The “Rivals of Casper Road” is an endearing opposites-attract love story which really sells the pleasures of small town living. While Roan Parrish fans get updates on the Garnet Run couples from the series’ first two installments, rest assured, each novel is a standalone.

Tragedy stole love from Zachary’s Glass’s family. In contrast, Bram Larkspur’s loving family has offered little incentive to become his own man. Then a failed relationship brings Bram to Wyoming , where he is Zachary’s neighbor. He finds Zach to be reclusive, dedicated to his routines and profession. Despite great ingenuity, Zach succumbs to his employer’s cookie-cutter expectations., putting all his creativity into the annual neighborhood Halloween competition. Competition also stops him from getting too close. “His exclusion from the phone tree, like most of the other exclusions in his life, had not been his choice, even if it was one of the less painful ones.” When a prank rivalry between Zach and Bram sparks appreciation of one another’s inventiveness, they unite to develop a joint Halloween display for their aptly named Casper Road.

Bram is a delightfully confident, easy going man, whose sculptures impress others more than himself. Likewise, Zachary has little concept of his worth as an architect. His production routines are almost as important as his finished products. Can Bram loosen Zachary’s tight bounds? And what can Zachary offer Bram?

I wondered why this low angst novel was so enjoyable. First is the fun element. Roan Parrish’s imagination locates creativity in every aspect of human existence. The healing powers of innovation can be seen in pranks, architecture, whittling, even cat catch-neuter-and-release programs, all of which engaged me thoroughly. Expect an amusement park of exciting concepts!

Then again, her men are honest, quirky and completely different from each other. Yet she makes the puzzle pieces match, so every couple in the series is a unique.

Ms. Parrish creates warm, supportive communities – people who grant one another space yet enhance each other’s company. Together they are all better than apart. Right down to the map of the town, we’d want to live in Garnet Run.

And her writing is smo-ooth, her details carefully chosen and language pitch perfect.. Since I can’t resist quotes, here are a few throwaway lines to tempt you:
“The words had entered him like fishhooks when his skin was thin, and his tender mind held on to everything. They were lodged beneath the surface now – they sat like tattoo ink, six layers deep.” “ Avoiding our fears just builds them up in our minds and invests them with more power.”
“Trust isn’t something that lives in other people. It is a choice that you make for yourself. And it’s a choice you have to make over and over.”

To badly abuse the Beach Boys, “The Rivals of Casper Road” was fun, fun, fun until November First took Halloween away! But yeah, even after the holiday, it wraps up perfectly!

Like the previous Garret Run books,
The Rivals of Casper Road is a sweet, mildly steamy MM Romance that has a Hallmark movie vibe. It was sweet, with quirky characters, some fun Halloween scenes, a prank war and a haunted hay ride...

But for me, this one just lacked that je ne sais quoi that makes me such a fan of M/M romance. I get that Harlequin is trying to integrate MM Romance into their general romance lines, but as a M/M romance reader, this one lacked depth and spark that I expect from my mm reads... it was sweet and the plot was good, but the number of fade to black scenes and the complete lack of angst made me crave just a little bit of conflict.

If you're looking for a not-so-spooky, fluffy Halloween read, pick up
The Rivals of Casper Road and enjoy it for what it is... the Hallmark/Harlequin version of a mm romance.

3.5 stars rounded up

First, while this is book 4 of the series, it can be read as a standalone. I have not read the other books in the series yet, but I was able to follow along. I will also say that I will be reading the rest of the series and have added the others to my TBR.

Next, for The Rivals of Casper Road, I really liked this book. it was sweet and at times awkward, but those are things that endeared the characters and the story to me. It was a little slow-moving at times, and I wasn't sure if I would like it at the beginning, but eventually, I found myself engrossed. I'm giving this book 4 stars and recommend you check it out yourself.

This book was very sweet and a great way to kick off fall or Halloween reading. I won’t spend much time rehashing the plot since you have the blurb for that, but the tl;dr is that Bram (loveable, lumberjack, kind of a golden retriever, loves whittling in his spare time, has an adorable dog he takes everywhere named Hemlock) is getting over a bad breakup partially by moving to Casper Road. When he arrives, he finds out that there is an annual Halloween decorating contest that Zachary (his neighbor across the street at 666 Casper Road, architect, reserved, portrayed as being neurodiverse but never explicitly identified as such) has won for six consecutive years.

Sound like a Hallmark movie? Well, it kind of is…just…spooky?

As a huge fan of Halloween, I really enjoyed the many references to characters, movies, and tropes that the author wove through the plot. However, that might be a major stumbling block for some readers who loathe pop cultural references in books or who get distracted and want to stop and Google everything they don’t know (speaking from experience as someone who spent a few minutes googling Norris McTeague to see if he was real—he is not. I saved you time.).

After meeting and starting off on a relatively good foot, things escalate into a fairly lighthearted prank war. As the story continues, they grow closer, and their relationship develops. I was not over the moon about some of the characterization decisions that just felt off (how Zachary begins the prank war, the extreme level of fear Bram had about everything, etc.). In accordance with the more Hallmark Movie vibe, any conflicts are resolved relatively quickly and tied up in a neat bow. Because the book is fairly short, however, this can come off as a bit rushed. The story does not have a lot of space to breathe (which can be nice if you want a quick afternoon read, but can be disappointing if you really want to linger in the atmosphere of the book). If you want a short, charming read that lets you turn your brain off for a bit and love Halloween and Hallmark movies, this is for you.

CWs: Discussion of past bullying and racism (one MMC is Jewish), discussion of family trauma
Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, neighbors, opposites attract, golden retriever MC

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is the fourth book in the Garnet Run series by Roan Parrish. It can be read as a stand-alone, although of course the experience will be enriched by reading in order.
I really liked this one, and I like how it continues the theme of holiday vibes from the previous book, although this one revolves around Halloween and fall/autumn instead of Christmas. It was fun to see the characters getting ready for the cooler weather and even dressing up in costumes and pumpkin carving.
Bram and Zachary have a sweet, opposites-attract dynamic, and I really loved seeing them interact and figuring out what made the other tick. I love how the two also complement and challenge each other, like Bram being encouraged to try horror stories, which Zachary loves, even though Bram isn’t the biggest fan initially.
This is a cozy category-length queer novel, and a perfect addition to your reading in the lead up to Halloween.

Roan Parrish continues to produce incredibly beautiful, incredibly lovable romances, and this Harlequin Special Edition does everything that I love about the line - focus in on small-town romance and everyday relationships writ large with a lovely portrait of two men coming together and finding real love with each other.

Chainsaw carver and whittler Bramble – Bram - Larkspur has moved to Casper Road to start afresh. One of five siblings, but accompanied only by his beloved golden retriever, Hemlock, he hopes Autumn will offer him a little bit of emotional healing after a bad break-up sent him reeling.

Architect Zachary Glass adores horror movies, is Jewish and has dealt with prejudice, and is so competitive he’s won Casper Road’s Halloween decorating contest for six years running. He doesn’t expect Bram to be the one to offer him competition this autumn. Yet competition is what Bram provides, even though Bram hates horror movies.

These two rivals immediately set about pranking one another, from glitter bombs in the mailbox to dumping paint on lawn statues. But can they go from rivals to lovers as October passes by? Some feral cats and a neighborhood of busybodies might have the answer to that one.

An easygoing romance with a lot of humor and pep, The Rivals of Casper Road works both because it allows its heroes to have childish moments of pique and because they grow out of those moments to reflect, pause, and find love. It’s easy to love Bram, who’s open and gregarious, but Zachary was my favorite character. He’s complex, layered, a little bitter and reluctant to trust. There are some good supporting players too.

The relationship is classic rivals-to-lovers, with some spicy and hungry longing that culminates in some frantic sex. I had some caveats about the relationship but I rooted for it and enjoyed it.

The way Parrish describes the natural world of this suburban wonderland is beautifully rich. You can smell fall’s nip in the air, and taste the pumpkin pie.

What keeps this from a full-on A is the fact that Bram and Zachary don’t seem to have a ton in common. Yes, this is a classic opposites-attract romance, but Zachary doesn’t like dogs, and Bram hates Halloween, and getting the two of them to the point where they can accept each other’s differences takes a very long time. Also, sometimes the characters’ childish behavior feels a little over the top (Bram hates scary things so much he runs away from a hayride intended for children). But if you’re looking for some lighthearted autumn entertainment, The Rivals of Casper Road is perfect.

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The Rivals of Casper Road is a sweet, steamy, grumpy x sunshine romance with perfect fall/Halloween vibes. I enjoyed this without having read the previous entries in the Garnet Run series, and I can’t wait to read the stories about members of this gay found family in a tiny Wyoming community.

For grumpy, we have Zachary Glass, a work-from-home architect who lives a very lonely, regimented life after family trauma and severe bullying. He loves horror movies and winning the annual Halloween contest for best decorations on Casper Road. For sunshine, we have Bram Larkspur, a bighearted, freewheeling carpenter who is still recovering from being betrayed by his best friend and his ex. Naturally, he gets scared by all the horror stuff Zachary loves. Watching these opposites learn to trust each other is a pure delight.

Roan Parrish clearly did her homework on the horror aspect of this story, and the details were much appreciated. A small request: I hope we get a bonus story about Mrs. Lundy’s hijinks!

A prank war between two neighbors turns out to be something special The Rivals of Casper Road. Roan Parrish returns to Garnet Run in this sweet Halloween-time romance of finding your heart and home.

Bram is a sweetheart who sees the best in people. After having his heart broken, he made his way far from everything and everyone he ever knew and finds himself in Garnet Run. He quickly fits into his new neighborhood, but the one person who isn’t immediately won over is his neighbor, Zachary Glass. Zachary is a man who likes routine, order, and everything as he thinks it should be. He’s the six-time winner of the Casper Road Halloween decorating contest and there’s no way this newcomer is going to break his streak. Though Parrish never explicitly states it, Zachary appears to be neurodivergent and is stressed when things don’t go how he plans. He’s also a man who is very alone and convinced no one will stay with him. His wounds broke my heart and even though he makes mistakes with Bram, I was looking forward to seeing him get his happily ever after. Bram’s gentleness and understanding help Zachary branch out and Zachary’s straightforward honesty makes Bram feel safe. Their romance is engaging and the happily ever after heartwarming.

The Rivals of Casper Road is the fourth book in Parrish’s Garnet Run series but it can easily be read as a standalone. Fans of the first three books will delight in revisiting their favorite characters and seeing what they’ve been up to since their happily ever afters. I liked the friendly residents of Garnet Run and how they filled out the world Parrish created. There are some campy moments in this story (and some flaws in the more adorable moments of creating shelters for feral cats), but overall I found it a comfortable read with imperfect characters whose flaws make them all the more interesting. I finished Zachary and Bram’s story a satisfied reader and I’m looking forward to catching up on the Garnet Run books I’ve missed.

When Bram moves to Casper Road, he is leaving behind a relationship that ended with him feeling he’d been betrayed. His partner and his best friend had been cheating on him and he was left feeling as though he needed to leave home and all the reminders behind him. Casper Road is in Garnet Run, the town that is the centre of this series of books.

Also residing on Casper Road is architect and Halloween decoration champion, Zachary Glass. Once the two men become neighbours, their differences lead them to an odd friendship that has the potential for more. The decorating becomes a link for Bram and Zachary and their blossoming relationship reveals their differences and the things that may be a basis for more than friendship.

There are appearances from all the previous Garnet Run couples and even a reference to one of Roan Parrish’s other well loved series of books, Riven.

⭐️ Bram: Bram is the sweet, good-natured, burly guy in the story. I liked him but I was a little bit confused about his “lifestyle”. He moved to a new community and was renting a house but there was never any mention of him working, having money, leaving the house. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was that he did. Lack of a job aside, Bram was funny and I loved his connected to his family. Parrish did a great job of giving the supporting family characters a bit of development.

⭐️ Zachary: I struggled with Zachary a bit. I felt as though Parrish had written a character who was probably neurodiverse without their being much explanation. I”m not meaning to imply that there should have been a diagnosis of anything to make it valid, but it certainly seemed as though there were some mental health things going on that weren’t really acknowledged. Zachary was certainly interesting and I loved how quirky he was. I struggled a bit with some of his decisions as they didn’t seem to be in character. There’s a part of the story when Zachary basically vandalizes a neighbours property and that just didn’t seem to me like something he would do.

THE GOOD BITS

-loved the names of Bram’s family! I need to be more creative!
-Finally a Halloween story! Halloween in my favourite story and there aren’t that many books set in the fall
-The overall story was cute, loved the feeling of found-family in the town especially as it related to the queer community
-I really liked seeing the characters from the other books appearing throughout the book
-Really liked the interactions Bram had with his family. It was fun and entertaining.

DIDN’T WORK FOR ME

-needed some more back story on Bram (how the heck does he support himself?)
-was Zachary neurodivergent? Certainly read as if he was.
-A little unbelievable that Bram was so scared of everything. It was almost to the point of pathological and I couldn’t get myself to believe it.
-I feel as though some of my favourite authors have changed their writing slightly when being signed to Harlequin. Maybe a little less edgy?

I adore visiting Roan Parrish’s adorable town in Wyoming - Garnet Run - and was so excited for a cozy Halloween romance there! Bramble Larkspur is adorable. He is a flannel wearing, whittling, sweetheart with a motorbike and a goofy dog. Zach is a grump with no social skills and a strict plan and schedule. Zac - honestly- I didn’t understand or warm to (any form of corporate success/ vocational job as a personality trait is such a turn off for me in both books and reality.) And I wasn’t sure I bought their romance. But it is a soft read with minimal angst (all coming from Zach) and a quick read.

ID:

TL/DR Review
Stars: three stars for romance four for Bram
Series: Garnet Run Book Four (can be read as a standalone)
POV: dual third
Steam: higher than Parrish’s Holiday Trap but lower than Better Than People
Tropes: opposites attract, cinnamon roll, frenemies to lovers, neighbors, grumpy/ sunshine
For Fans Of: Always Only You by Chloe Liese
Theme Song: Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon
Subgenre: contemporary/ LGBTQIA
CW/ TW: references to loss of sibling, references to toxic family dynamics, references to bully and antisemitism as a child

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book, perfect for the fall. I did feel it was a tad short in length. My favorite thing about the book was how welcoming everyone was to the new guy in town. A new reader could pick this up without issue and be able to follow everything and not be lost, which is important. I thought the halloween rivalry was a cute setup for the relationship and everything that followed, I just wish there was a bit more happening there. I loved the social anxiety issues - I think Roan Parrish is one of the best at writing these types of characters.

This book was very cozy and cute. I was expecting more angst since the title states the main characters are rivals but their Halloween wars were very low angst. It was entertaining and packed with Halloween and tough family dynamics which made it real and relatable.

Looking for a new start after a bad breakup, Bram moves to a small Wyoming town. His neighbor Zachary, a reclusive architect, takes Halloween decorating very seriously—and the two end up in a friendly competition. Will rivalry turn to love?

I usually don’t like books featuring pranks, but this was adorable and laugh-out-loud funny. Bram is an easy-going cinnamon roll. Zachary is hilariously rigid and lacking in emotional intelligence. The secondary cast adds to the fun. Roan Parrish is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Rivals of Casper Road is the fourth stand alone in the Garnet Run series by Roan Parrish. An opposites attract romance between horror fan Zachary Glass and his new easily spooked neighbor.

Bram is an absolute sweetheart who wears his heart on his sleeve. His best friend is his canine companion and he has a close relationship with his family. He's an instantly likeable guy because his joy and care is so genuine. Then we have Zachary who comes off as rude and rigid but his backstory of what he went through that made him the way he is now was heartbreaking. When we learn about why he feels unlovable and why he sticks to his routines, you just want to wrap him in a big hug. I did appreciate his love for horror because I am right along with him in regard to the genre. I thought it was sweet that Bram tried his hardest to give scary things a chance, even if he spooked very easily. Their relationship struggles with communication at times especially from Zachary's side, but it's not intentional. The two have a slow burn and relatively low steam romance with only a few open door intimate scenes.

I love the small town that Roan Parrish has created, it gives me the warm and fuzzies. This is filled with friendly faces from the prior books in the series, and every time one popped up I got a smile on my face. There's also a mention of one of them working on a graphic novel of a certain book from the series, and I really hope that actually becomes a reality !

Overall, The Rivals of Casper Road by Roan Parrish is a relatively low steam fall romance filled with family video calls, a spooky hayride, pumpkin carving, chainsaw carvings and doing what will truly make you happy.

I want to first thank NetGalley and Roan Parrish for giving me an advance copy of this book for my honest review.

When I first was introduced to Zachery I have to admit I had my reservations about what I was about to read. In the beginning the story had a strange feel for me. At one point they watched the movie, “Let the Right One in.” I saw that movie at the theater and it gave me that same strange feeling. As I got to know Zachery and his background I grew to love him.
I’ve said in previous reviews of Roan’s novels that she can make you love the most unlovable characters. I certainly grew to love Zachery. Bram was easy to love from the very beginning.

This book left me feeling so happy. It was the story of two lost souls finding their forever with each other. I found myself crying happy tears several times.

This book was the perfect cozy fall vibes that I would like out of all of my reads at the moment. I loved everything about the way Zachary and his regimented routine came to find himself almost unexpectedly playing and relaxing with Bram. I loved the prank war. I love the way the two of them had fun falling in love. And mostly, I loved the way I really got to feel this romance. I feel like I know the characters. I feel like I know the community. I feel like I want Garnet Run to be a real actual place that I could go live. It's honestly gotten increasingly more rare for me to increase my rating as time goes by rather than decrease it and that's partially because it's not often that books have been really lingering in my mind lately. But this book achieved that and more and I cannot wait until it's officially out so everyone else can experience this joy and coziness alongside me.

I thought this was a cute read and would definitely be interested in reading more by Parrish. I will definitely purchase for the library.

I don't have enough good things to say about how soft these books are! They are low angst, super cozy, with just enough narrative tension and very real-human-in-the-world levels of mis/non communication to keep things from being too perfect.
Halloween is a fantastic backdrop to this story about Zachary, an architect who was bullied growing up for being his neurodiverse self, and Bram, the heartbroken newcomer to town who loves it across the street with his joy and big feelings. It's all very opposites attract with a bit of competition and Halloween related pranks that takes care of the reader at the same time it takes care of both these lovely boys. Since it's the fourth in a series, we also get to see snippets of the three previous couples HEA's as well as the cat rescue
What I love so much about these books is how much care the MCs take with each other. They are always listening and learning and respecting boundaries while gently nudging the other to step a little out of their comfort zone. It is so fantastic to read such tender men, unlearning and rejecting the idea that masculinity means something cruel, distant, or controlling. I don't have words for how soothing these books are, truly.

3.5*

This was a sweet m/m Halloween romance - something I don't see or read a lot of. A neighborhood decorating contest leads to a rivalry and a bit of a prank war between the new, super outgoing guy (Bram) and the reserved uptight guy who LIVES for the annual competition (Zachary). I did enjoy that aspect of the book and thought it was a fun and unique setup for this opposites attract romance.

I wish there had been a little more chemistry/connection between Bram and Zachary, or at least that we'd seen more of that build on page. While I really enjoyed the characters individually and I could see them as friends, their relationship seemed more surface level and convenient than anything.

Overall, this story was a sweeter more Hallmarky type store than the first two in this series. I'm sadly not a big fan of Hallmark movies, so this isn't a positive change for me, but I know it will be for others. Don't misunderstand me, I didn't dislike this book, and this author is still on my auto-buy list, this book just isn't going to go down as a favorite.

RIvals of Casper road is the story between Zachary and recent transplant to Casper Road, Bram. Zach is the rigid architect who is 100% a grump and has been winning the Halloween decoration contest for several years in a row and Bram who is sunshine personified and ready to give the Halloween decoration contest a try. However, Zach is not ready to give up easily and what starts as a prank to get back to each other might end up in love.

It was so good to be back on Casper road and get to see how previous couples are doing. Writing was great as is usual with Roan Parrish with lots of phrases that make you think about the meaning of life in general. The only reason why I’m giving this book 4 instead of 5 stars is because it felt like it skipped over important parts of the MC relationship development and not a lot happen otherwise besides the contest. It also had very mild spicy scenes. I highly recommend to read the prior ones but this one fits perfectly for spooky season.