What do you think?
Rate this book
Little Village
Village Fool
Owen is only confident in two places: at work, supporting clients through IT woes, and when he's sitting around a gaming table in the role of a smooth and charming bard. He's never acted on the crush he's had on his physiotherapist—and total cubcake—Toma. Even though Owen’s no longer Toma’s patient, and his crush hasn't dialed down in the slightest, Owen can’t figure out how to make a move.
When a friend decides to play a prank involving Owen's contact list, Owen spends the morning of April Fools’ day inadvertently texting smooth and charming thoughts about Toma... to Toma himself.
By the time Owen discovers the prank, things are completely out of control. Discussions of thighs and awards for the World's Best Chest have been handed out—not to mention they've set an accidental coffee date—and there's no taking that sort of thing back. When this joke finally gets told, Owen's convinced he’ll be the punchline, but with a little luck and some nudging from his friends, the last laugh might be the best of his life.
When a friend decides to play a prank involving Owen's contact list, Owen spends the morning of April Fools’ day inadvertently texting smooth and charming thoughts about Toma... to Toma himself.
By the time Owen discovers the prank, things are completely out of control. Discussions of thighs and awards for the World's Best Chest have been handed out—not to mention they've set an accidental coffee date—and there's no taking that sort of thing back. When this joke finally gets told, Owen's convinced he’ll be the punchline, but with a little luck and some nudging from his friends, the last laugh might be the best of his life.
ebook
Published March 1, 2021
269 people want to read
About the author
'Nathan Burgoine
50 books459 followers'Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first published short story was "Heart" in the collection Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction. Since then, he has had dozens of short stories published, and despite being "the tall queer guy who writes mosly shorter queer fictions" novels have happened between the novellas and short stories.
A cat lover, 'Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing "cat or dog?" détente ended with the rescue and adoption of huskies. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
You can find 'Nathan on the web at nathanburgoine.com.
A cat lover, 'Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, who is a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing "cat or dog?" détente ended with the rescue and adoption of huskies. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
You can find 'Nathan on the web at nathanburgoine.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
Read
February 7, 2022Sweet novella with awkward Owen crushing on his PT, said crush revealed by a friend's practical joke. All ends well although I remain of the opinion that all practical jokers should be fired into the sun. Very warm, readable, cosy feel for when you need a nice pick-me-up of a story.
July 20, 2021
CUTE BOOK ALERT!!! 😍😍😍❤
This was sooooo fluffy with, surprisingly, a very good message on body image. It's short so I do wish it were longer, but I enjoyed it. I loved the Aprli's fool prank, how the love started and I wasn't even bothered by the going back and forth in time, I think it was well done and it filled th blanks. I was bothered by this:
"Ignore him. He has zero filters. I’m Silas.” There is a Silas here. 😨😨 #ForeverMindFucked with that name.
Also, what the hell is a cubcake? 🤣🤣❤
This was sooooo fluffy with, surprisingly, a very good message on body image. It's short so I do wish it were longer, but I enjoyed it. I loved the Aprli's fool prank, how the love started and I wasn't even bothered by the going back and forth in time, I think it was well done and it filled th blanks. I was bothered by this:
"Ignore him. He has zero filters. I’m Silas.” There is a Silas here. 😨😨 #ForeverMindFucked with that name.
Also, what the hell is a cubcake? 🤣🤣❤
Read
February 12, 2022February 11th, 2022 Update: Bold Strokes Book is doing a flash sale on Romance Stories until February 14th at 11:59pm, and it includes "Village Fool" at the Bold Strokes Books webstore!
Also, If you'd like to see some of the March authors read from their new releases—including me reading from Village Fool—you can check us out here.
*
I’ve had a few people ask about the order of the various Village stories, and the short answer is it doesn’t matter, but if you’re a stickler, then the order they’re listed here on Goodreads is correct, with the caveat that parts of Faux Ho Ho and Village Fool and Handmade Holidays all overlap a bit.
*
Remember way back at the start of this year when I had a plan to release a short story about Owen and Toma (who you met in Faux Ho Ho), and their adventure on April Fools’ Day with a prank gone wrong? Then my tendons got wrecked and everything fell to pieces and April Fools’ Day went by?
Yeah, me too.
But! Said short story did that thing so many of my short stories do and get longer, and longer, and then suddenly they’re a novelette and then they’re a novella and… Well. Next month? Ahem.
So, yeah. Coming next March from Bold Strokes Books, the next holiday trip to the Village. (And can we just agree to gush about that damn cover? Because it’s so perfect. The little coffee beans in the E’s of Bittersweets, the lights on strings like on the cover of Faux Ho Ho… GAH! Another fantastic cover from Inkspiral.)
Also, If you'd like to see some of the March authors read from their new releases—including me reading from Village Fool—you can check us out here.
*
I’ve had a few people ask about the order of the various Village stories, and the short answer is it doesn’t matter, but if you’re a stickler, then the order they’re listed here on Goodreads is correct, with the caveat that parts of Faux Ho Ho and Village Fool and Handmade Holidays all overlap a bit.
*
Remember way back at the start of this year when I had a plan to release a short story about Owen and Toma (who you met in Faux Ho Ho), and their adventure on April Fools’ Day with a prank gone wrong? Then my tendons got wrecked and everything fell to pieces and April Fools’ Day went by?
Yeah, me too.
But! Said short story did that thing so many of my short stories do and get longer, and longer, and then suddenly they’re a novelette and then they’re a novella and… Well. Next month? Ahem.
So, yeah. Coming next March from Bold Strokes Books, the next holiday trip to the Village. (And can we just agree to gush about that damn cover? Because it’s so perfect. The little coffee beans in the E’s of Bittersweets, the lights on strings like on the cover of Faux Ho Ho… GAH! Another fantastic cover from Inkspiral.)
December 19, 2021
If you haven't read any 'Nathan Burgoine yet, this M/M contemporary novella would be a great place to start - especially if you love a geek romance as much as I do.
IT pro and role-playing game aficionado Owen has a wicked crush on his former physical therapist, Toma, but won't do anything about it. One of Owen's friends takes matters into his own hands for April Fool's and reroutes Owen's thirsty text messages about Toma to the man himself...
I don't know how Burgoine pulled it off, but I simultaneously found the prank hilarious (since it was fiction; in real life I am not a prank fan) and totally felt Owen's anguish when he realized what had happened. I also really liked the past/present structure that let us see how Owen and Toma met, while keeping us grounded in the present storyline that we know is going to end with something sweet. Which it did.
A+!
IT pro and role-playing game aficionado Owen has a wicked crush on his former physical therapist, Toma, but won't do anything about it. One of Owen's friends takes matters into his own hands for April Fool's and reroutes Owen's thirsty text messages about Toma to the man himself...
I don't know how Burgoine pulled it off, but I simultaneously found the prank hilarious (since it was fiction; in real life I am not a prank fan) and totally felt Owen's anguish when he realized what had happened. I also really liked the past/present structure that let us see how Owen and Toma met, while keeping us grounded in the present storyline that we know is going to end with something sweet. Which it did.
A+!
April 9, 2021
Adorably awkward and sweet! 🥰 *and that's Owen, not the novella, LOL*
September 11, 2021
It's a cute novella that I enjoyed every minute of, but the ending didn't leave me completely satisfied. I could have happily read a full-length novel with these characters and this set-up. Which is saying something since it's pure romance, and those aren't holding my attention very well these days. But this author has a way of writing clever characters that still feel real in cute romances that don't feel sappy, and it just really works for me. I still didn't love the ending, but I rarely do with short stories.
November 16, 2021
Thank you to the No-Face Meets No-Name elf for this amazing gift!!
This was SO cute I wish it was longer, but I truly enjoyed it.
Owen was awkwardly sweet and so nice I loved him from page one.
A very fluffy, very sweet book
This was SO cute I wish it was longer, but I truly enjoyed it.
Owen was awkwardly sweet and so nice I loved him from page one.
A very fluffy, very sweet book
April 5, 2021
This was so damn cute!!!
It’s just a shortstory with under 100 pages and I think it’s very hard to put much into such a short story and make you feel anything...well this one didn’t disappoint a bit!
I absolutely loved the queer friend group, every single character was so well elaborated and individual, I could 100% see them right before my eyes.
I loved the flashbacks the most, they gave us an actual background story and made me completely fall in love with Owen and Toma...and of course ship them very hard.
Owen was super funny (and the misdirected messages of course! So much secondhand embarrassment!), Toma was super sweet, I loved them together. Jock x Nerd is one of my favourite tropes anyway.
I felt so sorry for Owen, who was hurting after his accident in the past and also because he was so embarrassed in the present.
It made me so happy how Owen and his nerdy friendgroup stuck together through all of it.
I would have definitely read a whole novel about them!
I need to get my hands on the other books in this series!
It’s just a shortstory with under 100 pages and I think it’s very hard to put much into such a short story and make you feel anything...well this one didn’t disappoint a bit!
I absolutely loved the queer friend group, every single character was so well elaborated and individual, I could 100% see them right before my eyes.
I loved the flashbacks the most, they gave us an actual background story and made me completely fall in love with Owen and Toma...and of course ship them very hard.
Owen was super funny (and the misdirected messages of course! So much secondhand embarrassment!), Toma was super sweet, I loved them together. Jock x Nerd is one of my favourite tropes anyway.
I felt so sorry for Owen, who was hurting after his accident in the past and also because he was so embarrassed in the present.
It made me so happy how Owen and his nerdy friendgroup stuck together through all of it.
I would have definitely read a whole novel about them!
I need to get my hands on the other books in this series!
April 22, 2021
I now want a friend group full of gay nerds to adopt me so we can play boardgames together.
I'd already read Faux Ho Ho and Handmade Holidays before, and I really liked how this novella tied them together. I'd like to reread them closer together sometime to appreciate them fully.
Owen was a great main character, funny and relatable, and while I really liked the romance, the friend group stole the show for me.
I'd already read Faux Ho Ho and Handmade Holidays before, and I really liked how this novella tied them together. I'd like to reread them closer together sometime to appreciate them fully.
Owen was a great main character, funny and relatable, and while I really liked the romance, the friend group stole the show for me.
July 6, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC of this book. The following review is my honest reflection on the text provided.
A quick read, I thoroughly enjoyed Village Fool. I've found holiday-themed books to be fairly contrived in the past and didn't have high hopes for an April Fools Day-related novella. I am very happy to be wrong in this instance.
Sugary-sweet, in both the plot and the desserts, I enjoyed Owen and his clumsy flirting (and not-so-clumsy texting). The events played out believably and everyone's reactions made sense, two things that rarely occur in holiday fiction, which has a minefield of predictable tropes. Owen's group of friends is great and I loved their nerdy banter; I will definitely be looking into more of the Little Village novellas if I get to read more about them.
Moral of the story: friends should not have unsupervised access to your phone. Or maybe they should?
A quick read, I thoroughly enjoyed Village Fool. I've found holiday-themed books to be fairly contrived in the past and didn't have high hopes for an April Fools Day-related novella. I am very happy to be wrong in this instance.
Sugary-sweet, in both the plot and the desserts, I enjoyed Owen and his clumsy flirting (and not-so-clumsy texting). The events played out believably and everyone's reactions made sense, two things that rarely occur in holiday fiction, which has a minefield of predictable tropes. Owen's group of friends is great and I loved their nerdy banter; I will definitely be looking into more of the Little Village novellas if I get to read more about them.
Moral of the story: friends should not have unsupervised access to your phone. Or maybe they should?
Blog | Bookstagram | Reddit | Twitter
Want to read
December 16, 2021Thank you for the gift, Stephani Rozier
July 15, 2021
Wow... what a nice surprise this novela. Very nice indeed!
March 11, 2021
Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you ever wanted to read something cute, short, and funny, this is the perfect book. You can finish it in one afternoon for a quick pick me up after getting exhausted by the days you spent on zoom. Zoom tiredness is a real thing, okay?
This book was a delight. I loved the characters, even if in 74 pages (according to kindle) it's not easy to form attachment to them. I loved the concept and the execution of the story as well.
A not well thought out April's Fools prank results in our main character texting his crush instead of his friend. About said crush and his fine attributes. I mean, what's not to like about this setup?
It was cute, guys. It was cute. Exactly what I expected and wished for.
If you ever wanted to read something cute, short, and funny, this is the perfect book. You can finish it in one afternoon for a quick pick me up after getting exhausted by the days you spent on zoom. Zoom tiredness is a real thing, okay?
This book was a delight. I loved the characters, even if in 74 pages (according to kindle) it's not easy to form attachment to them. I loved the concept and the execution of the story as well.
A not well thought out April's Fools prank results in our main character texting his crush instead of his friend. About said crush and his fine attributes. I mean, what's not to like about this setup?
It was cute, guys. It was cute. Exactly what I expected and wished for.
March 13, 2021
I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes. This in no way influences my review; all words, thoughts, and opinions are my own.
Content notes:
This was the perfect cute, fun little story! Owen has had a crush on his now-former physiotherapist and planned to ask Toma out but chickened out. As an April fools joke, one of his friends shuffles his contact list, so thinking he’s texting Felix about his workout and thoughts of Toma, it turns out he was telling Toma everything instead!
I enjoyed the mix of flashbacks in the story and I loved the chosen family Owen has found. Even though Felix messed up with the prank, everything turned out so sweet and worked out that Owen finally gets a date with Toma.
Overall I had a lot of fun with this short story and I’m looking forward to reading more in this series, as this is my first book by ‘Nathan Burgoine I believe (though he has been on my TBR for a while). I just couldn’t resist the premise, and this ended up being the perfect story to brighten a stressful week!
Content notes:
This was the perfect cute, fun little story! Owen has had a crush on his now-former physiotherapist and planned to ask Toma out but chickened out. As an April fools joke, one of his friends shuffles his contact list, so thinking he’s texting Felix about his workout and thoughts of Toma, it turns out he was telling Toma everything instead!
I enjoyed the mix of flashbacks in the story and I loved the chosen family Owen has found. Even though Felix messed up with the prank, everything turned out so sweet and worked out that Owen finally gets a date with Toma.
Overall I had a lot of fun with this short story and I’m looking forward to reading more in this series, as this is my first book by ‘Nathan Burgoine I believe (though he has been on my TBR for a while). I just couldn’t resist the premise, and this ended up being the perfect story to brighten a stressful week!
April 11, 2021
An April Fools' joke leads to Owen unknowingly texting about his crush—to his crush, Toma. One of my favourite tropes (a very underused one imo), is when one of the romantic interests doesn't realise that he's actually messaging the other romantic interest.
When Owen discovers the truth minutes before his first date with Toma, he has a mini freak-out from embarrassment.
While we only get to be with Owen and Toma for a sort time, I absolutely adore them. They are so sweet together; I can't wait to see more of them in future books in this world.
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Owen discovers the truth minutes before his first date with Toma, he has a mini freak-out from embarrassment.
While we only get to be with Owen and Toma for a sort time, I absolutely adore them. They are so sweet together; I can't wait to see more of them in future books in this world.
Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 13, 2021
Sweet novella about a shy guy and his journey to heal after an accident. Along the way he meets some great friends and goes out in a date with a terrific guy who just may be…
March 28, 2021
What a little literary romance amuse-bouche. Village Fool is such a tease. I don't want more. I NEED more!
Owen is a socially awkward "nerd" that only truly comes out of his awkwardness when gaming or in his role as an IT specialist. After an unfortunate car accident on an icy road, he finds himself injured and in need of a physiotherapist to help him regain the use of his arm. Enter, Toma the delicious and very adept physiotherapist.
After months of rehab, Owen has done the work and is medically released. Only, now that he's no longer Toma's client, he can't quite get up the nerve to ask the handsome PT out. When a friend pulls an April Fool's Day prank, it's Owen that finds himself as the butt of the joke... and inadvertently made his biggest dreams come true.
Village Fool is a short little novella proving that socially awkward, RPG-playing "nerds" can win the hunky cubcake (love that term by the way), in the end. I love, love, loved Toma. He good-naturedly took the whole texting thing very well and say the bright side of what was happening. I seriously felt for Owen when the whole SNAFU was discovered. I was mortified with him. And while I loved this, I seriously NEED so much more. More kissing, more texts, more dates, MORE, MORE MORE! Seriously. This was such a tease!
Villiage Fool is all the things I look for in a romance. Fun, flirty, good banter, and a delicious amount of steam. Mr. Burgoine, if you wrote this to tease me into reading your whole darned backlog... well, mission accomplished. I am absolutely on the hook for more!
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Owen is a socially awkward "nerd" that only truly comes out of his awkwardness when gaming or in his role as an IT specialist. After an unfortunate car accident on an icy road, he finds himself injured and in need of a physiotherapist to help him regain the use of his arm. Enter, Toma the delicious and very adept physiotherapist.
After months of rehab, Owen has done the work and is medically released. Only, now that he's no longer Toma's client, he can't quite get up the nerve to ask the handsome PT out. When a friend pulls an April Fool's Day prank, it's Owen that finds himself as the butt of the joke... and inadvertently made his biggest dreams come true.
Village Fool is a short little novella proving that socially awkward, RPG-playing "nerds" can win the hunky cubcake (love that term by the way), in the end. I love, love, loved Toma. He good-naturedly took the whole texting thing very well and say the bright side of what was happening. I seriously felt for Owen when the whole SNAFU was discovered. I was mortified with him. And while I loved this, I seriously NEED so much more. More kissing, more texts, more dates, MORE, MORE MORE! Seriously. This was such a tease!
Villiage Fool is all the things I look for in a romance. Fun, flirty, good banter, and a delicious amount of steam. Mr. Burgoine, if you wrote this to tease me into reading your whole darned backlog... well, mission accomplished. I am absolutely on the hook for more!
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
January 11, 2024
This is a 4.5 star read, because while it isn't absolutely perfect, it was darn near perfect for me. Usually pranks leave me kinda angry, but Burgoine managed to dovetail this issue in with the plot so well that it just made the ending even sweeter. Also? Fellow 'talks better in writing than in person' person, right here. Good rep. :)
November 29, 2023
Another awkward, cute, romantic as all get out Little Village novella from 'Nathan Burgoine. This is a pairing, and a story, for which hints have been dropped in previous Village novellas, and I was not disappointed in the least to see how it all happened. Owen and Toma are the epitome of "opposites attract" and their interactions, from first meeting to first date, are adorable.
But also? This is why I do not have my crush's phone number and why my friends don't have unsupervised access to my phone.
But also? This is why I do not have my crush's phone number and why my friends don't have unsupervised access to my phone.
March 11, 2021
I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is March 16 2021.
I would like to start by saying the cover is beautiful, and I instantly fell in love with it. Seriously! And another thing: the size of the book does not defy if its good or not, because in this short story of 72 pages, I lost my heart and laugh like crazy – and that it’s one of the bigger things for me to enjoy a book; a story.
It is the first book I read of this author – but will not be the last – and I noticed that was probably other stories about his friends - I loved them all. They were caring and kind friends; silly and fun to be with. Loved how they welcomed Owen since the start and how that friendship grows to them all playing games and having fun while working and living their lives.
The prank Felix made, oh god! It was awesome and a bit of bad too – I had mixed feelings about it but more good vibes than bad – honestly.
Toma was ridiculously cute too and I liked him a lot, like Owen.
I am a bit sad that was short but at the same time I liked how it went. Sweet, real feelings and rough situations – all in!!! I laugh, smile and was happy reading it. That says enough, don’t you think?
Now…off I go to start searching the other books by this author and series (mini-series?).
I would like to start by saying the cover is beautiful, and I instantly fell in love with it. Seriously! And another thing: the size of the book does not defy if its good or not, because in this short story of 72 pages, I lost my heart and laugh like crazy – and that it’s one of the bigger things for me to enjoy a book; a story.
It is the first book I read of this author – but will not be the last – and I noticed that was probably other stories about his friends - I loved them all. They were caring and kind friends; silly and fun to be with. Loved how they welcomed Owen since the start and how that friendship grows to them all playing games and having fun while working and living their lives.
The prank Felix made, oh god! It was awesome and a bit of bad too – I had mixed feelings about it but more good vibes than bad – honestly.
Toma was ridiculously cute too and I liked him a lot, like Owen.
I am a bit sad that was short but at the same time I liked how it went. Sweet, real feelings and rough situations – all in!!! I laugh, smile and was happy reading it. That says enough, don’t you think?
Now…off I go to start searching the other books by this author and series (mini-series?).
April 3, 2021
Such a fun little novella!
It has less than 100 pages but managed to package a lit of feelings in them. I loved the queer group of friends with their coffee dates and game nights, and how easily they took Owen under their wing when they saw him struggling after his car accident.
The april fools prank was horrible, though. I don't like these kinds of jokes. Yeah, of course it was going to end up okay because it could've easily been disastrous. Not cool, Felix!
The characters are so adorably nerdy and likeable and you want to know more about their lives. And I found out I can find out more since there are two novellas dedicated to two of Owen's three new friends!
It might have been short but I kind of liked it exactly like this. It leaves much to the imagination and it left me also with a big grin on my face.
It has less than 100 pages but managed to package a lit of feelings in them. I loved the queer group of friends with their coffee dates and game nights, and how easily they took Owen under their wing when they saw him struggling after his car accident.
The april fools prank was horrible, though. I don't like these kinds of jokes. Yeah, of course it was going to end up okay because it could've easily been disastrous. Not cool, Felix!
The characters are so adorably nerdy and likeable and you want to know more about their lives. And I found out I can find out more since there are two novellas dedicated to two of Owen's three new friends!
It might have been short but I kind of liked it exactly like this. It leaves much to the imagination and it left me also with a big grin on my face.
April 9, 2021
THIS WAS SO SOFT!!
Really short and wholesome m/m romance with the sweetest characters. We didn't get much of the other side characters since it was such a short read but given how short it is I'm shocked at how much I liked the romance between Owen and Toma. I love the body positivity aspect, again the book is really short but I still think it did a great job at touching on the subject since one of the main character works at a gym. The humor is great as well, all the characters felt genuine and the back and forth timeline weren't hard to keep up with. Overall great novella that I would totally recommend if you're looking for a light, fluffy read!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy to review.
Really short and wholesome m/m romance with the sweetest characters. We didn't get much of the other side characters since it was such a short read but given how short it is I'm shocked at how much I liked the romance between Owen and Toma. I love the body positivity aspect, again the book is really short but I still think it did a great job at touching on the subject since one of the main character works at a gym. The humor is great as well, all the characters felt genuine and the back and forth timeline weren't hard to keep up with. Overall great novella that I would totally recommend if you're looking for a light, fluffy read!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy to review.
March 21, 2021
RTC, but what a sweet little novella, showing a start of (hopefully) something HEA. Reading with smile on face and wanting to try another novella set in this Village.
***eProof given by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
Well, this is a sweet little MM romance novella. It might be a tad sugary for some of you guys, but I enjoyed myself reading this.
Part of the Little Village series, this novella follows shy Owen. He's recovering from a car crash a few months back and has a crush on his former physiotherapist Toma. When one of his friends, Felix, does a badly thought out April fool joke of changing contact details on Owen's mobile phone, Owen spends the morning texting messages about "cubcake" Toma with his sexy thighs and chest to "Felix", not realising that he's actually texting Toma...
I do feel that it was a tad too short as we never really saw any development of feelings between Owen and Toma, and I wish we saw that. But with this being really short (72 pages, apparently), it was going to be hard.
But this was a sweet read, and I want to dip my toe back into this world and these characters.
***eProof given by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
Well, this is a sweet little MM romance novella. It might be a tad sugary for some of you guys, but I enjoyed myself reading this.
Part of the Little Village series, this novella follows shy Owen. He's recovering from a car crash a few months back and has a crush on his former physiotherapist Toma. When one of his friends, Felix, does a badly thought out April fool joke of changing contact details on Owen's mobile phone, Owen spends the morning texting messages about "cubcake" Toma with his sexy thighs and chest to "Felix", not realising that he's actually texting Toma...
I do feel that it was a tad too short as we never really saw any development of feelings between Owen and Toma, and I wish we saw that. But with this being really short (72 pages, apparently), it was going to be hard.
But this was a sweet read, and I want to dip my toe back into this world and these characters.
March 23, 2021
A lovely low heat novella with a brilliant dedication.
April Fools jokes are not my favourite thing, and the use of one as the core meet cute has the potential to be so cringe worthy and awful, yet Burgoine navigates the consent issues and the fallout between friends really well. I enjoyed this one a lot.
April Fools jokes are not my favourite thing, and the use of one as the core meet cute has the potential to be so cringe worthy and awful, yet Burgoine navigates the consent issues and the fallout between friends really well. I enjoyed this one a lot.
March 24, 2021
Village Fool was my first Nathan Burgoine book - it’s a short and super sweet novella, one of several set in Burgoine’s fictional Ottawa town ‘The Village’.
It’s a sweet, simple meet-cute story told partly in flashback, about Owen - who’s new in town and recovering from a car accident, and Toma, Owen’s very fit, very attractive physiotherapist.
Village Fool is more of a lighthearted friendship than a romance, with Owen’s friends being more prominent in the story than Toma, but I’m 100% here for all the queer stories and it was a fun, quick read.
I didn’t realise Village Fool was part of series - it probably would’ve been sensible if I’d read them in order, as although the story stands alone, we’re introduced to a lot of side characters who all feature in other books. I’ll definitely be reading the others as I’m curious to learn more about the Bittersweets Club.
Thankyou to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
It’s a sweet, simple meet-cute story told partly in flashback, about Owen - who’s new in town and recovering from a car accident, and Toma, Owen’s very fit, very attractive physiotherapist.
Village Fool is more of a lighthearted friendship than a romance, with Owen’s friends being more prominent in the story than Toma, but I’m 100% here for all the queer stories and it was a fun, quick read.
I didn’t realise Village Fool was part of series - it probably would’ve been sensible if I’d read them in order, as although the story stands alone, we’re introduced to a lot of side characters who all feature in other books. I’ll definitely be reading the others as I’m curious to learn more about the Bittersweets Club.
Thankyou to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.
April 30, 2023
There's this thing that happens about two-thirds of the way through, that hit me right in the senc0nd-hand embarrassment. I just about died. DIED, I tell you. All's well that ends well, I guess, but sheesh!
I hate April Fool's day, but I love this story.
I hate April Fool's day, but I love this story.
August 9, 2022
This series continues to be wholesome and sweet as hell. I loved the geek rep -- board-gaming buddies! -- and a certain twist.
June 14, 2021
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley*
This had a strong wintery vibe, and not always bringing out the cosy side, because of the MC's backstory.
The friend group was fun, but everything went downhill for me with the prank.
I also feel that the thing with Toma was left off just when it was beginning, which made me feel the story was maybe a chapter too short.
For a quick, entertaining read, though, it delivered.
This had a strong wintery vibe, and not always bringing out the cosy side, because of the MC's backstory.
The friend group was fun, but everything went downhill for me with the prank.
I also feel that the thing with Toma was left off just when it was beginning, which made me feel the story was maybe a chapter too short.
For a quick, entertaining read, though, it delivered.
June 11, 2021
Now this is how to write a humorous M-M romance holiday-themed short filled with memorable and likeable characters and without having to resort to sex to generate and maintain reader interest. I'm not too sure the flipping back and forth in time worked for me but I was thoroughly charmed in the end. I will definitely be getting more of the author's titles - 4.5 stars.
December 21, 2021
Very very cute.
Not too sugary, nothing cringe-worthy. Just very very cute.
Loved it!
Not too sugary, nothing cringe-worthy. Just very very cute.
Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews