Paul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he's not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic.
El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in castoffs, but that doesn't apply to men. Still, when Paul starts clearing out his old life, pawning kitchen equipment he never wanted in the first place, El is drawn to Paul in spite of himself.
Paul and El have nothing in common except a past full of disappointments. There's no reason to believe the two of them could fit, but in El’s line of work, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. When it comes to love, El and Paul may learn that secondhand doesn't mean second best.
My Review:
I love a story that makes me smile and this one definitely did...over and over again. There is such a sweet innocence to this story. El isn't looking for a boyfriend and he's sure not wanting to become infatuated with a guy who's straight. Paul is just plain clueless...in such a sweet, completely unassuming way. I loved both these guys and the way that their story and relationship slowly developed.
El owns and runs a pawn shop. He's his own guy, living a pretty happy life, if you count out his crazy family. He's not a player...he spends most his Friday nights at the laundry mat with his friend Denver. He's lived in Tucker Springs his whole life and it's been a pretty good one so far. He's pretty satisfied with where he's at, even if that means that there are moments when it feels like he's missing something more and has vague feelings of loneliness.
Paul isn't very happy with where his life is. His girlfriend/fiance has left him for another guy. He's living in a house that she chose and he hates. He's working a job that falls short of where his dreams lay. El is the one high point in his life, even if he doesn't quite realize it. Because poor Paul is not the most intuitive guy...he just doesn't pick up on the same clues that the rest of the world does. But he's sweet and fun and honest and loyal....and El is really into him, even if he is straight. El has convinced himself that he'll just be happy to have Paul as his friend.
But what El doesn't realize is that seven years ago, before Stacey came into Paul's life, the only other person he'd kissed had been a guy. Yep, he may have seven years history with a girl, but before that Paul was pretty much all about the guys. That's something that Paul has pretty much wiped from his memory too in his effort to be "normal".
There are so many sweet, sweet moments in this book. Like I said, it was one of those books that simply made me smile. I really liked it and reading all about Paul and El's story...it's a good one!
I received a complementary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Overview
Paul Hannon moved to Tucker Springs for his girlfriend, but she’s left him with a house he can’t afford and a pantry full of useless gadgets. All Paul wants is to get back to normal, even if he's not sure what that is anymore. When he wanders into Tucker Pawn for a gift to win her back, he meets El Rozal, pawn shop owner and all-around cynic.
El Rozal doesn’t do relationships, especially not with clueless straight boys still pining for their ex. El may make his living dealing in...