Rory Hoyle is visiting his hometown of Hollyridge, always a stressful experience. Rory’s parents don’t understand him and, frankly, he doesn’t understand them. One final ‘what are you doing with your life’, pushes him to the breaking point and Rory storms out of their house into the cold winter evening with no idea where he’s heading.After the death of his partner, Brett Tanner never thought he’d … thought he’d love again, it was too much to ask, or want. That is until Rory stumbles into his bookstore one evening awakening his heart. But, is it too much? Is he betraying his first love by finding himself attracted to the sexy, but socially awkward, younger man?
Will bookish magic, an adorable dog and a little assistance from their friends help Brett and Rory realize the world is what you make of it? That a chance at happiness is something to be seized, not tossed aside?
2-hour LGBT Short read
17,500 words. Originally published in the anthology, Between the Covers.
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Rory and Brett have one of the sweetest meet-cutes ever. Literally meeting in a bookstore and then taking Brett’s dog on a walk – I can’t imagine anything better than that! And the connection that these two share right off the bat is incredibly robust. It’s definitely a bit more than insta-lust, only to be hindered by Brett reverting back to using his past as a shield. I loved this little roadblock though because it led to Brett quickly realising he didn’t want to let Rory go. And from there, they just had me swooning right up until that undeniably perfect ending.
What a beautiful love story between Brett and Rory. The way the author connects them together is beautiful. Brett is unsure his his heart can take another person to love but with a little help from friends can he make the right decision. I recommend this book.
Rory Hoyle made his decision to move from the small town of Hollyridge to Seattle, hoping for a better future. He works at a coffee shop but his artistry is his main priority. He’s returned home to visit his parents but they still don’t see eye-to-eye on Rory’s choices.
Brett Tanner has moved to the small town of Hollyridge, after a tragedy and has isolated himself to a certain degree. He has a wonderful companion Lucille, owns the Lazy Dog Book shop and has a few friends.
While Rory is walking off his anger he starts to take in all the familiar places in the small town. The Lazy Dog Book shop catches his eye and for some magical reason he enters the store. Even though Rory feels clumsy the meeting between him and Brett seems to be a nice connection, but they both have issues that they have to work through.
Besides Rory and Brett, Elle gives us some wonderful secondary characters in Rory’s parents,Audrey and William Hoyle. Even with misunderstandings they were trying to be helpful in their own way and it was nice to see how the issues were worked out between them. She really impressed me with Brett who wasn’t afraid to approach Rory’s parents and also helps to get Audrey involved in PFLAG. Then there’s Dag, Jaime, Daisy and Skylar who made the story delightful along with the lovable Lucille.
Elle Keaton delivers a very well written, easy to read, love story. It’s a feel
good story about a small town and just a few good reasons to live there.