Kneading You

A Lancaster Story #1

by C.S. Poe

Christopher Hughes is new to the small New England town of Lancaster, New Hampshire. He’s been hired to save an old library from closing, but his obstacles include not only fighting for state funding, but a Selectman who wants to tear the building down in favor of a shopping center.

Christopher meets Miles Sakasai, a charming tattooed repairman hired to help restore the historical interior. Working in close proximity has both men falling hard for each other, and also provides Christopher an opportunity to learn about Miles’s passion for baking. As it turns out, Miles’s skills in the kitchen may end up being the key to saving the library—but only if his bread can rise to the occasion.

Previously published by Dreamspinner Press in the Simmer anthology, February 2016.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories, LGBT, Queer, Gay

40 pages, ebook

First published February 24, 2016

About the author

C.S. Poe is an author of gay mystery, romance, and speculative fiction. She’s a winner of the Next Generation and e-Lit book awards, as well as a finalist of the Lambda Literary award.

She resides in New York City and is a Gilded Age New York historian and board director for the Victorian Society of New York. She loves Romanticism artwork, the films of Buster Keaton, coffee in the morning and whiskey in the evening, true crime, and cats. She’s rescued two cats—Milo and Kasper do their best to distract her from work on a daily basis.

C.S. is an alumna of the School of Visual Arts.

Her debut novel, The Mystery of Nevermore, was published 2016.

cspoe.com

Reviews

[* A Reader Obsessed * · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars - Co-Review with Ann!

Now I’ve yet to read a full length novel from Ms. Poe, but this being my 6th short from her, I can honestly say that none have disappointed and that’s pretty high praise because shorts are fickle and can go either way.

Set in Lancaster, New Hampshire, and having not initially realized that this is also the setting of Joy and Color of You, have no fears regarding continuity sake as this was the first to be published in the Simmer Anthology (but in all honesty I feel these can be read as standalones).

Christopher is new to town, and he desperately needs a job so he can stay. Thus, when he gets the opportunity to revamp the old library, he feels this is his chance to solidify his usefulness to the community. When local handyman Miles, helps him fix up the dilapidated library, Christopher can’t resist being wooed by the reticent man’s steady presence, as well as his phenomenal baking skills. Can you blame him??

This was a quaint look at small town life with great MC’s to root for, and I loved how these two flirted and how easily they came together. When an opportunity arises to help save the library, the win was oh so satisfying!

Overall, as with all good shorts, this wasn’t close to being long enough, leaving me wanting more of Christopher and Miles’s happy ending!

Thanks to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for a honest review

For Ann’s thoughts please check out the blog!

[Shin Mon Thway · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid and very enthusiastic homemade bread maker, I can honestly say that as far as the art of bread making goes, [C.S. Poe] was definitely spot on. 😁👏 I make bread quite often and I know how to make good bread. But every time I add yeast to the flour and the other ingredients, I always chant a silent prayer in my mind, “Please, let it rise right. Please, let it rise right!” Yeast is a living and very fickle thing. 😅 You never know how it will turn out until you add it to the flour and wait for sometime. ☺️ So I definitely loved the fact that Miles was an avid homemade bread maker like myself and he was a very good one. I also liked Christopher and his love for books and the devotion to the small town library. And the meet-cute and romance? 😍 Absolutely scrumptious like a delicious bread! 😋😋😋 Although this was a short story, you get a perfect sweet and fluffy love story between a geeky but confident librarian and beefy but shy handyman/baker. ❤️ Absolutely loved it and I want more so I’m going to explore more stories set in this small Lancaster town. 😉


4.5 I love you as much as I love my books stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really cute and very short. I wanted to know if the author has any spice in her books, because in the Memento Mori- what I love and can’t wait for the next book in the series- haven’t had any so far. And yes, this short has a tiny scene with them being intimate, so yay and fingers crossed for Everett and Ira😃

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Kneading You" is a charming little story of love, loaves and library books set in Lancaster, New Hampshire, the location of Poe's Joy and Color of You. Christopher Hughes gets his dream job - well, actually the possibility of a job if he manages to bring about a miracle and restore a library to its former glory, inventory all the books, and institute a barcode system, all in the matter of a weeks.

Helping Christopher is Miles, who is a bit of a renaissance man - shy repairman, championship baker, bookworm and thoroughly-tatted all around nice guy. Poe manages to give us two nicely fleshed out characters within a small number of pages, and you immediately feel there's a sense of rightness about these two men finding one another:

"So," I said, dipping the bread into the soup and tasting the combination. "You bake and you fix broken things?"
Miles shrugged. "Pretty much. What about you?"
"I burn toast and once broke my finger with a hammer."

This story is light on on-page sex (there's one brief very steamy shower scene) but strong on chemistry and heavy on sweetness. It's a delightful little treat of a read and I really hope C.S. Poe keeps setting books in Lancaster, NH so we see more of Christopher and Miles and catch up on their happily-ever-after. 4.5 stars.


I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
Review posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was short and sweet. Christopher gets hired to save an ancient library on the brink of closure, and Miles is the shy, manly, tatted up sweetheart who comes in to help fix it. Oh, and he bakes bread. Yes, the plot is quite simple and easily resolved - this is a short story - but this was fun regardless, and I adored Miles, even if he was covered in tattoos. 🤭

[Smutty Sully · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Sweet, charming, small-town love story. Saving a library and baking bread, it worked. Poe's typical flirty MCs, a town fair, a cooking competition, and a little bit of kneading bread.

Highlights:

• “So,” I said, dipping the bread into the soup and tasting the combination. “You bake and you fix broken things?”
Miles shrugged. “Pretty much. What about you?”
“I burn toast and once broke my finger with a hammer.”

• Miles sat across from me. “Eat.”
“I’m too upset.”
“Being upset on an empty stomach will only make it worse.” (I love how Poe always has a MC who's a feeder.)

• “Patrick Swayze your kind of guy?”
Miles shook his head. “No. You are, though.” He dried his hands on a towel. “This whole librarian thing you have going on is cute.”

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that make you wanna go 'awww'.
It was short but sweet.
I was smitten with both Christopher and Miles.
I loved the little old library and the bread-making.
I would happily read more!
And a bonus for me, it looks like there are 2 more books in the Lancaster series.
I'm still fairly new to Poe's books and I can't wait to tackle more!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 loaves of bread rounded up to 4 because still no 1/2 stars here on GR...

Sexy men, a library full of books and homemade bread...sign me up...

Christopher Hughes has recently moved to Lancaster, New Hampshire a place that he's hoping will feel like home...now, if he could just find a job there so that he could afford a home.

Miles Sakasai is the local handyiman who's been hired to help fix the library up in an effort to bring it into the present so that they can get continued funding and keep the library open.

When Chris and Miles meet their attraction is instant and neither man has any commitments to keep them from following their attraction to see where it leads them.

As a reader it seems to me that one of the hardest things for an author to do is to write a short story that not only engages the reader but has believable relationships and for me, Ms Poe has succeeded with this story.

"Kneading You' is not the first trip to Lancaster, New Hampshire that this author has taken me on...in 'The Color of You' we visited the local high school where we met Bowen Merlin, the new school band leader and Felix Hanson, proprietor of the local apple orchard and were treated to their love story and then in 'Joy' Ms Poe shared the story of Gideon Joy a down on his luck traveler who finds himself stuck in Lancaster and rescued from an encounter with a moose by construction worker Silas Bright.

While 'Kneading You' is the shortest of these three tales the author has still managed to keep it every bit as enjoyable as the previous two stories and I can honestly say I'd love to have at least one more story and that's one where these 3 adorable couples who all live in this small town meet and become friends...somehow, for me it just seems like it would be a good thing.

*************************

A copy of 'Kneading You' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph (Teacups & Tropes) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶

This was a short novella. There was nothing wrong with it if you’re looking for a short, instalove quickie with no spice.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet!

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The librarian and the handyman !

This divine little short story will make you happy. The men are charming, sexy and caring. Christopher, the new Librarian, needs to figure out how to fix the library so it won’t be torn down. He finds his help with a carpenter, Miles. Included in working together, Miles teaches Christopher how to bake bread, resembling Patrick Swayze in Ghost. Cute, romantic and wonderful. ENJOY !

[C.S. Poe]

Buy Links:

Ebook

Paperback
available only as an exclusive bonus in Joy's paperback edition

French edition
with MxM Bookmark

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars rounded up

Christopher Hughes is tasked with sprucing up Lancaster’s old library to avoid the state pulling out the fund. It’s not an easy job, and Christopher only has a month to do so. One of the Board of Selectman’s member inform Christopher that he can ask help from the local’s handyman to do some fixing as well. In come Miles Sakasai, handyman extraordinaire… because, well, he has other talent up his sleeve.

This is adorable – and it involved BOOKS, LIBRARY, A MAN WHO CAN BAKE!!! I can totally dismiss the quick timeline – this one is a short story, after all, less than 50 pages. Or the fact that Miles is doing something I think rather reckless for someone he just met for few weeks. No matter how Miles admire Christopher’s passion with the library *shrugs*.

I did love Christopher’s ardour to save the town’s library. As a reader who always dreams to have access to great library – I’m not an American, library in my city/country when I grew up was limited – I can just imagine Christopher’s determination to help. And I loved Christopher for it.

Miles is sweet – he’s a shy handyman, with tattoos, who can bake. Yep, a man of all talent, this Miles. The relationship might move a little fast – again, short story timeline effect – but it still works for me because I found both men had the needed chemistry.

All in all, a quick enjoyable read!



A Guest Review for The Blogger Girls



The ARC is provided by the publisher for an exchange of fair and honest review. No high rating is required for any ARC received.

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew]

I'm not sure what I read here, but even the twin attractions of baking and libraries didn't anchor it in any reality I've ever encountered. If I'm charitable, I'd call it lightweight.

I wish reading one 4-5* star book wasn't always followed by a disproportionate number of duds. I'll call it Drew's Law -
"Given an event enjoyment factor (Σ) of X, successive data points will tend to regress X to a fixed mean of 2.5*." Or something.

[juli✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You bake and you fix broken things?” Miles shrugged. “Pretty much. What about you?”
“I burn toast and once broke my finger with a hammer.”

a really sweet novella that i wish were longer <3 <3

[Bitchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute, I just wish it were longer!

[Ed Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet short story.

[Lily Loves &#x1f4da; · Rating 4 out of 5]

My final read of 2021 was this sweet book. This is a nice, short story set in a small New England town. I loved the setting and how Christopher is trying to save the small library and meets Miles who is hired to do some construction on the library. I would’ve loved even more if this story! It was a nice read to finish off the year!

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute! A nice short story that has a nice ending. Don't look for anything too serious or deep. A feel-good story to make you smile.

[Jamey · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can suspend your disbelief that someone with barely any experience – save for a work study job, in which he probably shelved or worked the circulation desk – can single-handedly run a library, it’s a short and fluffy, feel-good story.

3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This was a nice sweet short story. Christopher thinks he has finally found somewhere to belong, he just needs to save the library in order to keep his job. Oddly enough, it’s the handyman that comes in to help out that saves the day and becomes important to Christopher.

I liked how sweet Max was, he knows who he is but is oddly shy about his bread making. I was glad he got the courage to enter the cooking competition though he really did it for Christopher. Their hard work paid off too. I just wish there would have been a bit more about their relationship but for a short story it was very enjoyable.

The cover art by Brooke Albrecht is great and is a perfect visual for this story.

[Sam Clover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simple little love story. Not much in the way of bells and whistles, but it doesn't need it. I fell in love with Christopher and Miles immediately. I cared about the library they saved, and also I love bread. Sooo it was a good quick read! I'll definitely be checking out other books by this author soon!

[Shelba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite short, but manages to have great balance of plot, conflict, romance and a dash or smut.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. I forgot that I hate short stories with good plots. I wasn't ready for this to be over.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this late last night and already I remember next to nothing about it. It was fine but there's not much to it.

[Trio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh what a sweet story. Definitely makes me want to go straight to the next book in this series.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You bake and you fix broken things?”
Miles shrugged. “Pretty much. What about you?”
“I burn toast and once broke my finger with a hammer.” — Christopher and Miles

Warnings: none

This is an endearing and short story. It plays slightly more on emotion than sm*t, they do get physical but only fairly briefly. I truly appreciate the enthusiastic consent included. One character gets exceptionally drunk and the other stops them from going any further due to his inebriation. So often that line is blurred or just ignored, it is pleasant to see a writer bring that little bit of reality into fiction. The main characters are newly appointed librarian Christopher Hughes and handyman/ baker Miles Sakasai. I will mention the heritage of Miles because it is an interesting choice. For those who are curious Miles has a British mother and a Japanese father. To a degree, he has some quite Japanese personality traits. The plot is one that is fairly predictable if you know anything about the modern state of libraryland. Christopher and Miles are likable enough there is nothing insulting about them but they, and their story, will likely prove to be ultimately forgettable.

A representative gif:

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just… wow. So, this morning, I thought I’d look at the dozen or so stories I have on my slate to review to see which one I wanted to read next. I do this by reading the first few paragraphs or first page of a story and rating it in my mind as to whether I want to go on.

And then I opened this one. The premise: what do you get when you mix an award-winning, shy, carpenter/baker with a broke librarian? You get a short story with a HEA ending that satisfies the soul.

And didn’t close it. Okay, it’s only a short story so it’s not like it took me forever to read (about an hour), but still… I couldn’t put it down. The characters of Miles and Christopher are so well-crafted and the premise so believable that I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to see what happened. Okay, the bad guy—Sam—really wasn’t necessary, but the rest of the story is really good. And honestly? I’d love to see this developed into a much longer story. I want to see what happens with them. With the library they’re trying to save. With the town. In these few short pages, the author made me care—and that’s what good writing is all about.

Caveat: for those who don’t like their stories hot, there is one steamy scene, but it fits the story well. So…if you like your gay (M/M) stories short, hot, and satisfying, definitely pick this one up.

I received this story from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Fritz42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little story. Christopher had moved to New Hampshire, looking for small town life where he would know his neighbors. He gets a job of librarian with a caveat. He was one month to update the old written records of the library to prove to the state and Council that the library should continue to get its funding.

Enter Miles the local handyman to help reconstruct shelving. The two of them hit it off, even though Miles is quiet and shy. They bond over Miles’s homemade bread.

There is still a lot of things to be done with the library, but Miles’s baking might just be the boost that’s needed.

These two guys were great. It’s a short story, but I quickly came to care about both of them!

[JPerceval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet story - I wanted more!