Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Buchanan House
AUTHOR: Charley Descoteaux
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 136 Pages
BLURB:
Eric Allen, thirty-three-year-old line cook, moved in with his grandmother, Jewell, after a disastrous coming-out when he was in middle school. She raised him, and he cared for her when she fell ill. When Jewell died, she left everything to Eric—angering his parents and older brother. The inheritance isn’t much, but Eric and his bestie, Nathan, pool their money and buy an abandoned hotel on an isolated stretch of the Central Oregon Coast. The hotel isn’t far from Lincoln City—a town with its own Pride Festival and named for a president—so they christen it Buchanan House after James Buchanan, the “confirmed bachelor” president with the close male friend.
Eric and Nathan need a handyman to help them turn Buchanan House into the gay resort of their dreams. Eric finds Tim Tate in the local listings, and over the months leading to opening weekend, Tim reveals himself as a skilled carpenter with many hidden talents. Eric falls hard for Tim, but before he can see a future with the gorgeous handyman, he has to get over twenty years of being bullied and shamed by his birth family. It would be much easier if Eric’s brother Zach wasn’t trying to grab part of the inheritance or ruin opening weekend.
REVIEW:
In some ways I felt that this book was more about friendship than love. Or perhaps love in a family/friend sense rather than in a romantic one. But however the book spoke to me, I seriously enjoyed what it was saying. Usually I’m pretty good at picking at least four-star books to review but lately I’ve hit a bit of a bad patch. Also, I’m not a great fan of angst, and the last few books I’ve read have ranged from braced-and-ready-for-pain angst right through to just-stab-me-and-let-me-die angst. Thankfully Buchanan House turned the tide and dragged me back to the land of easy and happy. It’s not fluff, but it will definitely leave you feeling content rather than emotionally drained.
Eric is seriously struggling to deal with the death of his grandmother, the only family member who has loved him for the last twenty years, when his best friend Nathan finds an old, rundown hotel that he wants them to buy together. It would be a chance to make their dreams come true, Nathan can play fabulous hostess and Eric can let his cooking talents shine. Tim Tate (I don’t know why I love saying that so much) is the handyman the two friends hire to help them get the dusty old building in shape for paying guests. Eric finds himself falling for the mysterious and quiet handyman, though he has no idea if Tim sees him in the same way.
This story is definitely what you’d label slow burn. In fact, it wasn’t just the romance but the whole story that seemed to start out at a very slow speed. By about thirty percent into the story Eric and Tim are still more acquaintances than anything else, although the interest is obviously there. The author really takes her time to show us who Eric is, and I loved learning about him through watching him interact with his friends and family. The family he’s made for himself that is, cause his biological family are a bunch of right fuckers.
Usually with novellas (and I realize that this is a longer novella) I wonder why authors waste time with so many other characters while they really need to be getting to the main character’s relationship. At no point while reading Buchanan House did I feel that way, and there are a fair number of characters sprinkled throughout this story. I’d say that it’s a testament to this author’s skill that she accomplished it successfully.
Speaking of secondary characters, Eric’s friend Nathan really shines during this story. The romance between Eric and Tim, while slow to develop, is beautiful to read but I couldn’t help but fall in love with Nathan. His relationship with Eric was just as important as the relationship Eric has with Tim and it was the love between the two best friends that lifted this story from another nice romance to something more memorable. I’m not sure if I’m hoping for Nathan to get a story or not. I’m kind of scared about how that one might go for poor Paulie.
This was the first book that I’ve read by this author but I’m convinced that I should go check out some more. I just want to add that I absolutely adore that cover and I think that I’ll leave you with my favourite quote from the story.
“Oh, em, gee. He can handyman me anytime.”
“Handyman isn’t a verb, Nathan.”
“It is in his case.”
RATING: 
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