My January 2014 Challenge Read: A Novella
Grade A-
by Sean Michael, the sweet, funny, and
often poignant tale of starting over again.
Two years after Gary's death, Allen
finally realizes his dream and opens his shop. One day contractor Byron
Bannigan hurries into the shop, frantic to get cupcakes for his office
manager's going away party. Even though they are very different--Allen is
used to the staid, cultured life Gary provided for him--they are the same, both
workaholics who love their jobs.
As they see more of each other in between
their work responsibilities, Allen realizes that not only life but love can
reappear suddenly and blossom. But there's a snake ready to strike in
their Eden, someone who doesn't want Allen's happiness. Can he and Byron
beat the snake at his own game?
What makes this novella compelling are the
main characters who at first glance don't seem to be the types to look outside
their milieu when seeking dates. Both are good guys, the type of guys who
work hard to make their dreams come to fruition. They are the kinds of
characters readers immediately bond with and wish well.
Their interactions also compel readers to
like them. These aren't flashy guys, but real people, the people we want
to have in our neighborhoods. Byron has designed and built his house from
the ground up. Allen has taken Gary's classic home in an established
neighborhood and made it a show place. Neither of them takes his
possessions lightly.
Both are supportive of the other.
When Allen's business blossoms and he has more work than he knows what to
do with, Byron pitches in to help, much to Allen's surprise. Allen, for
his part, becomes a sounding board for Byron at the end of the day, a companion
who makes the stresses of the day dissipate.
This story works really well as a novella
since except for the snake in the grass, the entire plot centers on Allen
letting go of Gary and realizing that his life isn't over but has redirected to
a new track. It's a perfect book to lend someone who has lost a spouse
and can only look backward and not forward.
And speaking for forward, I look forward
to exploring more fiction written by Sean Michael, whose author biography is
one of the strangest I've read in quite a while.
