Reviewed by Cindy
TITLE: The Guy in the Alley
AUTHOR: Cara Dee
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 260 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 24, 2024
BLURB:
Get comfortable for a love story that promises Chicago grit, sizzling heat, a playful rivalry between a White Sox diehard and a Cubs fan, and an autistic boy’s dream to see the ocean.
There was nothing like starting the new year with a snowstorm and trying to keep a sinking ship afloat in the middle of Chicago. Trace Kalecki had grown up at the Dearborn Clover, an Irish sports bar that’d been in his family since the late 1800s. He loved the place. He lived and breathed the Clover, from its staff and the sports memorabilia on the walls to the creatively named items on the menu and the soup kitchen they hosted twice a week. But the business was a damn headache too.
One night, when he was wrestling garbage bags out to the dumpsters in the alley, he heard a broken plea for help.
Ben O’Cleary was mostly hoping the snowstorm was going to finish him off once and for all. He was cold, hungry, drowning in defeat, and now wounded, too. Wasn’t it just great? Almost fifty years old, and he couldn’t take care of himself, much less his son and his old ma. Ashamed and shattered, he asked a young man for help, and…maybe that was the start of something new?
That guy, Trace…? He had an offer for Ben.
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The Guy in the Alley is a stand-alone spinoff following The Guy in the Window. While the main characters from the first book do cross over briefly, it’s not necessary to read it to get the full enjoyment of The Guy in the Alley.
Disclaimer: No fans of the White Sox, Cubs, Red Wings, Dallas Stars, Preds, Cleveland, Canucks, Minnesota, St. Louis, or Green Bay were seriously injured in the making of this book. Probably no Yoopers either.
REVIEW:
Trace is just trying to keep his head above water while honoring the traditions that his family has passed down. He’s definitely not looking for any kind of a relationship, but life seems to have other ideas.
Ben is doing his best to tread water since his whole world fell apart, he knows he’s sinking. Trace saves his life and Ben knows that he’s definitely not good enough for the kind man so leaving feels like his only option.
The most heartbreaking part of this story is Ben’s struggle and the reality that so many people are going through the same thing in real life. Cara Dee does an amazing job of portraying Ben’s fight to take care of his family.
Both men are so easy to connect to. Just regular Joe’s doing their best to live a life worth living.
Ben’s love for his son is amazing and I think the author did a great job of portraying an neurodivergent person and people who love him. It reminded me so much of the people in my own life who who fall on the spectrum somewhere.
I loved seeing Ben find his way after being lost for so long, and while Trace’s support does help, Ben definitely wins his own battles in the end.
The angst in this story is not really between our two characters, but more about the two of them against a world that isn’t easy to negotiate. They are interesting men who feel so real because the hardships they are going through could happen to anyone in a flash.
I have no problem giving this story 5 hearts.
RATING: 
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