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Country Road Romance
Holler meets Hollywood in this wild and wonderful LGBTQ+ romance.
Jared Russell has never met his nemesis – Hollywood golden boy Charlie Garrett – but he knows everything about he’s gay, he’s handsome, and he got out of West Virginia as soon as he could and never looked back. When he’s forced to be Charlie’s chaperone for the Mountain State Film Festival, Jared reluctantly feels pulled in by his good looks and sweet nature.
Charlie has always felt guilty about leaving the Mountain State, so he jumps at the chance to return and give something back to the queer folks who still call those hills and hollers home. He’s drawn to his broody, grumpy chaperone, but after he loses his temper at a local gay bar he has to hide out and wait for the media frenzy to die down. The destination? Jared’s parents’ house.
As the weekend unfolds, Jared realizes that Charlie might be the real-life romantic hero he never knew he wanted, while Charlie finds himself falling head over heels for Jared, seeing the beautiful soul he tries to hide. Can the two of them overcome their differences to build a future, or will their romance only be a weekend encounter?
Jared Russell has never met his nemesis – Hollywood golden boy Charlie Garrett – but he knows everything about he’s gay, he’s handsome, and he got out of West Virginia as soon as he could and never looked back. When he’s forced to be Charlie’s chaperone for the Mountain State Film Festival, Jared reluctantly feels pulled in by his good looks and sweet nature.
Charlie has always felt guilty about leaving the Mountain State, so he jumps at the chance to return and give something back to the queer folks who still call those hills and hollers home. He’s drawn to his broody, grumpy chaperone, but after he loses his temper at a local gay bar he has to hide out and wait for the media frenzy to die down. The destination? Jared’s parents’ house.
As the weekend unfolds, Jared realizes that Charlie might be the real-life romantic hero he never knew he wanted, while Charlie finds himself falling head over heels for Jared, seeing the beautiful soul he tries to hide. Can the two of them overcome their differences to build a future, or will their romance only be a weekend encounter?
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2025
9 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
TJ West
2 books17 followersThe proud son and grandson of farmers and coal miners, TJ West is a queer writer and culture critic. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Marshall University and a Master’s and Doctorate from Syracuse University. Though he is based on Maryland’s Eastern Shore–where he lives with his partner and their cat–the Mountain State will always have a piece of his heart.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 7, 2025
Absolutely charming. Movie star + country boy aspiring writer, film festival meet cute, Appalachia vibes. Lovely!
June 19, 2025
I came for the synopsis and stayed for TJ West's skillful pop culture references. This story is so sweet and real and necessary.
July 4, 2025
I read this due to taking place in my hometown. I was cute but a predictable gay hallmark movie.
June 17, 2025
I’ve been looking for a good book to both celebrate Pride and to read while I’m on the beach, and Country Road Romance was a perfect fit for both! It takes place in West Virginia and focuses on the romance between a struggling writer and a Hollywood movie star. Since the book is a dual-POV, I really felt that I got to know both Jared and Charlie. I may not have always agreed with their choices, but West lets you see where they’re coming from and why they do the things they do.
This is also a book that is about place, and I appreciated that West, who’s from WV, brought that into the story. Jared and Charlie’s story is heartwarming, and it just goes to show that queer love can flourish anywhere, even when you least expect it. I don’t know if West has any plans to do anything more with these characters, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in a sequel!
Country Road Romance is the perfect read for summer and for Pride month. It has sweet, feel-good vibes with just a bit of spice. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good M/M romance!
This is also a book that is about place, and I appreciated that West, who’s from WV, brought that into the story. Jared and Charlie’s story is heartwarming, and it just goes to show that queer love can flourish anywhere, even when you least expect it. I don’t know if West has any plans to do anything more with these characters, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them in a sequel!
Country Road Romance is the perfect read for summer and for Pride month. It has sweet, feel-good vibes with just a bit of spice. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good M/M romance!
October 30, 2025
A friend of mine recommended this to me since it's set in West Virginia and i live here. I thought it was going to be one of these generic stories that really don't focus on the state, but only use it as a location. I was wrong.
The author is from West Virginia and he knows the state and the locations he used in the book. I'm from the northern part of the state and it was pretty surreal to see places I've been to and grown up in used as plot points. I lived in Huntington, where the story is mainly set. I used to drink at the Stonewall, the bar where Charlie punched the homophobic activist who shoved Jared. I've driven by the mansions in Sistersville more times than I could possibly count since I live here. The only other book that I know that uses Sistersville as a plot point in Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb. He successfully uses the places Charlie and Jared visit as characters in the book.
Charlie Garrett is an actor for The Romance Network, which produces rom-coms. Think Hallmark Channel. He's openly gay, which is unusual, but he has plenty of fans. He's from a small town in West Virginia originally, near Morgantown in the north central part of the state. He was invited to a queer film festival in Huntington since he's the most famous gay actor to come out of West Virginia.
Jared, who is a volunteer with the film festival and who works for the Huntington City Council was chosen to serve as Charlie's guide to Huntington. Well, Jared has this idea about what kind of stuck up kind of gorgeous actor who got out of West Virginia as soon as he could type of person Charlie is. So Jared pulls some attitude. Charlie pulls some of his own. They eventually get along and they end up at a local gay bar.
They had been harassed earlier by this guy, who was well known in the local gay community as someone who goes out of his way to bother people. He's a local bible thumper who has connections to one of the city council members who has been quite vocal about shutting the film festival down. The guy shows up at the bar. By this time, Charlie and Jared are getting along fairly well. The guy shoves Jared and Charlie punches him, being the gentleman that he is.
This was the kind of thing that Charlie's PR person and Jared's boss at the film festival wanted to avoid. They are told to go to Jared's parents, who live in the Northern Panhandle of the state. They live outside a small country town that has seen been days. I've been to the town a few times for various events when I was in high school.
We get more angst as they spend the weekend at his parents' home. I'm going to leave off here because I don't want to give away too much of the plot.
We get a happy ending and a really sweet epilogue. The author does a great job with the dynamics between Charlie and Jared. It's sweet, funny, and fairly deep emotionally for a MM romance novel. There isn't much spice, which doesn't hurt the book at all. I really loved it and not just because I knew all of the places the author mentions. The setting becomes one of the characters and influences the entire story. The plot, while a bit predictable, is solid. The character development is fantastic. The secondary characters are all really strong, but not so much as to overpower the two main characters.
I highly recommend this.
The author is from West Virginia and he knows the state and the locations he used in the book. I'm from the northern part of the state and it was pretty surreal to see places I've been to and grown up in used as plot points. I lived in Huntington, where the story is mainly set. I used to drink at the Stonewall, the bar where Charlie punched the homophobic activist who shoved Jared. I've driven by the mansions in Sistersville more times than I could possibly count since I live here. The only other book that I know that uses Sistersville as a plot point in Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb. He successfully uses the places Charlie and Jared visit as characters in the book.
Charlie Garrett is an actor for The Romance Network, which produces rom-coms. Think Hallmark Channel. He's openly gay, which is unusual, but he has plenty of fans. He's from a small town in West Virginia originally, near Morgantown in the north central part of the state. He was invited to a queer film festival in Huntington since he's the most famous gay actor to come out of West Virginia.
Jared, who is a volunteer with the film festival and who works for the Huntington City Council was chosen to serve as Charlie's guide to Huntington. Well, Jared has this idea about what kind of stuck up kind of gorgeous actor who got out of West Virginia as soon as he could type of person Charlie is. So Jared pulls some attitude. Charlie pulls some of his own. They eventually get along and they end up at a local gay bar.
They had been harassed earlier by this guy, who was well known in the local gay community as someone who goes out of his way to bother people. He's a local bible thumper who has connections to one of the city council members who has been quite vocal about shutting the film festival down. The guy shows up at the bar. By this time, Charlie and Jared are getting along fairly well. The guy shoves Jared and Charlie punches him, being the gentleman that he is.
This was the kind of thing that Charlie's PR person and Jared's boss at the film festival wanted to avoid. They are told to go to Jared's parents, who live in the Northern Panhandle of the state. They live outside a small country town that has seen been days. I've been to the town a few times for various events when I was in high school.
We get more angst as they spend the weekend at his parents' home. I'm going to leave off here because I don't want to give away too much of the plot.
We get a happy ending and a really sweet epilogue. The author does a great job with the dynamics between Charlie and Jared. It's sweet, funny, and fairly deep emotionally for a MM romance novel. There isn't much spice, which doesn't hurt the book at all. I really loved it and not just because I knew all of the places the author mentions. The setting becomes one of the characters and influences the entire story. The plot, while a bit predictable, is solid. The character development is fantastic. The secondary characters are all really strong, but not so much as to overpower the two main characters.
I highly recommend this.
May 21, 2025
I wasn’t sure what to expect of Country Road Romance, so I was surprised that I really liked it! The characters are both well-developed with their own arcs and character quirks, and their relationship and the pacing felt believable, if a little on the insta-love side. I also found each of the characters to be likable, even if there were also times that I wanted to strangle both of them.
It’s really the setting, though, that pulled me in. It’s clear that West grew up in West Virginia, and it’s clear that, like many other queer folks from there, that he has a pretty complicated relationship with his home state. Still, it’s really refreshing and nice to see Appalachia presented in a sympathetic light rather than through stereotypes.
Country Road Romance is a fun queer rom-com that was sweet and sexy. Definitely recommend.
It’s really the setting, though, that pulled me in. It’s clear that West grew up in West Virginia, and it’s clear that, like many other queer folks from there, that he has a pretty complicated relationship with his home state. Still, it’s really refreshing and nice to see Appalachia presented in a sympathetic light rather than through stereotypes.
Country Road Romance is a fun queer rom-com that was sweet and sexy. Definitely recommend.
June 21, 2025
3.5 stars. I saw this book posted about on a local bookstores page. I decided to pick it up because I love to support local authors. I absolutely loved reading about where I live and grew up near which is Huntington, I also loved just reading about Appalachia and WV in general. We don’t get a lot of recognition and it’s great to see others appreciate and share about it. This book was a sweet romance but also touched on the very serious and real topic which is homophobia and the lack of acceptance of queer folks in Appalachia. The book was very cheesy at times, as romances typically are. Jared and Charlie are both supposed to be in their mid to late 30’s but I felt as if they were both immature, especially Jared. It felt more like reading about two people who were 21. There were some grammatical errors but for the authors first book it was still good!
August 19, 2025
I am not usually a romance reader, but this sweet read based in West Virginia was an absolute delight. The grumpy/sunshine trope was perfectly executed, with the dual P.O.V. making it clear that there was more to each main character than jaded sarcasm (Jared) and a movie star smile (Charlie). It also explored the complicated relationship that each had with growing up gay in a small town in Appalachia.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the author when he visited the R.I.S.E. Center library in Winchester, Va. TJ spoke about his passion for telling stories of queer joy in small town America. I will definitely be seeking out more to read in that niche genre, and I can't wait for his next romance and other future projects to hit the shelves.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the author when he visited the R.I.S.E. Center library in Winchester, Va. TJ spoke about his passion for telling stories of queer joy in small town America. I will definitely be seeking out more to read in that niche genre, and I can't wait for his next romance and other future projects to hit the shelves.
May 2, 2025
A sweet country romance, with lots of Millennial humor. The dialogue is snappy, and the t-shirts and jeans are tight. The novel really grounds itself in its West Virginia setting, and explores themes of growing up queer in the country, coming home and leaving, and reconciling your dreams with your roots. You end up rooting for Jared and Charlie, especially as they get in their own way, and it is very refreshing to have two fortyish romance leads. (You might picture Glen Powell or Chris Evans playing Charlie, I certainly did.)
*Advance Copy Reader
*Advance Copy Reader
June 23, 2025
The book has a little bit of a rocky start. As someone who read mlm romance frequently I was curious where the story was going, rolling my eyes from time to time. However, once the plot hit the ground I was all in. There were times where I was extremely frustrated with Jared, but I think it was refreshing to read someone who was so human.
Regardless it was a quick fun story and I cannot wait for more of T.J’s work!
Regardless it was a quick fun story and I cannot wait for more of T.J’s work!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2025
TJ West gave us a cute small town romance! All the family members just hanging out is very small town of them lol.
I wish we’d gotten to know the characters a bit more before they met each other, and one character really ought to have apologized to the other.
However, I appreciated how we got to see into both characters’s minds, especially Charlie’s in the second half, and I adored the cozy ending in the epilogue. Looking forward to reading more!
I wish we’d gotten to know the characters a bit more before they met each other, and one character really ought to have apologized to the other.
However, I appreciated how we got to see into both characters’s minds, especially Charlie’s in the second half, and I adored the cozy ending in the epilogue. Looking forward to reading more!
December 15, 2025
This was a sweet, enjoyable romance with great chemistry and a strong sense of place. Jared and Charlie feel like real people, and their differences make the story interesting without feeling forced. I especially liked the Appalachian setting and how the book handled themes of leaving home, coming back, and finding where you belong. A solid LGBTQ+ romance that’s easy to get into and satisfying to read.
July 7, 2025
I was so excited to read a book about gay men set in WV! I’m from WV, so the author captured the pride of being a West Virginian and the little bit of embarrassment you feel when you think about all the negative stereotypes people associate with WV. The story was a cute feel-good romance. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
November 21, 2025
The story and characters were okay, but there were a few things I wasn’t a fan of. The dialogue was clunky, the pacing was too fast, and the relationships between some of the characters pretty much gave me whiplash.
June 21, 2025
How fun to read a book and know all the places the characters go to. West Virginia is a beautiful state and a great place to share with these characters.
July 8, 2025
I absolutely loved this! Such a great queer romance set in small town West Virginia! It was cute and heartwarming and made me cry my eyes out at times! I’m so glad I picked this up!
October 19, 2025
A good heart, so well meaning, but fairly clichéd. Hopefully West's next novel will improve on this.
December 11, 2025
This just didn’t land for me. The main couple is completely in love with each other after knowing each other for 48 hours and the writing style wasn’t for me.
December 17, 2025
I’m grateful to Ban This Book Fest for putting this book and author on my radar. T.J. West was on the author panel that I was moderating, so I just had to pick up his debut novel. I enjoyed talking with him about it and hearing his thoughts and motivations behind the work.
What Worked: T.J. West decided it was time that he saw himself in a novel. Knowing that not many MM romances were set in Appalachia, he set out to create one. As Beverly Cleary said, “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” The novel’s characters struggle with the “right way” to embrace identity and stand up for a community. It also offers some great themes on sticking around to make a place better with a balanced counter-argument of needing to find a home that’s right for you.
What Didn’t: Insta-love is an interesting trope in the romance genre. Take it or leave it, but I struggle with characters making big life decisions over a person they’ve known for a day or a week. It’s one thing when a couple does it, but another when all the friends and family are in on it, too. “He’s perfect for you!” Excuse me? You just shook that guy’s hand. How do you know if he’s right for anyone? That’s just my pet peeve.
What Worked: T.J. West decided it was time that he saw himself in a novel. Knowing that not many MM romances were set in Appalachia, he set out to create one. As Beverly Cleary said, “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelves, write it.” The novel’s characters struggle with the “right way” to embrace identity and stand up for a community. It also offers some great themes on sticking around to make a place better with a balanced counter-argument of needing to find a home that’s right for you.
What Didn’t: Insta-love is an interesting trope in the romance genre. Take it or leave it, but I struggle with characters making big life decisions over a person they’ve known for a day or a week. It’s one thing when a couple does it, but another when all the friends and family are in on it, too. “He’s perfect for you!” Excuse me? You just shook that guy’s hand. How do you know if he’s right for anyone? That’s just my pet peeve.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews