Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Second Helpings
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochrane
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 140 pages
BLURB:
Stuart Collins’s life might as well have ended a year ago when his partner died in a car crash. Even Stuart’s widowed father has found new love with an old friend, Isabel Franklin, so why can’t Stuart be bothered to try?
Then he gets a phone call from Isabel’s son, Paul, who wants to check out whether or not Mr. Collins is good enough for his mother. During dinner together, though, they end up checking out each other. Trouble is, Paul’s got a boyfriendor maybe he doesn’t, since the boyfriend’s supposedly giving Paul the push by ignoring him. Or maybe Paul just wants to have his cake and eat it too.
Honesty with each other is the only way to move forward. But maybe honesty with themselves is what they really need.
REVIEW:
It’s such a bumpy road for these two would-be lovers. Stuart is trying to climb out of mourning for his soul-mate, Mark, who died a year ago in a tragic accident. Paul is fresh back in England after working in the States and living with boyfriend Ben. A boyfriend who doesn’t seem eager to follow him across the Atlantic and hasn’t completely won Paul’s trust.
Stuart and Paul meet because their widowed parents are hooking up— Stuart’s dad and Paul’s mum have fallen in love. Wouldn’t it be great if this were a great big happy, sunny joining of two families? It seems to start that way, or at least there’s the promise of it. A promise of second chances at love.
But the prickliness between Stuart— who is finding it difficult to find someone who’ll live up to the departed Mark’s goodness, and Paul— who’s feeling spurned and neglected by Ben, peppers almost every scene of in the story in which these two are together. It is uncomfortable-making to see them continually butt heads and bicker with each other. And it’s not very romantic, at all.
I think these guys need to learn a thing or two from their parents who are fairly glow in their mutual attraction.
The writing is quite good, but it doesn’t help much to endear two guys who are dusty with self-centeredness and bruised pride. I wish I could like them more but, it’s difficult. They do try, but there’s a lack of charisma or, really, any electricity between them.
On the positive side, if I could point to one thing, I really did enjoy the secondary characters. The parents are sensible, loving, give good advice— there for comfort and a hug. And Stuart’s Aunt Catherine is a fun character, more of her would have been nice.
But secondary characters do not a story make, and they weren’t on the page nearly enough, anyway. This one won’t have much staying power for me, I’m afraid, mostly because of the frustrating lead characters. The rating is for the writing and the first, oh, quarter of the story.
RATING: 
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