Reviewed by Tidal
TITLE: Speedy Rewards
SERIES: Working Class Series Book 1
AUTHOR: Jeff Erno
PUBLISHER: Wayward Ink Publishing
LENGTH: 250 pages
BLURB:
Phil Mitchell pours his heart and soul into his job as manager of Speedy Mart, a local convenience store. He loves his work and he loves his fellow employees, but when it comes to his personal life, Phil is lonely and depressed and still pining for his long-departed ex.
He embarks upon the week from hell where anything that can go wrong does. It begins with a truck crashing into his outdoor sign and only goes downhill from there.
Add an asshole homophobic boss hell bent on seeing him fired and Phil realizes he needs to put into place a plan to save himself and his job.
First step in his plan… do something about his love life.
Meanwhile, Ezra, one of Phil’s team members, is dealing with his own roller coaster ride of a week.
As is Brandon, the local cop…
And Mark, the homophobic boss…
Perhaps, with a little… luck, the next week will be better.
REVIEW:
Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of working in a convenience store, or stocked a beer cooler will love this book. Phil manages Speedy Mart and his employees are an eclectic mix to say the least, and each are endearing. Phil is the perfect manager. In fact he is more of a leader than a manager because Phil does not ask anything from his employees that he is unwilling to do himself. Phil has a remarkable professional life but his personal life is another issue. He is still heartsick over the break up with his ex-lover.
In a business where delivery trucks crash into things, add the bad part of town and throw into the mixture three shifts of die-hard loyal employees either trying to just get by or reinvent themselves. Stir well then add some heels, a dominatrix, tattoos, people recovering their lives, one mooch and officer hunky pants. Gently blend in a conspiracy to fire the chain’s most successful manager because the area supervisor is a rabid homophobe and bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees and you have Phil’s Speedy Mart.
Phil is only one of the great characters we meet. It is review time at the store and the area supervisor Mark is out to get him. Everything that could possibly go wrong does. Phil has spent a great amount of time assembling his team to improve the store and make it the best in the area. They are a loyal die hard mismatched group at best and they are the people that many people would ignore.
What I like about this book is the ensemble cast of characters with the Speedy Mart as the backdrop. We get to peek into each of their lives. I love books that show us how people tick. We get to see why they are who they are and this book does this in a way that is entertaining and not heavy handed or preachy. Jeff Erno paints beautifully with words to the point that you can smell the coffee, and bakery.
The characters in the book are likable and I found myself rooting for them immediately and found great pleasure in getting to see them get what they deserve. Officer Brandon offers us a wonderful moment of humanity. Phil gets to have that moment to have closure with his ex that delivers enormous satisfaction.
This is why Speedy Rewards is worth your time and money. It is never boring, the story never lags, and the good guy wins. Phil is a guy who does not take short cuts and walks with character and integrity and that pays off for him in spades. The characters are everyday people and not all look and act as if they stepped out of the centerfold of a porn magazine. Love finds its way to those who need it most, and compassion finds its way to those who deserve it least. The only complaint that I have with the book is that even though when it was over I was more than satisfied I wanted more. Not more but MORE. I really felt that I bonded with those wonderful people in that book that I find rarely happens. Lastly, I have read other books by this author and one of his gifts is that each book sounds different. It sounds like the person who is telling that story or whom that story is about. It does not sound like Author X telling another story, this is a gift that not all writers have, that is why this book is a great read.
RATING: 
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