House Sitting

Title: House Sitting
Author: M. Durango
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Novel (35 PDF pages)
Rating:  4.25 stars out of 5

A guest review by Tj

Summary Review: A second chance at love for a young man with his teenage crush.

This Sip is part of Torquere Books’ Charity Sip Blitz and all proceeds from the sale of this Sip goes to the charity Doctors Without Borders.

The Blurb: House sitting for his uncle seems like the perfect way for Justin to spend the summer before entering graduate school. The fact that his long-time crush, Dr. Ray Kimble, lives next door sweetens the deal. Justin’s hopes of fulfilling a teenage fantasy are dashed by Ray’s past heartbreak until an accident offers the opportunity for some TLC.

The Review:

Justin is house sitting for his Uncle Frank, while taking the summer off before starting graduate school in the fall. His mind wanders while listening to his uncle blather on about what all he needs to take care of around the house. Then something catches his eye – a kitten trying to slip through the fence. Justin’s attention is then fully caught when he hears a familiar voice, and then sees the familiar face of his uncle’s neighbor Ray come chasing after the missing kitten. Suddenly, Justin’s summer of house sitting is looking far more interesting.

Ray is slightly older than Justin, and when Justin used to visit his uncle in the summer, he would follow Ray around like a puppy in love. Once Justin hit puberty, he had even tried a couple of times to get Ray to sleep with him – epic failures that Justin would rather Ray not remember. Now that Justin had a whole summer to work with, he decided to plan a dinner with Ray and see if he couldn’t convince Ray of their compatibility. Although they have a really enjoyable time, good food, pleasant conversation, when Justin kisses Ray, Ray tells him no, this is a bad idea. Ray seems to have some issues since his last boyfriend dumped him and messed up is head. So now Justin will have his work cut out for him if he wants a chance with Ray.

I found both Justin and Ray to be fairly developed, and likable protagonists. It’s amazing how much characterization can be squeezed into a 35 page story. There was a history between them that worked very nicely with the men that they had become. I enjoyed their interaction and how that history would crop up as they got reacquainted. I also liked how the balance of power seemed to have shifted from when Justin was a teenager. Now Justin had matured into a confident, smart young man, and Ray was the lost one, needing Justin to help him get over his ex and feel lovable again. All of these details gave the story more depth and had me rooting for the boys to get together. The best part was that there was no insta-love, instead it was a developing relationship and a believable, and very hopeful HFN ending that could also be seen as an HEA.

House Sitting was was a sweet and enjoyable look at a second chance at love.