Elliott and Simon

This book is awesome, really really awesome. It's because of the way it's written. The environments were sweet and lovely, it could be yours or mine... the whole picture is awesome.
Elliott and Simon are just the nicest guys of the world. Down to earth, honest and sweet.
The story is about how they grow to each other and how pasts and present life is working against them. They are so mature and considerate together... very easygoing... sweet.

Amazing is also how much little details and large conversations were put down...and all intriguing.
It's not a heavy earth shaking story but omg it did something to my heart. I cried my eyes out at some points.
Two at first sight ordinary men, who could live next door, but when you get to know them, their lives, their passions, their work, their families, their hopes and fears...

The little library brings a whole community together and has an emotional and exceptional part in this story.
The families and their stories are all beautiful woven into a wonderful story.

3.75 Stars

The story of a disgraced historian/professor and injured ex cop coming together in Kim Fielding’s The Little Library bombarded me with feelings. These were two men with baggage and still trying to come to term with life ahead, a state anybody could easily identify with.

I truly enjoyed the easy flow of the story and the banter between Elliott and his family. It all felt natural, the ups and downs of his otherwise mundane days - even the confrontation with the annoying character; they lend off regular everyday feeling to the story. Elliott’s first encounter with Simon and what followed also didn’t feel rushed. No instant relief whatsoever; in fact there’s awkward dating phases that was not only sweet but also quite educative (the learning portion of those datings were rather entertaining).

It’s a single POV tale so, while giving insight to Elliott’s thought and feeling, I pretty much speculate on Simon’s side of things. Normally this wouldn’t matter so much to me if not for some point of the story when not knowing what’s going on in Simon’s head felt like such disadvantage (for readers). The switch he went from one phase to another and not knowing anything just drove me nuts! Not that I didn’t get the turmoil he must’ve gone through. I guess I empathize too much with Elliott on this issue. XD

All in all, this is a fairly smooth sailing read for me. And let’s not forget Ishtar the doggo that spice up the story simply with her existence.

Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Little Library by Kim Fielding is a contemporary romance that is currently scheduled for release on March 26 2018. Elliott Thompson was once a historian with a promising academic future, but his involvement in a scandal meant a lost job, public shame, and a ruined love life. He took shelter in his rural California hometown, where he teaches online classes, hoards books, and despairs of his future. Simon Odisho has lost a job as well—to a bullet that sidelined his career in law enforcement. While his shattered knee recovers, he rethinks his job prospects and searches for the courage to come out to his close-knit but conservative extended family. In an attempt to manage his overflowing book collection, Elliott builds a miniature neighborhood library in his front yard. The project puts him in touch with his neighbors—for better and worse—and introduces him to handsome, charming Simon. While romance blooms quickly between them, Elliott’s not willing to live in the closet, and his best career prospects might take him far away. His books have plenty to tell him about history, but they give him no clues about a future with Simon.

The Little Library is a romance that feels very real. Elliott made a big mistake in his previous relationship, and he is still dealing with the fall out, because it makes finding the job he prepared for increasingly hard to find. He brother is pushing him to get out there, and live a little outside his head and interact with more people. Simon was injured on the job, and is starting fresh, and at least admitting to himself that he is gay, but not quite ready to share that information with his very traditional family. When the two come together, it is wonderful to see- mainly because they are living rather than just going through the motions. Both have big challenges and worries, and seeing them talk and face them was both heart warming and occasionally frustrating. I like the fact that neither character was perfect- and it was clear when they were nervous or over thinking the moment. I also like that the issue and discussions they shared are ones that are real issues that people actually face. While some bits came a little too easy, most of the victories were hard fought and kept me turning pages well past my bed time.

The Little Library is a wonderful, realistic romance. The characters face real issues and talk to each other and admit their own failings. It was wonderful, and I think many readers would love to have this couple as neighbors- I know I would.

Elliot Thompson is an academic. A historian. But his promising career has been compromised by a scandal. He has retreated home to rural California to nurse his broken heart. He spends his days teaching online classes, buying books and fretting about his future.
In an effort to manage some of his book hoard, he builds a little library on his property and this act puts him in greater contact with his neighbors including handsome Simon Oshido. Simon has lost his job in law enforcement when a bullet shattered his knee. He’s now in recovery and the books in Elliot’s library help him to explore his sexuality and find the courage to come out of the closet.
This is a sweet, gentle romance of discovery. The pace is slow and easy. The characters are likeable and believable. And the little library as a way to heal and connect with the neighbors is delightful. There are not many surprises or anything earth shattering but it was fun to read and see Elliot and Simon work out their relationship. I enjoyed their romance and found this a very satisfying read. 3.5 stars.

I appreciated how realistic this story seemed. So many romances are about two super-hot main characters, but this one is about a somewhat gangly (but still lean and hot, don't get me wrong) runner-slash-book hoarder and a short, muscular ex-cop with a knee injury and some extra pudge around his middle. Elliot and Simon are both flawed, which makes them much more real and accessible. Elliot has his horrible past relationship and his book hoarding tendencies, while Simon has his bum knee and hasn't come out to his family yet, and they both are trying to figure out what to do with their futures now that their past plans have been smashed to smithereens. Their first dates are awkward and their sex is sometimes bumbling and messy (and not in the sexy-messy way, but in a much more normal every day sort of way). It's like instead of reading some glossy highly-idealized romance with a shirtless Fabio on the cover, you're reading the story of your neighbor down the street. It's fantastic and a really refreshing point of view.

I love that Elliot builds his little neighborhood library to help with his book hoarding tendencies, and that the start to find ways to deal with his pain and his problems besides buying more books. As something of a book hoarder myself, and someone who finds comfort in buying more books even though my physical TBR bookshelf is taking over my house (to say nothing of the books I've actually read, and let's not even think about the virtual mountains of ebooks…) I really connected to Elliot. And as a passionate reader, I felt so touched and proud right along with him when people showed such an active interest in his little library and his books. As part of the bookish community, I also know this connection with other people who love books as much as I do, and how such an introverted hobby can be turned into something so wonderful to connect with other like-minded people. I also felt heartbroken with Elliot when someone vandalizes his library, and had a stupid smile on my face at the resolution of this story. I became so emotionally invested in the lives of these people who could totally be my neighbors (if, y'know, they didn't live in California and I lived half the country away in Minnesota, not to mention that they're fictional… but that's just semantics).

I really enjoyed reading this book and especially loved the little library !

The little library movement is fascinating to me since I can’t imagine giving up a single book, some of which I’ve been moving from apartment to apartment, state to state, for over twenty years. In the ratio of book boxes to everything else I own, it’s no contest. When this one came across, it looked super cute and the little library angle sealed the deal.

Elliott is paying for a mistake that wasn’t really his own. His only culpability is falling for someone he shouldn’t have. When the enormity of his lover/mentor’s crimes is uncovered, Elliott is blackballed by association. His career dreams crushed, he retreats to California where he laments his mistakes, teaches online classes, and reads.

1-click is an addiction we all know and love, right? Well, Elliott’s books are piling up around him and his brother fears he’ll get crushed and not be found for days. Enter the idea of the little library. Despite the neighborhood busybody, Elliott and his brother build one and he fills it with an eclectic selection of reading material. Soon enough, people are taking a book and leaving one behind. I loved that and so did Elliott.

On his daily runs, he meets Simon. A former cop injured in the line of duty, the two strike up a conversation and though Elliott’s attracted, he can’t get a read on Simon. With good reason. Simon’s not just in the closet, he isn’t certain where his attractions lie. Again, the little library plays a role here and what turns into soul-searching on both parts blooms into a cute romance.

Still, there’s a lot of angst from both Elliott and Simon’s backstory, their self-discoveries, and Simon’s eventual coming out. With Elliott entertaining a job far from California, Simon’s daring turns into regret when he realizes he may have just lost his family for a man who isn’t staying. I want to say his anger was justified, but man, I really wish they had talked it out like adults. This made the busybody turned threat that had been building throughout the story into a plot device toward reconciliation, and that left me a little wanting.

Still, it ended cute and I was happy to see them get their happy ending and a bigger little library.

The Little Library by Kim Fielding is a really cute, interesting read. I could easily relate to some of their characters and their love for reading. I plan to install my own little library and I'm sure this book will inspire you to do the same.

I received a free copy of this book through netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

The Little Library caught my attention when I was scrolling through netgalley and I am glad I decided to request it. It's an enjoyable romance book with a bit of a bookish theme. I had a fun time reading this book, although I had a few small issues with the book and the way it was written sadly failed to fully pull me into the story. But overall it was a good read and I am glad I gave it a try. It's more of a 3.5 star rating, but not yet fully a 4 star for me.

The Little Library follows the story of Elliott, who has a lot of books. Then one day he decides to do something about it and clear out some of those books with the help of a little library. Through the library he meets new people and eventually discovers someone is lending his gay books and he wants to find out who. And that's how the romance eventually starts. The bookish/ little library plot line was a fun addition. It's something almost every book lover can relate to and I liked how it was a part of the plot, but it wasn't overdone or too prominent.

This was a gentle paced romance with lots of sweet scenes and a bit of heat. I liked how Elliott and Simon took the time to get to know each other a bit and go on dates before they landed in bed together. I liked these two together and I enjoyed reading about their dates, from their first awkward dinner together to the trips they took. It was fun to see them grow closer and get to know each other. I really liked these two and how they really cared about each other. And I liked how accepting they were of the other and their eccentricities.

There were two obvious points of conflict from the start of the book and while they got mentioned a few times, it's like both characters wait with addressing it until the end. There's a bit of drama toward the end I didn't really care for, but I did like how they resolved it eventually and how they stayed honest with each other. Although I would've liked a bit more talking through things. There also was a bit of a plot line about Elliott's ex that I didn't really care for, they mentioned him a lot and how this relationship was compared to the previous one. And while that partly felt natural, I also tough it was a bit much at times.

My main issue with the book was how it felt like it stayed a bit distant at times. It's hard to explain, but I felt like I didn't get as deep into Elliott's thoughts and feelings as I would've liked. he's the main character, but at times it almost feels like someone else telling his story than himself. Sometimes I wasn't sure what he really wanted, or maybe he didn't know himself. But it was difficult at times to get pulled as much in the story as I would've liked. There is one scene later in the book which shows some emotion and feeling, which was great and I felt I understood Elliott was going through and why he was so conflicted. I just would've liked a bit more of that.

There are also some scenes at the start of the book mostly where Elliott and Simon are together and due to the way it was written I had the hardest time remembering who was who. It got a bit better as the book progressed, but it was still difficult in some scenes. It got me out of the story a bit when that happened. Not sure if it's just me or something about the writing, but I just had to pay some extra attention in those scenes.

I also had two small annoyances over some specific events that happened. One is a gift that Simon gifts Elliott. One the one hand I think it was the perfect gift for him, but at the same time I think it's the type of gift you should never gift someone without asking first. I did like how that gift continued to play a role so overall I am still happy how that played out. The second thing is how it was suggested that being a loner / not having much interaction with real life people was inherently bad. And while I do think Elliott was a bit lonely and could use the extra human contact, that message still bothered me a bit as I do think it's possible to be a loner or not go out often and be happy.

To summarize: I had fun reading this book. It's a MM contemporary romance with a bit of a slow build and a bit of heat. I liked the bookish theme with Elliott being a booklover and setting up the little library and how that was part of the story. I did have some trouble getting fully pulled into the story at times and would've liked to have a clearer idea of what Elliott thought and felt at times. There were some scenes with Simon and Elliott together were I got confused about who was who, which was a tad confusing. I did like the romance between these two and liked them together, they made for a great couple and I liked how caring they were. All in all I had fun with this book and would recommend it if you're looking for a fun MM Contemporary Romance with a slight bookish theme.

Elliot, a disgraced professor, unable to find a job because of said disgrace, needs something to do. He teaches online but it's not very fulfilling. He spends a lot of time on the internet buying books. He realizes he has a book problem and asks his bother to help him build a lending library in his front yard. His motto “take a book, leave a book” seems to be going pretty well, he just wants to know who is borrowing the books relating to being gay.

Simon is a cop, recovering from a shooting. He walks for therapy and keeps running into Elliott. They finally go out and Simon admits he doesn't think he wants to be a cop anymore and that maybe pretending he isn't gay wasn't working either.

They face issues that everyday people do. Dating, jobs, falling in love, crappy neighbors, and family.

This is a book about one man who thinks he knows who he is. The other feels lost and doesn't know who he wants to be. The secret is they are both wrong.

Sweet story with a slow burn, and a few tears and lots of books

This was a very enjoyable book :) Both characters deal with shutting themselves off from their true selves- one because he's closeted, the other has lost himself in a bad relationship. The progression of the relationship was a slow build but perfect based on the characters. There were fun supporting characters and the conflict was very realistic. I loved the idea of the littl library. Such a wonderful tie in to dicover who someone is through the books they choose.

3.5

I have mixed feelings about this book and I am not entirely sure why but it left me feeling unsettled. Not in a bad way just that there are plot threads left not unfinished

The writing is nice and solid as with any Kim Fielding book and I enjoyed how Simon and Elliott grew together. Though I feel a bit iffy about the surprise have a dog. It felt very much a set up to we are the quaint jnterracial gay couple in the suburbs with a dog and a baby and all is lovely and very heteronormative. It didnt sit well for me when it should have because fellow queers deserve the quaint suburb life with the dog and the baby and begrudgingly accepting inlaws.

What I wanted more was the thread of Elliot learning more about queer folks and the gold rush in California. If that thread had kept going and maybe Elliot realized he wanted to specialize in queer history that would have been more interesting. It also would have been a double back reason for rejecting Nebraska other than Ive found love. Like Simon found his new career path why couldnt Elliot

Random letter from John did not feel as weighty or impactful and was extraneous for me.

I really really could have down without Burgress and his nonsense

I did enjoy the look into Assyrian culture ans gold rush California and I do wish Elliot and Simon more adventures

I have started to read e-books exclusively since 2010; and I consider myself a voracious reader. With Elliott being a little younger than me, and I see him as a dedicated reader as well, I was wondering a bit on why he never even thinks about using e-reader and keep buying all those prints *lol*.

But as <b>an idea</b> I thought this was very good. While I will not get back to reading print, I definitely LOVED reading how excited the community was with Elliott's mini library. I haven't found this kind of context/situation in ANY of the romance books I read so far, so kudos for Kim Fielding to bring it up.

~ remember folks, I live in Indonesia, so this kind of community library is not common! ~

Elliott is the sole narrator of this book; it is HIS journey, to start going out of his shell, realizing that he has a lot to give without having to compromise to his ideal version about being a scholar. I loved reading his journey, for sure.

The romance itself is low angst and moves in rather slow progress -- which SUITS ME just fine! I still gobbled it up within a day because it was my kind of read. Elliott and Simon meet in passing, before Simon introduced himself as one of regular visitors to Elliott's library ... and for them taking the chance in dating.

I liked the way Simon saw things in life, thinking positively even when he meets obstacles, as well as his way of nudging Elliott to the 'right' direction (<spoiler>the dog was a NICE move, Simon!<spoiler>). I thought this two men were good to each other.

Yep, another satisfied Kim Fielding reader ^^

Elliott Thompson has withdrawn from life, he’s gone back to his hometown to lick his wounds after a relationship breakdown, which makes him feel like a fool for being taken in. He’s a history lecturer and gets through his problems by buying books. This has caused space problems so in an attempt to solve them he puts a neighborhood library in his front garden and becomes fascinated by the people who are borrowing and depositing books particularly the darkly handsome Simon Odisho who is coming to terms with rehabilitating his knee after taking a bullet during his police duties.
This is a really cute story, I loved seeing the guys struggle through their attempts to connect. Its humorous and touching and I loved it. , I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sweet, low angst romance.

Told entirely from Elliot’s third person POV, the story is a pleasant journey about opening up to new experiences and letting go of a past that’s holding you back.

I liked Elliot, and appreciated how much he grows during the course of the story. I liked the progression of his and Simon’s relationship, and loved when Fielding interjected some humor (I loved their first date – it was hysterical) into the story.

However, I found the pacing was slow and the story was predictable at times.

All in all, while I didn’t find many surprises here, this was a sweet, uncomplicated, gentle romantic read that left me with a smile as I finished.

The Little Library was a wonderfully easy to read and well written romance novel. It is the first one I have read where the romantic main characters were 2 men. It tore my heart out as a reader to feel Simons family challenges and made me cheer when he and Elliott were finally able to be together without hiding their love. The community feeling created by Elliotts little library And Ishtar? Read The Little Library to find out who she is :) Keep in mind it is a romance novel so there are some nerve tinglingly hot love scenes that are absolutely filled with romantic sweetness as well as the obvious sex. The Little Libraries concept is great and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone I knew who reads the romance novel genre, has an interest in the concept of little libraries or wants to read an LGBT genre as well. I received a kindle copy of this book from Netgalley for a fair and honest review and I'm grateful to the publisher for the chance to read it. <3

I would love to say that I was impressed by this, but the truth is I was kinda bored. I started this book of with "uh, this is a cool idea and the writing style is not bad", but over the course of the book I found myself drifting to other, more interesting books.

I just was not invested in Simon and Elliot's relationship and to be totally honest Elliot was pretty annoying from time to time.

That I didn't like this, doesn't mean that you won't like it, but sadly this book was one of the rare m/m books that didn't do it for me even though the premise sounded promising.

Rating: 2 stars

I finished this book over the course of one day, reading at work, at lunch, at home, etc. About halfway through, I wish I had gone slower so that I could savor how well written and adorable the story ended up being. There are probably spoilers in here, but I'll try to be cautious.

The Pros:
It's rare to find a romance story where anxiety disorders are written in a way where the love interest isn't trying to save them from their affliction. Simon supports Elliott and offers help, but he doesn't act like Elliott needs saving.
And the communication between the two, they actually talk through their worries and problems. They are open with each other and their doubts.
I also really enjoyed the fact that their first date was realistic, in that it was equal parts embarrassing and charming. It's nice to read about two people falling in love even when they don't have perfect dates and perfect lives.
Simon's disability was so well-written and I loved Elliott even more for being patient and encouraging but not pushy.
Finally, I'm so glad that Simon's story was realistic as well. Without spoiling anything, there's no hand-waving of acceptance and love right away. It's an old-world family with old-world beliefs and they're going to take some time. It's a happy ending, but not right away.

Cons (of which there are very few): I wish we got more Miri and less Mike, but that's so minor. I would have loved a little bit more about Simon's background as a cop, but I know the story is from Elliott's point of view, so we only get what Simon talks about.

All in all, I would give this 4.5/5. I tend to over-rate because I'm a sucker for realistic romances.

I loved this story about Elliott, a young college professor who was badly deceived and used by his lover and mentor and now struggles to fight his way back to the career path of his choice. And Simon, who was injured on the job and is now fighting his way back to his career path as well—and if it can’t be as a cop, as he was before, at least he hopes to find something that fits. He most definitely doesn’t want to work with his parents in their restaurant, not only because that’s not his chosen vocation, but also because he can’t meet their high personal expectations for him—that he’ll find a nice, preferably Assyrian, young woman, settle down, and raise babies for them.


What I liked most is that these two guys seemed to be pretty normal—the kind of guys you might meet in your neighborhood, or on the job, or even have as a family member. They are gay, but they’re not atypical—neither are porn stars, or con men, or werewolves—they’re a college professor and a cop. Granted, the college professor spends a lot of time immersed in his books when he’s not teaching one of the online community college courses he’s now reduced to overseeing. He lost his highly regarded, research-oriented position with a university when his lover and mentor was discovered to be embezzling and he was inadvertently caught up in the backlash. Now, he’s searching to get back into a tenure-track position and idling away his free time by shopping for more books to feed his book-buying (and reading) addiction. He tries to “behave” and exercise willpower, as many addicts would do, but it’s not until he decides to try something he’s seen elsewhere that his life takes on new purpose, and as a side benefit, he meets a pretty sexy guy with a bum knee.

The solution? He builds a “little library” a small set of enclosed book shelves on a post in his yard. Rearranging the furniture in his home so he can spy on the people stopping by gives him pause, but he does it anyway, and he’s rewarded with making new friends. Among them a little girl and her mom and that sexy guy with the bum knee that he’s seen as he’s been out running. That guy is Simon, and the two form an immediate friendship that leads to a very slow-burn relationship. I appreciated the way the author set this relationship up—no hurry to the bedroom, no over-the-moon heartthrobs—just a slow, gentle exploration of each other, starting with kisses and leading slowly to more.

And as they grow closer, it’s evident that Simon’s closet is not where Elliott wants to be. He was very hurt by his former lover and he won’t be hidden again. But Simon’s family feelings on homosexuality and strong cultural and religious beliefs don’t allow for room to negotiate and he desperately fears losing his parents if he comes out. In the meantime, Elliott is still searching for a university where he can settle in to research and get his career back on track, and it’s starting to look like that might happen in Nebraska.

Again, the author does not make the solution magical. These guys have to work for all they have both together and individually. It’s just not simple. It’s real. And I loved them. For me, the hallmark of a well-written book with endearing characters who face and overcome difficult life situations is when I can not only remember the story days later, but I can also recall their names. This one is a winner—proven by the above standards several days after I finished the story. And it’s going on my list of best of 2018. Well-written, with a host of amazing secondary characters, two outstanding main characters, and a variety of interesting experiences, added to slow burn, which is one of my favorite themes, I can easily highly recommend this one to lovers of MM romance. If you like it slow and you like your characters to be people you’d like to get to know, by all means choose this story.

Simple and cute, I had a good time with this one. It got a little over the top with the character of the neighbor, who has no characteristics other than being racist and bigoted. I prefer my antagonists a bit more fleshed out, lest it be a bit like smacking you over the head. But otherwise, the story was very cute.