Hedgehog Harry

I was lucky enough to see A. J. Truman on a panel at Sports Romance Con 2026 and to meet him later. The panel was affirming and had me both in tears and peals of laughter. At the signing A. J. was kind and gracious with his time and so when my local queer romance bookclub was looking for someone’s work to kick things off with he felt like a natural choice. We decided to go with Ancient History based on the fact it gives us an excuse to make skittle-themed cocktails and mocktails.

SUMMARY: Amos and Hutch were secret boyfriends with a plan to come out in the description so not a spoiler until Hutch let Amos down and they went they’re separate ways. A decade later they’re both teaching at the same high school they attended and sparks still fly. What will happen when they’re assigned the same lunch duty?

I was almost immediately endeared to this story as someone who had a lot of confusing not-quite-crushes in high school. (I was once late to a dance with one crush because I was busy watching the then new Grey’s Anatomy TiVo with another.) Both main characters are compelling and well-motivated. Amos has a strong group of friends around him. Hutch and his father’s relationships is charming. The whole community is well fleshed out and had me reaching for the rest of the series after finishing up this novel.

4.5 starts and 3 chili peppers!

What’s your favorite second-chance romance?