Best Friends, Tennessee

Hard Spot Saloon #1

by Raleigh Ruebins

I’m not attracted to men.
But I’ll break all my own rules for my best friend.

One thing is true about Ori he hates small town Tennessee. We were always I played football, he was in art class. I was straight, he was gay. I was popular in school, he never fit in. He fled to the city the moment we graduated.

It ain’t perfect here, but I love our country home. I missed Ori like hell, but now he’s back, living in my guest room after years apart.

Best friends reunited, right? …Like hell.

He says I’m too Tennessee for him now. So what if I love the local saloon, volunteer with horses, and wear a Stetson hat? I want a white-picket-fence life, and he wants all things casual. When I try to show him how good it can be here, he tells me to back off.

But I’ll check his cocky attitude when he calls me stubborn. He pushes? I push back.

I’ve got him up against the wall within 24 hours.

It’s a full-on fight, but it turns into… something else. A craving. Some twisted need to be close to him.

Being physical with him was what I missed most, but we were never physical like this before.

…He sure doesn’t mind how country I am when he’s in my bed.

Now I can’t get enough. But if he won’t commit to anyone, why would he with me? And how can I show him exactly how deep I’m willing to go?

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, Small Town Romance, Forced Proximity

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2025

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3 stars ⭐️

Keep your friends close, and your tongue inside your childhood best friend’s mouth.
…That’s not the saying. Definitely not the saying.

TROPES:
𐚁 Childhood friends to lovers
𐚁 Small town
𐚁 City boy vs country boy
𐚁 Queer awakening

Best Friends, Tennessee started off strong — childhood friends reunite, some tension, the city boy goes back to the country — but it quickly devolved into… I don’t even know what.

Was I crazy to come back? Or crazy to ever leave?

Their whole story felt like an endless loop, a weird back and forth between them loving each other to then stepping further away for reasons.
So Ori has commitment issues and Finn’s straight, but maybe he’s not straight for his BFF, but wait, they also fight a lot? But, no ‘I love you’, but it’s casual, but you’re mine, but if you wanna fuck others I’ll be ok with it, but I LOVE YOU, are we boyfriends??
…. My brain hurts.
All of that aside, the smut was low-key hot.

So fucking hot it was kind of shattering my brain, right now.

Ok Finn, maybe not that hot, but it distracted a bit from the confusing mess that is their relationship.
It felt like we were missing a bit of the backstory to fully understand their dynamic, the point of the fighting. The romance was rushed, felt only about the sex and their friendship, like ‘you’re my best friend, so that means I love you, right?’
I don’t even know what I’m rambling about at this point, so let’s cut to the chase: A quick friends to lovers, small town romance. It had some cute moments, but not enough feels.

“My life really was like black-and-white before you got back. Now it’s all in full color.”

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- Mentions of past bullying
- Mentions of parent drug addiction (off page)
- Strict top/bottom on page

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You can fuck whoever you want so long as you’re always with me,” was surprisingly the sweetest part of this book for me.

And no, there's no cheating or sharing or anything like that in this. It's just that with context, which would sadly be too spoiler-y, it's a really sweet thing for Finn to say to Ori in that specific situation.

The best part overall, though? That this was friends to lovers without the gay one having spent the first half of his life already pining for the straight one. If anything, the straight one fell fast and had to do a lot of the initiation. (FYI their first intimate scene wasn't even a hands on each other type thing but 🥵)

But it still had that inescapable best friends to lovers intimacy where the MCs don't have to learn things about each other from scratch or build trust because it's already there.

So basically, the best bits of friends to lovers and none of the worst bits(for me).

Did give me a chuckle that Finn had fireworks going off inside him when Ori committed to 3 years(again, context will matter here) because men are out here promising each other forever and your heart is aflame for 3 years. 💀

Anyway. I loved that they didn't just assume their relationship would be easy because they'd known each other forever. They were both very into the idea of going the extra mile to try making it work and that's probably what got me most of all.

Realizing I actually have a lot of positive superlative thoughts about this one. Maybe I am a mood reader after all because I can name exact points in time when this would have irritated tf out of me but today it was everything.

Don't get me wrong. There's no pushing the envelope in this. It's a small town best friends to lovers romance. It is what it is (kind of my least favorite pairing tbh because what do you mean they've already known themselves all their lives so there's not going to be much drama from them two AND they live in a very small town where nothing really happens, are you KIDDING me?!).

I did lowkey want to dock a star for one of the MCs being named Ori(because what kind of dumb ass name is that—sorry to any Ori's out there, but c'mon).

But that's a little petty even for me,so full stars because I literally can't think of any reason why not.

I got an ARC of this from GRR and this is my honest review.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally quite like Raleigh Ruebins's books but this one missed the mark for me personally. I didn't like either MC by the midpoint and just wanted to get it over with. Their relationship and the way they spoke to each other was too harsh for me. I liked the setup for Mason (Hot Mess's) book next but was just glad when this book finally ended.

[Alix]

3.5 - I really enjoyed Fixer Brothers so was eager to start in a new series from this author. This is a very sweet friends to lovers w/2nd chance between two MCs who have known each other practically forever. I am a sucker for that type of friends to lovers and this did not disappoint. Ori ends up moving back to his small hometown in TN to start over and ends up moving in with his old buddy, Finn. Ori hates small town life and Finn loves it, so they butt heads a lot, which provides some tension here. This is a lovely, cozy read when you just need something nice with solid writing and feel good vibes. Looking forward to the next entry.

I received a complimentary copy and am leaving this review voluntarily

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

This book isn’t about the small town vs. city life, or how small towns are better. Instead, it’s much sweeter, much more romantic than that. This book is all about Finn and Ori learning who they are, remembering who they were, and finding their way back to one another. There are fights, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and quiet talks at night, quiet secrets, and the uncovering of old hurts and missed moments. Ori has always known Finn is straight, and so has Finn, until he realizes he’s not entirely as straight as he thought.

The writing is good, the character work is good, and the pace — while a little on the slow side — is good. This is an intimate book, focused mostly on the two men without much beyond a sentence or two to the other people in their lives. If you’re looking for a nice, quiet romance, this might just be the book for you.

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.

[Fernanda Parente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing Friends to lovers story.
Finn is so sweet and Ori is just so insecure and bitter .
Ori is back and hate the small Tennessee town and Finn loves it and he's very excited to try to rekindle his friendship with Ori.
But suddenly the friendship is not enough...Finn wants more, so much more.
Highly recommended

[Melissa Polk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start with this: this book checked so many “omg I have to read this” boxes for me. Small town, southern-but-fictional-enough-to-be-comfortable (listen, I’m from the south and have Issues), best friends. Right from the start I knew I would love Finn. And I did. He’s kind and mostly-confident. Ori took me a lot longer to warm up to. Until more of his past/inner thoughts are revealed, he seemed like a judgemental brat, honestly. He grew on me, but it took some convincing. I’ll admit that I didn’t entirely get the “best friends who legit fight” thing, but I shrugged and rolled with it. Honestly, it was the emotions that did me in. Finn struggles with a lot in this book but it was his desperate need to belong, to have somewhere, someone to be his that got me.

I’ve read another series by this author, so it was no surprise to me that I enjoyed this one immensely. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the series brings. (please please please let Mason get a break and a book of his own. Max, too, with his mysterious ghost cat.)

[ash[hearts]angst · Rating 3 out of 5]

"𝘐’𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘖𝘳𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰: 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘐’𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯."

Best Friends, Tennessee is a small town, childhood friends to kinda strangers to lovers. It follows Ori and Finn and their journey of repairing their friendship.

Ori had always wanted to escape his small town life. He always wanted more and wanting to be accepted for who he was as a gay man. The small town of Bestens held nothing but terrible memories for him, all except the ones with his best friend Finn. After graduating, he took off to LA to persue his dreams in the art world, leaving his family and Finn behind.

Finn is our small town cowboy, who stayed in Bestens and made a name for himself. He's a massage therapist by day and helps everyone in the community in some way or other. He was always the golden boy in highschool, and always tried to stick up for Ori. Finn came from a rough upbringing, and really relied on the help or Ori's family when they took him in.

It was a super cute story and I LOVED the chemistry between Ori and Finn. It was sweet and sexy and riddled with tension. You could tell both of them loved each other dearly, and both were harboring some type of resentment. Finn offers a place for Ori to stay until he gets back on his feet and the proximity to each others brings old wounds to the surface. Slowly Ori starts to realize maybe he needs to forgive the small town and see it how it is now and all the people that are there who loves him. Finn is perfectly fine with his life and has never had an issue with not wanting to leave, and that's where the back and forth is between the two. Finn doesn't want ori staying for him because he knows how much he hates it, and Ori is wanting to stay because he's realizing maybe his dreams are different now.

The main opportunities I saw for this book was it needed more details. We have no idea why Ori up and left LA besides him getting fired. It mentions the name of an ex, but we never get literally anything else. Zero context. He worked at a fancy art gallery but was broke enough to move back home to the place he hated? Why? What happened?

We also don't get much about why Finn and Ori stopped being close. It was portrayed to be that Ori left and then they literally never spoke again unless it was during the holidays or random pictures. Ori wasn't even attracted to Finn before he left, so it wasn't like there was unrequited love or anything.. it just was glanced off and I think it would've helped the overall story.

I enjoyed the side characters and the small town of Bestens. I will probably continue the series and I hope we get more backstory and details in the next one!

Spice: ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest opinion.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging, engaged to be, and A new venue for Raleigh Ruebins

In the series Red’s Tavern and the Fixer Brothers Construction Company, Raleigh Ruebins created a community that we were invested in and watched as love and relationships were celebrated within circumstances that were relatable.

In Best Friends Tennessee, the first book in the new series “Hard Spot Saloon,” Ruebins brings Ori Adams, who ran from his Tennessee small-town community to escape a community that did not accept his gayness nor his associations. Ori hated the small town and all that it stood for when he was in LA.

Finn Hardy was his protector and a football player. They operated in two different worlds, but Finn came to stay with Ori’s family after an absent father and drug-addicted mother ceased to exist as a family.

Finn works in physical therapy and takes care of horses on a friend’s farm. He’s happy with his Tennessee life and is connected in the community.

Now back from college and the end of a job in LA, Ori stays in a guest room at Finn’s home, who continues to present as straight. Ori protests his return to where folks are “too Tennessee for him” and works for the time at his parents soda shop, presenting as himself and saying that he would soon be out of the community as his finances allowed it.

Ms. Ruebins provides an account of various ways Ori is included in the activities of the community, and most of that involves Finn at his side, or in the case of a bar night, Ori doing body shots on Finn.

We find interactions between the two men facing some of the standard tropes; each has an awakening, each recognizes the deep bond they have, and they face what may have allowed the lost time after Ori left the community for college.

Ms. Ruebins' books typically depict an awakening, provide comfort, and culminate in a happy ending that garners significant public recognition. In this case, one key point came in the word ‘possessive,’ in which Ori comes to believe is not such a dirty word. And an admission by Ori that the two “were attached for life” and that their relationship was much more than friendship.

Ori further reflects on their lives together and his relationship status now “as if the awkward moments in high school never happened.”

This is a pleasure to read because it’s absent the excessive tropes of some books that lengthen page count without adding to the story.

If you have not experienced the Fixer Brothers series, I strongly recommend that you do. They are a strong testimony to Ms. Ruebins ability to build a community and to weave fantastic stories around the inhabitants.

[RBR]

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ~ C.S. Lewis


Ori, of 'Best Friends, Tennessee' by Raleigh Ruebens, left his small town for life in the big city as soon as possible. Besten, Tennessee was full of hatred and discrimination and was not a good place for Ori. Ori swore he'd never come back, but circumstances forced him to. Needing a place to stay, he swallows his pride and asks his friend Finn for a favor, giving him a place to stay.

Finn is surprised that Ori is back to Besten. They were best friends when they were younger but have grown apart. Despite their distance, when Ori needs help, Finn offers it. Reluctantly, Finn agrees to have Ori stay with him for a while. Even after all this time, Finn still yearns for their closeness before things got so complicated, but he doesn't know how to make that happen.

Ori is relieved to have a place to stay but detests having to ask for one, especially from Finn, for whom he harbors deeply conflicted feelings. Ori feels he is in the way and is cramping Finn's style. He is determined to find his own place as soon as possible.

Ori learned long ago that the best way to deal with ridicule is to act as aloof as possible as if nothing matters. Unfortunately for Finn, Ori treats Finn with the same indifference that drove a wedge between them. Ori doesn't know how to act around Finn other than pretend he doesn't care, even though he secretly does.

Ori and Finn continue their dance of deception; neither truly is happy with the situation. After days of avoiding the elephant in the room, they finally get to the root of the problem. Finn always thought he was straight, but his feelings for Ori go beyond traditional definitions of orientation; Ori has forced himself never to entertain sexual thoughts of Finn. If they can't find a way to communicate their feelings and desires, they will remain in miscommunication purgatory, never knowing what might have been.

'Best Friends Tennessee' is a story about two men who needed to be together but were too thick-headed to admit it. I loved Finn and sympathized with him much more than Ori. Even though he wore his aloofness like a coat of armor, Ori carried it too far, especially when it came to Finn. I enjoyed meeting Ori’s family and friends, and, of course, the ghost cat. Thanks, Raleigh, for bringing them together.


DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book was purchased by the reviewer.

[Theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had the potential to be amazing, but the lack of tension and the super quick resolution of problems kept this ok.

Idk, there was just something off about Finn and Ori's dynamic. It was hot and cold but in a way that didn't fully make sense.

It was weird how they kept calling each other their best friend when they'd also said how much they'd drifted away from each other. Then Finn suddenly confesses that he got a BJ from a guy even though he literally had trouble properly talking to Ori just the day before? What happened that made him so free to talk about something so personal to a guy he didn't know very well anymore?

The weird "Finn and Ori bond by fighting" thing was interesting but not really executed well enough to feel like it made sense. They'd just get randomly physical and antagonistic then continue on as if nothing happened or that people around them didn't notice. I honestly thought that one of tier fights would've led to their first sex interaction, but that also just came out of nowhere with Ori coming to comfort Finn after a nightmare.

Then Ori apparently wanted to give Finn space after they jacked off together but he really didn't? Since when did doing body shots off a guy meant giving space?

The focus on Mason being a hot mess was weird. Who the hell gave a shit? He's not a main character or a love interest and it didn't have any real implication on Finn and Ori so idk why that was there.

Finn randomly wanting to suck Ori off also came out of nowhere. He been showing signs of attraction, but like initiating and swallowing felt a bit too much for a guy who'd previously only been with a single dude (and only on the receiving end of a BJ too)

There was a good story here with Finn needing Ori's friendship and feeling rejected by him when he left for LA + Ori's explicit attempts at pushing down his attraction but we only got it whenever they take about the past. Would've been nice to see it rather than getting glimpses of it in conversation.

And the whole FWB thing was very very weird considering they'd already said their "I love you"s though I suppose that was meant to be platonic (but they were literally having sex while doing it so...)

TL;DR: Was alright. The strained relationship between Finn and Ori wasn't as strained as I would've liked, their first time together was too easy, and there was a genteel lack of tension in the whole story, but it wasn't bad overall.

[BookishLatinaJenn (Jennifer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finn and Ori were once inseparable, the classic “opposites attract” duo—small-town golden boy meets artsy dreamer who couldn’t wait to escape. Now, years later, Ori is back, crashing in Finn’s guest room, and their reunion is anything but smooth. Tension simmers, old wounds resurface, and somewhere between the bickering and undeniable chemistry, lines blur in ways neither of them saw coming.

Tropes you’ll love:
🏡 Small Town Romance
💙 Best Friends to Lovers
🌿 Bi-Awakening
🌄 Grumpy vs. Sunshine

The push and pull between these two is electric. Ori is all sharp edges, a man who ran as far from Tennessee as possible, only to find himself back in the one place he swore he’d never return. Finn, on the other hand, has deep roots—steady, stubborn, and utterly devoted, even when he pretends he isn’t. Their relationship is a storm of miscommunication, longing, and history that neither of them fully knows how to unpack.

I loved the depth of their dynamic. Finn has spent his life wanting to belong, not realizing he already had everything he needed in Ori. Ori, for all his resistance, isn’t just running from Tennessee—he’s running from feelings he never quite knew what to do with. Their journey from friction to fiery passion to something real was addictive. I did find myself wanting more of their past on-page, I love a deeply fleshed out back story.

The small-town setting, the secondary characters (Mason stole the show!), and the emotional payoff made this one a truly satisfying read. The chemistry? Off the charts. The spicy moments? Chef’s kiss. The emotional beats? Hit in all the right places. If you love a romance that balances angst, humor, and heat with a whole lot of heart, this one’s for you.

A huge thank you to Raleigh Ruebins and Gay Romance Reviews for the ARC!

[Tara Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY OPINION: I am not even going to pretend I am not a Raleigh Reubins fan. I loved the Fixer Bros series and am very excited to see this one. It has a lot of the same feel which is wonderful All new characters and area but still something about the vibe which I love so count me in 100%. I can’t wait to read more from this Saloon.

I really liked this book; the two men pulled me in. Finn is steadfastly comfortable in his hometown, where he has everything he thinks he needs, but things never feel complete. It was mostly because the person he cared about most had pulled away, and even though they would see each other on occasion, it never felt right. And the one thing he wanted more than anything was his best friend back.

Ori had left Tennessee; it wasn’t for him. It was everything he didn’t like, didn’t want, and held him down. But was it? When he returns home, it’s not as bad as he thought. It is actually kind of nice. What had he been running from? When his best friend, who had become more like an acquaintance, agrees to let him stay with him, it doesn’t make things better…

Until.. Then, things change in a very unexpected way. Learning the truth they had both hidden, how they knew what they needed but hadn’t known how to voice it to find each other, makes for a wonderful HEA. I loved this book, maybe because it follows Raleigh’s writing style, but that hits all the points: you laugh, your heartstrings are pulled, and you worry just a little. I love these stories and can’t get enough. This book was wonderful, and as always, there are some fantastic spicy moments that I love. If you are a fan of small town, best friends, bi-awakening, adorable great men falling for each other. Read this and pick up Fixer Bros, too. You won’t be disappointed.

[Richelle Zirkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a little bit of a mixed bag, but I think this series as a whole is going to grow on me. Ori left this small town life where he felt his gayness wasn't accepted and he didn't fit in, running off to LA for school and working in art galleries. Finn was his best friend, as opposite as they could be though. He was a football player with an absent father and a drug addict for a mom. Through no fault of his own, when he was pretty much abandoned, he finished high school living with Ori's family and maintains a close relationship with them, especially with Ori's sister. Needing a place to stay now that he's back in Tennessee, Ori accepts Finn's offer to stay in his guest room. Finn is embedded in the Bestens' community, working on PT clients traveling from home to home and taking care of the horses on his friend and client's farm. Ori's back working in his family's diner, which is a weird feeling for him. It's a job he resents but which his sister and others acknowledge he flourishes at. While Ori just wants to point out how things haven't changed, Finn tries to show and tell him that he doesn't know everything about him and that things are different… The two do realize they're closer than friends and have feelings for each other, and the readers are supposed to believe there is history of this that has been there for a while, but the history really isn't presented as well as it could be. I enjoyed Ori coming to accept his place in the Bestens and at the Red Fox and interacting with his family and forming relationships outside of Finn. A bit more of the found family being injected here would have made me love it more. Finn's interactions with Mason were a highlight for this reason, and I can't wait for his story.

[Xanthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great new series from Raleigh Ruebins. I love the Red's Tavern series with small town vibes and an entertaining community and this has the same feel to it.
Two men who used to be friends but grew apart due to stubbornness and pride now have the chance to reconnect as Ori is moving back to Bestens and staying with his old friend, Finn, though things are quite tense between them. Ori hates everything about small town Tennessee, from cowboy hates to country music. Finn is hoping that this is the chance for them to reconnect but both seem to antagonise the other without even trying.
Sometimes it was hard to discern whether they were play-arguing or actually fighting but it makes for an entertaining read as well as getting them both to think harder about how their friendship got to the state it is currently. There are also occasions when things were said but then it was as though it never happened, with one or the other happily talking and flirting with someone else. It just made for a moment of confusion when I was sure 'I love you' was said but both men then went and acted like before. They are the opposite of each other and yet they really work well together, Finn showing Ori that small town life is now more welcoming and accepting, along with having your friends and family close. Ori has learnt to stand out and be his true self but also needs to accept that his small home town has moved forward.
There are some great characters that I can't wait to read more of and hopefully they get their own HEA, especially Mason, a.k.a Hot Mess.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.

[Amanda Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Friends, Tennessee by Raleigh Ruebins is a heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance that perfectly captures small-town charm, second chances, and the slow-burn realisation that friendship isn’t always enough.

Ori Adams left his small Tennessee town years ago, determined to escape the judgment and limitations that came with it. Now back temporarily, he’s bitter, restless, and counting the days until he can leave again. Meanwhile, Finn Hardy—the once-protective football player turned physical therapist—has built a life he loves, fully rooted in the community Ori wants to forget.

Finn is eager to rekindle their childhood friendship, but it quickly becomes clear that his feelings go far beyond nostalgia. The chemistry between them simmers beneath every interaction, and as they navigate their complicated past, unspoken truths start to surface. The result? A beautifully emotional journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and love that was always meant to be.

Ruebins masterfully avoids unnecessary drama, focusing instead on authentic character growth and a romance that feels genuine and earned. With a strong sense of place and a compelling cast of side characters, Best Friends, Tennessee is a must-read for anyone who loves small-town romance, deep emotional connections, and a just-the-right-amount of angst.

Highly recommended—especially if you enjoy Ruebins' Fixer Brothers series, which showcases the same fantastic storytelling and community-building!

[Bailie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! I absolutely loved it and the characters! The way that Finn and Ori’s relationship develops melts my heart and was written so well! I love that there was the basis of friendship first that had hit a few bumps in the road but that it’s obvious to the people around them that those bumps were because of the feelings that they were not only trying to hide from each other but also from themselves! I love the way that their friends and family support them even with the sudden change and that it’s not something that’s talked about it depth or that Ori and Finn every really explain, it just kind of happens and everything moves on! I love that even when ori and Finn are fighting you can still tell that they love each other and would support each other no matter what. And I also love that they do take things slow to an extent even when things start to change in their relationship! I think one of the things I love the most though is that by ori realizing that he is in love with Finn, it changes his perspective on the town that he had lived in growing up. He still didn’t feel like a cowboy but he was finally ready to accept that he could be different and still belong and enjoy the town! I think it was a great way of keeping the character together but also was so well written that it didn’t even feel like it was planned or forced to be that way! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!!

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one of the author’s new Hard Spot Saloon series based on the fictional town, Besten, (or as Finn and Ori nicknamed it as kids, Best Friends,) TN.

Best friends since childhood, Finn and Ori, had gradually grown away from each other during high school to the extent that, after graduating, Ori had fled Besten and ended up in LA working in an art gallery. Suddenly, out of a job, he finds himself forced to return to the one place he’d sworn never to go back to—Besten, TN, where he’d been bullied incessantly just for being different. Wouldn’t you know the only place he has to stay is with Finn?

Finn was Ori’s opposite. He was quiet, straight, a cowboy and he LOVED living in Besten! As a people pleaser, he sometimes found himself in relationships because he wanted to give his dates the full boyfriend experience😂 but he was still so incredibly sweet and loved by everyone in town.

This was a steamy best friends to lovers romance and I loved it! There was zero angst (which I was thrilled about), best friends reconnecting and, like I already mentioned (but it deserves repeating), lots of steam. So if you’re a fan of friends to lovers or just love the author, I can’t recommend this book highly enough. 5 stars!

I received a copy of this book for free from GRR but this is my honest opinion.

[Michele (_LivesBtweenPgs_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But I don’t want to belong. Not here. Not in a place that chewed me up and spat me out as a kid."

I was taken aback by this book.
It was a cutesy, sweet small town book.
Add in the best friends to lovers and it has it all going for it.

Ori & Finn were on complete separate sides of small town living.
One thrived and the other wanted to run away as fast as he could.
Living in a small town is hard when you have the ambitions that Ori did and he never felt wanted at all in his hometown or even with his best friend, running was his solution.
Only now he is back home, and wondering why he left in the first place.

These two were completely chaotic in the best way possible. They loved each other in the only way they knew how until realities crashed and they both had to look at the bigger picture and realize what they both wanted.
Finn had some truths to accept..
Ori had to want to stay..
It all worked out in the best way possible. Truly a light hearted fun read about two small town guys who fight but deep down really love each other in all the ways that you can love someone.
If you want a good read with best friends who end up in a happy ever after then this one is for you.

[Traci S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a fan of this author’s work, especially for writing interesting and lovable characters. This is the start of a new series, and it’s a nice take on a small town best friends to lovers romance. I did like the characters, Finn and Ori have bold and defined personalities - they are entertaining to follow. This was kind of different, as I’m not sure I would even consider these two friends, much less best friends at the start. When Ori returns to his home town, he and Finn seem pretty estranged to me. You don’t get the usual sweetness or nostalgic feeling about their prior friendship. The one step forward two steps back flow of their relationship did drag on for me, and their inability to trust and communicate became a little frustrating. I think I was missing some context for their behavior, more details on their shared history, the friction between them, and what was the connection like in the before timeline. The world building is promising for this new series- good side characters and an engaging setting.



I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

[Ginger · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 62%. Reading this book felt like losing a sneeze.

Nothing anyone was doing made any sense. I couldn't nail down the dynamic between the two MCs -- they were childhood friends with none of the expressed closeness or shared history, enemies with no real inciting incident for their hostility... and there were a lot of structural issues with the story. When one of your characters is a sort of prodigal son who has left home and comes back under some degree of duress, there has to be both a clear reason why he left (despite how it must have hurt whomever he left behind, including presumably the other MC) AND a clear reason why he had to come home. Here, Ori mentions losing his job in LA, but that's all we get -- at least for the first 60+% of the story, but this is background info that should be in the first 50 pages. We get the general impression that growing up gay in Tennessee was horrible for him, but in a romance novel that's just not enough, imo. In order to build a character arc that feels complete, there needed to be a discernible beginning.

[Jack Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stetson, milkshake duty, taiko, ghost Cupid cat, cinnamon rolls, gay lottery, docent, icicle hands, cutting strawberries, cranberry orange mojito

"Best Friends, Tennessee" is cute and delightful. Bisexual awakening and best friends to lovers are the main tropes of this story. It's low angst and high steam. All wonderful characters round out the well-written imagery.

However, a straight man so open and comfortable with gay sex? Sure, it maybe unrealistic, but hey, this is fiction.

Finn and Ori are well-suited for each other, having been best friends since their school days. The story takes place in Besten, TN, a small country town where both MCs are from. Ori has just moved back to Besten from LA. Finn is an established massage therapist. They're trying to get back their easy friendship. They lost touch when Ori moved away six years ago.

I enjoyed reading this. It's engaging and fun. It's easy-to-read and doesn't have an excess of words. Recommended.

[Showarst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Friends, Tennessee by Raleigh Ruebins is book1 in the new Hard Spot Saloon series. Finn and Ori were best friends growing up. However, over the past few years they have drifted apart in space and heart. Ori has to return home after losing his job even though he hates his hometown. He doesn’t have the best memories of what happened here. Finn is a Tennessee boy through and through. He loves everything about living in the country and he is excited to try to rekindle his friendship with Ori. At both times, these two were hard to like. At the beginning, Ori was so bitter and wanted to keep Finn at a distance. There were several times that Finn got on my nerves as well. However, once these two admitted how they felt and stopped acting up, I really really enjoyed them. I am very interested in many of the side characters and can only hope that we will see them in their own book in the future.

I received an ARC from GRR for my honest review

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ori and Finn's story was heartbreakingly good. Best friends when they were younger, time caused a rift when they got old enough to start figuring out who they are. Ori couldn't stand staying in a place that cause so much pain as soon as he could. Finn, on the other hand, stood behind, creating a life for himself on his own.

Time is funny, and so is life, and Ori is back home after so long being gone. His feelings for Finn is complicated and Finn doesn't understand why that is. This book is about the past and self reflection, and about whether either can get past what they know in order to move forward.

If you were expecting a book like the Property Brother's series, this is not like that. This book is definitely it's own series, and I like where the author is going with this. I can't wait for book two.

I received an ARC from GRR and am leaving an honest review.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sickeningly sweet and I loved it!

This was a really sweet quick read that started off a bit slow but built up to a satisfactory conclusion. Not quite a slow burn at only around 233 pages. Very manageable in an afternoon. Very much looking forward to the second book! The weird tension between the two mc’s at the beginning was a bit confusing because both Finn and Ori seemed like they had a huge chip on their shoulders when it really didn’t seem that serious. And all really could be fix with communication that finally developed towards the end, like I said super sticky sweet that end. I laugh at the other reviewer that got booty-hurt because JC was used, lol. Girlypop this ain’t an x-tian book, move along. Please leave THAT outa my m/m romances paleeeaase! Highly recommend this read!!

[CatOnABlueBackground · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a romance between 2 best friends - one goes to L.A.. to work in an art gallery, the other stays home in Bestens, TN to run his massage business. When Ori comes back home form L.A. after 5 years, because he needs a job, he stays in his best friend's (Finn's) guest bedroom. As time goes on, Ori realizes things have changed in the hometown he hated, and now he starts to feel like he belongs. Ori & Finn also realize they are happiest when they are together.

It's a nice romance between 2 best friends, with lots of good side characters/family, and an interesting town. I've liked every one of Ruebins' books that I've read, and this is no different. Nice small town / found family feel.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The years, and miles, may temporarily separate Ori and Finn, but they can’t fight their attraction.
Each have made mistakes, and said things they regret, but with Ori back in town, and living with Finn, it’s inevitable that they’ll work through their differences.

Ori’s family is warm and welcoming…a perfect combination for the diner they run.
The imminent demise of the espresso machine is a reoccurring problem, as is Ori’s job searching, and Finn’s fear of Ori leaving again.

The family business ties so many characters together that you feel like you know each and every one.

I received an ARC from Goodreads.
Thank you for this sweet beginning to what is certainly going to be another great series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorothy was right! No place like home (with your bestie)🏞

This was a good MM read. Steam, but not excessive, estranged schoolyard best friends Ori and Finn who find themselves living together and revealing well-buried secrets about their feelings for each other. I didn't find it too angsty and liked the small town Tennessee setting heavily built around a family diner called the Red Fox and socializing at the Hard Spot Saloon. I might have expected Ori, the artsy guy back home from Los Angeles, to have a chip on this shoulder, but he actually came across as a really nice, down to earth guy.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Friends Tennessee is the first official book in the Hard Spot Saloon Series, a spinoff of the epic Fixer Brothers series. This book features Finn and Ori, best friends who have lost touch but are finding their way back … through a bit of a different route. Finn is a Tennessee boy who just wants to belong and Ori has never felt like he belongs. Ori has always been out, and loud, Finn has always tried to fit in and yet these two really work. Ori had been gone and finds himself back in Tennessee where he …finds himself. Finn is straight, except he’s really not especially when it comes to Ori. Ori’s character really grows and builds, Finn’s character is more about figuring out that Ori is his home, and letting him in again so they can both come home.

[L H · Rating 5 out of 5]

These guys have been friends a long time. Best friends who were always scrapping, even in high school and then Ori left town and Finn likes where he grew up and where he lives. A little distance has come between them and time but when Ori returns he stays with Finn. And the scrapping starts again. And then it turns to something else. Turns out they have a lot of feelings for one another. And those feelings go deeper than friendship. They just have to take a moment and see the truth that is staring them in the face. They belong together, no matter how much they fight the fall. Best friends become lovers and this story was especially fun watching as these two clueless guys wised up.
I received an ARC from GRR and am voluntarily leaving a review.