Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Pay It Forward
SERIES: Giving Back #1
AUTHOR: Nic Starr
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 11, 2018
BLURB:
Forced to leave home as soon as he finished high school, Bailey McCreedy’s focus has been on earning enough money to survive. All he needs is a roof over his head and to keep his small mobile lending library running. Books are Bailey’s escape, and he loves to share the joy of reading with those who don’t have access to them.
Tom Brooks’s upbringing is very different to Bailey’s, with a loving family, a good education, and a high-flying job—that is, until things came crashing down. Tom opens a coffee shop, struggling to build his business and reluctant to accept help, operating under the misguided belief that he must pay penance for his sins. Watching Bailey work with the street kids opens Tom’s eyes to the reality that accepting help is not a sign of weakness, and that he is so much more than his past mistakes.
But as Bailey falls for Tom, with his charming manner, obvious care for others, and group of successful friends, Bailey’s own sense of self-worth threatens to tear them apart. In the face of intensifying challenges, he’s reluctant to confide in Tom, afraid he’s not good enough.
A bright future will require Bailey to heed his own advice—people aren’t defined by their failures or inability to live up to the expectations of others. It’s time for Tom to pay it forward, and Bailey needs to accept the help and love that Tom offers.
REVIEW:
You can always rely on Nic Starr to give you a story that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Here we have Tom and Bailey, two men with very different backgrounds who are kinda struggling in their lives but appreciate what they’ve got. Tom has his own coffee shop, but is making just enough money to cover his costs and pay one casual employee. He pretty much lives his life behind the coffee machine in his shop, which leaves no time for dating or romance. He has great friends who are willing to help him out, but he refuses all offers of assistance, believing he has to do it on his own. Bailey works part time at a call center and struggles to pay his rent. All of Bailey’s extra time is spent running his mobile library from the back of his rundown van. Bailey is passionate about getting books to homeless people, knowing all about the escape that a good book can provide. Bailey is unused to having anyone he can depend on for help, and feels inadequate in many ways.
What I loved most about these guys is the fact that they were very realistic. Sure it’s fun to read about werewolves and billionaires, but sometimes it’s nice to have some main characters who are just regular people. Because regular people need love too! There was also no rush to get these guys into a relationship, the author allowing their friendship to develop in a way that seemed natural which then progressed into deeper feelings. While there were a few bumps in their romance, mostly caused by Bailey’s feelings of inadequacy, they sorted it out without any over the top fuss. Bailey especially had a bad habit of not talking about his fears or problems with Tom, but it was true to his history and persona, rather than a contrived fault to cause plot drama.
The mobile library aspect of the story was an interesting inclusion and I enjoyed the scenes that saw Bailey interacting with his “regular customers”. It was a great way to contrast the two sides to Bailey’s character, the confident altruist versus the insecure boyfriend.
This is the kind of feel good story that makes you wish you could meet the characters in real life because knowing people like this would restore some of your faith in humanity. The remaining men in Tom’s group of friends, who I’m assuming will be the focus of this series, also seem like pretty great guys and I’m looking forward to reading their stories too.
RATING: 
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