Second Hand (Tucker Springs, #2) in Riptide Publishing

Sep 08, 2012 Heather C rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance, series, ebook, lots-of-tension, m-m, sex-after-40-percent, cloud, gfy-ofy, friends-to-lovers

4.5 stars

Such a lovely story. Paul was just adorable with his cluelessness.

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Sep 20, 2012 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, romance, netgalley-reviews

Paul Hannon possess a little chipmunk in his head that chatters away at him with bad advice. This chipmunk is a varmint and needs to be terminated. I have issues with chipmunks in my garden. We terminate them with a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water. Paul, I recommend you do the same.

This book was a hard one to enjoy. The last half of the book was very good for me. The first half, I had to grit my teeth and bear down on it. Paul's girlfriend left him. He lives in a fire hazard death trap. H Paul Hannon possess a little chipmunk in his head that chatters away at him with bad advice. This chipmunk is a varmint and needs to be terminated. I have issues with chipmunks in my garden. We terminate them with a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water. Paul, I recommend you do the same.

This book was a hard one to enjoy. The last half of the book was very good for me. The first half, I had to grit my teeth and bear down on it. Paul's girlfriend left him. He lives in a fire hazard death trap. He flunked out of vet school. Paul wants to know why he isn't someone's first choice. My answer, because he's a defeatist loser. I didn't think I was this judgmental. I stand corrected. I am judgmental. Ms. Sexton tends to create these main characters I despise. Paul is one of those. The sad part, Paul's probably a reflection many real life people. It matters not to me how Paul has screwed up his life, yet I still want to hit him repeatedly across the head with a two by four. Maybe he'll get a clue.

Emmanuel, aka El is the love interest. I like El. He has an attitude I can admire. He likes his job and he tries to do things in life. He is not afraid to live. Plus El knows himself and he's not trying to be something he is not. This is why I have issues with Paul. It's not that he fucks everything up. It's because he's a TSTL character. He is bumbling through life with expectations which can not be met, because he is not willing to work for it. He just gives up and lives in a "woe is me" manner. This is aggravating and for a m/m story, I hate to say it, but Paul is really just a neurotic chick dressed up to be a man. I think that's why I really hated Paul. He's a disgrace. He's waiting for the white knight to save him. He's the damsel in distress. The sad part is, Paul thinks he's the white knight, trying to do stuff for Stacy, his ex-girlfriend. What a joke.

Despite my bashing of this moron Paul character, I enjoyed the last half of the book because El finally got through to Paul. El didn't save Paul; he gave him a good kick in the arse. Finally Paul takes his head out of his ass and sees that people have always been around him putting him as first choice. Paul's the one ignoring it. Did I mention clueless?

Ms. Cullinan and Ms. Sexton do a good job of keeping this contemporary romance realistic. The writing is good with great attention to detail. I could see every location. Sometimes, the places were too well described. El's mom who lives in an episode of hoarders was a bit too much for me. Descriptions of each character were great as I could visualize each one of them. They weren't just names in a book. They each stood out with their physical attributes and their particular mannerisms. It's the good writing technique which saves this book for me. The story telling is the added bonus. If it weren't for the characters - Paul specifically, the rating would have been higher. This m/m contemporary romance is recommended for m/m lovers who like watching a character grow up.

Reviewed on NetGalley ...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Cindi rated it really liked it

Shelves: on-blog, series, m-m, 2012, net-galley

I really enjoyed this addition to the Tucker Springs series. I loved both main characters. First, there's El, an openly gay man who doesn't believe in relationships. Then there's Paul, a straight man who has just been dumped by his girlfriend of seven years.... who can't seem to let her go even though she treated him badly. El and Paul come together in friendship and it doesn't take long for that friendship to become so much more.

A great story with interesting characters. My only problem with th ...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Tj rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2013

I’ve always enjoyed these two authors. Individually they are good writers and together they mess well. The story has a solid plot line and good build. Now the overall crisis you could see coming a mile away but that didn’t ruin what was a very “pretty” love story. The characters were well drawn. I really loved the two of them and very easily connected to them.

There was one niggle for me though and it’s that there was no real “drama” to me. It’s just a sweet story. I expected a little more with ...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Valentina Heart rated it really liked it

Shelves: glbt, mm-good-book-reviews

This review was originally written for MM Good Book Reviews and can also be found there.

Second Hand is the second book in the Tucker Springs series. Authored by two very well-known ladies in this genre it brings us a familiar style and almost sure enjoyment for a few hours.

Paul is a bit lost, very much naïve and has a heart big enough to get himself used by others. One of those people is his ex-girlfriend Stacey. She doesn’t appear too much in the story, but she stands out, and Paul’s obsession ...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Aves Raggiana rated it really liked it

I didn't expect to enjoy this story so much. Very straight-forward story line: gay-boy meets clueless-gay-boy and both fall in love. The writing duo of Cullinan-Sexton make for a wickedly cool and refreshingly entertaining combination. Their writing chemistry is evident with every page you turn.

Highly recommended. ...more

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Jul 29, 2012 Josephine Myles added it

Shelves: contemporary, 2012-reads, romance

A really sweet story with one of the most endearingly hopeless characters I've seen in a long time, and a sexy latino pawnbroker. Well worth a read for all fans of both these talented authors :D ...more

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