'One Reason to Stay' by Ryder O'Malley

One Reason to Stay

Author: Ryder O'Malley

Rating: B

Vibe: : Small-town comfort food with bears, comic books, and zero angst

Jason Cowan owns the only comic book store in Firefly Valley, Maine—a town so aggressively supportive and nosy that everyone knows his business before he does. He's lonely, a little insecure about whether he belongs in a small town, and nursing a dream of bringing a comic convention to Firefly. Enter Simon Peterson: a recently-divorced bisexual chef, single dad, and the kind of steady, sweet guy who makes Jason wonder if maybe staying put isn't such a bad idea after all. What follows is a low-angst, high-sweetness romance that's less about dramatic conflict and more about two bearish guys figuring out they fit together—and that this quirky little town might be exactly where they're meant to be.

I'm a bear in a relationship with a bear, so seeing protagonists who aren't chiseled athletes with six-packs made me happy. Jason and Simon aren't defined by their bodies, but they also aren't apologizing for them—they're just guys, which is refreshing. O'Malley doesn't make a big deal out of it, and that's exactly why it works. It's representation without performance, and I appreciated that.

The small-town setting is pure wish fulfillment, and I mean that as a compliment. Is Firefly Valley overly idealized? Absolutely. Does everyone accept Jason as an openly gay man without hesitation and rally around his comic-con dream like it's a town-wide mission? Yes. Is that remotely realistic for rural Maine? Probably not. But here's the thing: you don't pick up a book like this for a nuanced take on queer life in small-town America. You read it because sometimes the world feels like a bit much, and you need a story where everyone is kind, the happy ending is guaranteed, and nobody's going to make you cry into your hot chocolate.

Jason's internal journey worked for me, especially the moments when he's honest about being lonely and considering leaving Firefly. That felt real. His insecurity never tipped into annoying—it was grounded in something tangible, which kept him relatable. Simon, for his part, isn't "newly out"—he's always been bi, he'd just had more experience with women. Post-divorce, he's exploring the other side, which felt natural to me. If I got out of a long-term relationship with a woman, I'd probably want to explore the male side too, just for variety's sake. O'Malley doesn't overanalyze it, and neither did I.

That said, the book could've used some editing. The middle drags—there are subplots and side-character moments that are nice and atmospheric, but not strictly necessary. The pacing suffers because of it. I get what O'Malley was going for (cozy small-town vibes, a lived-in world), but a tighter edit would've helped the story move without losing that warmth.

One Reason to Stay isn’t life-changing, but it's not trying to be. It's cute, low-stress, and exactly what you want when you need a break from heavier reads. Pour yourself some hot chocolate, curl up on the couch, and let Firefly Valley work its overly-idealized magic. Sometimes that's enough.