that I just didn't want to put down. Jared is a confident, cute and lovable character. His heart is firmly planted in his home=town of Coda, Colorado with his wonderful family, his favorite football team, and now, with Matt, a very sexy cop that is new to the force.... but firmly locked in the ever-present closet. It seems that some of the folks in small town Coda have no room in their hearts or their lives for gay people like him.... though he has lived there his entire life. It’s not all bad, however. There are still quite a few that avoid Jared like the plague...but he has some good friends and a wonderful family. He's so tired of small-minded people that seem to just seem to hate gays for the sheer fun of it. So, yes...he’s lonely but Matt seems to want to be his friend...watch football with him, go mountain bike riding...and Jared realizes that even though Matt doesn't have the nerve to admit it yet...he wants a whole lot more. Matt's getting grief from some of the other cops on the force for hanging out with Jared, so he tries to date a woman.... but he’s miserable. The more he gets to know Jared, the more he wants to really BE with him. Sometimes life just gets to be too much when too many things are pressing down on you...and Matt begins to feel like a ticking time bomb. It becomes a tossup if they can make things happen or if they will stay away forever. Matt's father.... oh, what a "Grinch" he was. He was completely over-the-top, in-your -face...HORRIBLE. Nothing likable or redeemable here folks. It was good seeing Matt finally stand up to him. Matt is so confused for much of this story. He’s been brow-beaten into thinking love is wrong between two men, mostly by "Dear Old Dad". His family, his job....it seems to him that everyone wants something from him except no one bothers to ask what HE wants, except Jared. He wants Matt to be happy...and he wants Matt to love him as much as he loves Matt....even if they can only be as just friends. As I have learned with most M/M Romances, if you just keep turning pages things usually work out. The story is very well written. I really liked this book and couldn't help but give it 5 -stars for the simple, pure enjoyment of it. ( )