Adele Buck’s lovely and quiet The Anti-Social Season is for those of us who find the holidays stressful, but still love some parts of it. It’s for the people who have to deal with unreasonable family demands, and co-workers who think they can do your job better. It’s for those of us who don’t want to be perceived, except by the right person. And it’s for those of us who have had to make big life changes because of anxiety.
Thea and Simon went to high school together, but weren’t friends (he had a huge crush on her so naturally he was an ass to her). They went their separate ways and Thea hasn’t thought about him in more than a decade. When Thea tenders her resignation after a decade as a fire fighter, her boss asks if she would like to become the department’s social media manager. Since she has no better plan, she accepts and is given the library’s part time social media manager as a temporary mentor. It’s Simon! After a rocky start, they find they work well together and then they start doing other things well together.
Both Thea and Simon are dealing with changes in their lives that are challenging. After Thea saw Sean get hurt in Fake Flame, she doesn’t want to run into burning buildings anymore. She needs to get up to speed on social media fast if she wants to keep this opportunity to stay a member of emergency services. Simon’s family has moved to the other side of the country, but still demands that he be the guy who does all the work to put the holiday celebration together. While they are figuring out how to be themselves in these new situations, they are more open and vulnerable with each other than they would be otherwise.
Adele Buck writes grownups who are fully adult but still figuring out life, and I love that.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Harlequin and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.