Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: Acts of Service 
AUTHOR: Jessie Pinkham
PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC
LENGTH: 82 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 26, 2019
BLURB:
Tom can’t catch a break when it comes to his love life. He’s not good with romance, as his exes told him in uncharitable terms, and he’s starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with him. So when he finds himself attracted to his temporary roommate, he’s afraid of being called inadequate all over again.
Alex has serious anxiety which make his life a challenge and his dating prospects slim to nonexistent. He assumes Tom isn’t interested in him because men never are. It’s a pleasant surprise to start a friends with benefits relationship, so Alex goes out on a limb in an attempt to impress Tom. When it backfires spectacularly, he thinks all hope is lost.
Both men are held back by past rejections. Will a minor crisis bring them together … or tear them apart?
REVIEW:
Tom is easy going, but he doesn’t get the whole romantic gesture thing. He prefers thoughtful gestures rather than romantic ones like changing the oil in his partner’s car. Unfortunately, he has been rejected, several times for his lack of giving flowers and chocolates.
For Alex, knowing what will happen, when and taking appropriate actions helps his list of anxieties. He can’t help that they are there, but he does his best to ward off their effects. Alex knows he isn’t the norm and he has come to terms with that. What could happen, what would happen, and what statistically probably wouldn’t happen are factors that constantly accompany his thoughts. Mould in his home is a factor too far, and he ends up living with Tom until he can find a place that ticks his boxes. Also, a person accommodating his quirky ways means more to him than any bunch of flowers.
Tom and Alex are practical people. Recognizing they both have needs, watching movies graduates to sleeping together. It isn’t long before practicality turns into more.
Told in the third person, apart from being a bit of a fan of the word, very; in the version I read, there were some spelling anomalies, but I can’t be sure that I had the final copy. Otherwise, the plot was sound, and there were no holes.
Acts Of Service is a story that’s interesting as opposed to exciting. While it isn’t filled with over the top shifts of emotion and great acts of defiance, hurt and angst, etc., I found the story enlightening as well as entertaining. By the end of it, I’d learned something, and I was in love with the characters. Tom and Alex’s personalities may not fit with people who are considered the norm; but, they fit with each other. Alex is an inspiration and Tom was simply loveable.
Jessie Pinkham has written a story that is a change of pace. While short, it is focused on a specific set of anxieties and coping mechanisms. It doesn’t try to cram a lifetime into a few pages or force dramatic occurrences. What happens is natural and flows well. Alex is a man mindful of his situation and tries to make the best of his lot. Tom is a bonus.
RATING: 
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