Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Strays and Lovers
AUTHOR: John Inman
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 165 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2018
BLURB:
Forty-six-year-old Eddie Hightower has a problem. He’s all alone. The only thing that saves him from facing that stark reality is the fact that he isn’t really alone at all. He has a house full of pets and a refuge full of stray unwanted animals he spends every waking hour trying to place in homes. While he loves what he does with all the joy in his heart, that same poor aging heart is still missing something. And Eddie knows exactly what it is. Romance.
But wait. Cue the music. Suddenly, beyond all hope, it happens. In the small desert town of Spangle, California, where Eddie lives, comes a sad young stranger with piercing gray eyes. They are the palest, most stunningly beautiful eyes Eddie has ever seen. Poor Eddie Hightower is swallowed up in their silver depths and disappears without a gurgle. The stranger’s name is Gray Grissom. Gray, like his eyes. Without hesitation Eddie opens his doors—and his heart—to the lost young man. After all, that’s what Eddie does. He finds homes for strays. But this is one stray Eddie intends to keep for himself.
REVIEW:
John Inman is one of my go to authors. I always know that I’m going to enjoy the read and this one was no exception.
Strays and Lovers is the story of a man who thinks he is old at forty-six. His story begins with him lamenting the signs of age in his mirror. We soon learn that Eddie Hightower owns and runs a shelter for unwanted animals, and he has the inner core of animals who live with him in the house. I loved how Mr. Inman wrote his animal characters. They all had personalities, just like those real life furry critters inhabiting all of our homes. Mine is sitting here on my desk as I’m typing. As an animal lover, I loved the shelter owning piece of the story. 🙂
Eddie is a nice guy. You could feel the niceness rolling off the pages. He is also a really lonely guy. He opened this shelter on a property he inherited from a family member and runs it with the money she left him as well. Money isn’t tight enough to have to close the shelter, but it is tight, and he might need to make changes soon.
Then he meets the quiet young man who recently started working in the hardware store in the nearest town. Eddie knows that job well, since he did a stint working there himself to make ends meet. The young man is oddly quiet. He doesn’t respond to Eddie’s friendly overtures and seems disinterested in talking to anyone.
The story is a slow, but steady, mover. I enjoyed getting to know Eddie and Gray. I really enjoyed getting to know a certain little dog… you’ll know which one I’m talking about when you read the story. No more spoilers. If you like slow building HEAs, then this one would be one for you to try out.
RATING: 
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