Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Story Hour

AUTHOR:  Vinni George

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  58 pages

RELEASE DATE:  September 30, 2021

BLURB:

Nash
When I volunteered to work on a float for the LGBTQ Booksellers and Librarians Association and march in the Chicago Pride parade handing out flyers for Drag Queen Story Hour, I thought it would be fun and a good way to spend the day shirtless. I never imagined I’d meet the man of my dreams in the crowd, but there he was. We didn’t get a chance to talk, and now I’m left wondering if the connection I felt was real. Can you meet your soul mate in only a second?

Reed
I hadn’t wanted to go to the parade with my friends, but they insisted I needed to be reintegrated into Chicago’s gay society after years spent outside the city and promised the Pride parade would be the best way to start that process. I was less than convinced until a guy shoved a little neon green flyer into my hand and my heart recognized him as mine. Now I just have to track him down at something called Drag Queen Story Hour. Maybe my friends were right, and I am out of touch.

Story Hour is a 16,000-word standalone short that features a chance meeting, sexy librarians, a summer storm, and a shared appreciation for Chicago’s architecture.

REVIEW:

Nash and Reed meet for a few seconds during Chicago’s Pride parade.  Nash is pashing out flyers for Drag Queen Story Hour walking with the LGBTQ+ Bookstores and Librarians float and Reed is attending Pride after a long absence, just having moved back to Chicago.  But something electric passes between them.  Reed is determined to find the beautiful man he connected with.

Reed hijacks his nephew and lo and behold, Nash IS at the Drag Queen Story Hour so the talk a bit, exchange phone numbers and agree to meet up later – after Nash’s bartending gig.  Nash is just as excited to see Reed again 😀  Let’s just say the date goes VERY VERY well.

Full disclosure – I have worked in Chicago since 1985 (well with a couple of stints in the South Suburbs and Rosemont) but I loved this homage to Chicago Pride, North Halsted, Librarians, local independent bookstores, Boystown bars, Chicago’s drag scene, etc.  Then there is the awesome architectural boat tours.   It’s just lovely!  I really loved both Nash and Reed.  They definitely meet each other at the right time 🙂  Their immediate attraction leads to an amazing first date 😉  For fans of angst-free short stories leading to romance and love, this is a perfect fit.  There are cute moments with family members (Reed’s sister) and friends (Henry the bookstore owner and other librarians) and BFFs reunited (Reed’s Chicago friends who are “reintegrating” him into the Chicago gay scene) and more.  For those who are intrigued by lust/love at first sight, this is a nice addition to those stories.  I love these kinds of story that encourage us to believe that love could just be around the corner 🙂  There are a couple of continuity edits missed, but it definitely doesn’t detract from the story 😀

Highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyable! I defy you to not have a smile on your face when finished reading the sweet short story.

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon