Virtual Blog tour for Second Helpings by Charlie Cochrane.
I’m thrilled skinny to be dropping in here as part of the Second Helpings blog tour. A million thanks to Rainbow Gold Reviews for having me as a guest.
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Dana reviews Second Helpings by Charlie Cochrane. (Published by Riptide Publishing on July 21st 2014)
Blurb:
Stuart Collins’s life might as well have ended a year ago when his partner died in a car crash. Even Stuart’s widowed father has found new love with an old friend, Isabel Franklin, so why can’t Stuart be bothered to try?
Then he gets a phone call from Isabel’s son, Paul, who wants to check out whether or not Mr. Collins is good enough for his mother. During dinner together, though, they end up checking out each other. Trouble is, Paul’s got a boyfriend—or maybe he doesn’t, since the boyfriend’s supposedly giving Paul the push by ignoring him. Or maybe Paul just wants to have his cake and eat it too.
Honesty with each other is the only way to move forward. But maybe honesty with themselves is what they really need.
My thoughts:
I found Second Helpings to be an enjoyable, short read. Stuart and Paul were both living lonely lives, Stuart having lost his partner in an accident and Paul’s long term relationship wasn’t working for him. When Stuart’s dad and Paul’s mom started dating the two met so Paul could check out Stuart and find out more about his father. I thought it was sweet of Paul to want to take care of his mom that way, even though she was completely unaware of it.
It made sense that the two would find a kindred spirit in each other. The love scenes between them are brief and not fully described, but I didn’t feel they needed to be in this story. There was a slight language gap for me reading this, since it takes place in the UK and some words and slang differ than the US, but it wasn’t insurmountable and I was able to figure out what they were saying in the few instances it happened. The only thing that would have improved the story for me, is if it was a little longer. I really liked Stuart and Paul, but they seemed at odds with each other as much as they were together in this story. I would have loved to see their relationship developed even more.
8/10 pots of gold
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As Charlie Cochrane couldn’t be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries.
Charlie’s Cambridge Fellows Series, set in Edwardian England, was instrumental in her being named Author of the Year 2009 by the review site Speak Its Name. She’s a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People, and International Thriller Writers Inc., with titles published by Carina, Samhain, Bold Strokes Books, MLR, and Riptide.
To sign up for her newsletter, email her at cochrane.charlie2@googlemail.com, or catch her at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlie.cochrane.18
Twitter: http://twitter.com/charliecochrane
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2727135.Charlie_Cochrane
Blog: http://charliecochrane.livejournal.com
Website: http://www.charliecochrane.co.uk
Giveaway:
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Rainbow Gold Reviews 