Heavy
rains and strong winds slammed an uprooted tree through Steve Crowell’s
roof, leaving a gaping hole to match the one in his heart. After his ex
left him for a younger man, Steve’s not sure he’s ready to handle
another disaster. His best friend highly recommended the contractor, but
the man’s already late, and when he shows up with his music thumping,
Steve isn’t impressed—until Riley steps out of his pickup truck.
Personable, gorgeous Riley talks a mile a minute, which Steve finds both
ridiculously endearing and terrifying. Piecing together a heart isn’t
as easy as fixing a roof, but Riley might just be the right man for the
job.
Fixing
the Hole
was a really great read. While the circumstances that lead to Steve and Riley
meeting seriously suck, I loved the way they interacted with one another and I found
their occasional shyness to be sweet. As the story progresses, we learn that
both men have been cheated on by a past boyfriend and this makes them both
skittish when it comes to relationships – especially Steve, whose much younger
boyfriend claimed he cheated because Steve was old and boring. Because the
story is told from Steve’s point of view, we understand his hesitancy from the
very beginning, but don’t learn of Riley’s cheating ex until much later in the
book and that was just as big of an “A-HA” moment for me as it was for Steve.
I feel I should point out that there
is no sex in this novella, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any sexual
tension. Quite the opposite in fact and this makes for one heck of a foreplay
scene when Steve and Riley finally share their first kiss … and second kiss …
and third kiss … and oh my goodness does Ms. Halle do a great job reminding the
reader of just how good kissing can be. And for two men who have been cheated
on in the past, this is the perfect “baby step” toward a potential
relationship. I for one would love, love, love for Ms. Halle to write a sequel
to Fixing the Hole so that I could
get the chance to see their relationship progress further (hint, hint).
They spend the 4 days talking, flirting and mending each
other’s past troubles as well has the roof.
This was a sweet PG story about a gun shy 45 year old man
and a 28 year old contractor. These two have to get over the age differences,
past hurts and learning about each other knowing the have a deadline. Once the
work is done, Riley will be gone. I didn’t find much depth to either character,
but I did find both enduring and sweet in there boyish way.
First person is always a unique point of view when you are
dealing with adult fiction and it can harm or help the story. In this case, at
first, I was sure it had ruined it. In the first paragraph alone, 3 of the 4
sentences started with the word “I”. And over about one-third of the book, I
kept seeing I’s everywhere and groaning each time I did. But then something
miraculous happened. I stopped seeing the I’s. Because the story was so sweet
and so endearing, I just stopped noting them. Instead, I got into rooting for
poor Steve who is 45, untrusting due to a past relationship, quiet, and sure no
guy almost twenty years younger would ever want him.
Boy was he wrong. Riley is in many ways, Steve’s opposite.
He’s 28, gregarious, and talks non-stop. The only thing they do share is the
fact each of them had a past boyfriend who cheated on them.
I truly enjoyed how the author made it very clear how much
Riley was flirting and at the same time how much Steve was trying to prove to
himself that this couldn’t possibly work. Until he forced himself to try.
The story was fantastic and would have gotten 5 stars if it
weren’t for so many I’s. I highly suggest it.
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