Title: Roadside Assistance
Author: Heidi Champa
Length: 11,000 words
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Rating: C+
Blurb:
For almost three years, Harper and Clark have been carpooling to work together. Every morning, they share coffee and talk about everything that’s going on in their lives. Except for one subject that never comes up—the fact that Harper has fallen for Clark.
Each time they are together, Harper tries to find the courage to tell Clark the truth, but anxiety about how Clark might respond to the news never allows Harper to follow through. Then, one day, the two men find themselves stranded on the side of the road. All alone. It’s the perfect time for Harper to open up and admit his feelings.
Will Harper take a chance and be honest with Clark? Or will fear keep Harper’s life stuck in neutral?
Review:
Harper car shares with Clark on the way to work every day. The long commute means that the guys have got to become fast friends. Unfortunately for Harper, Clark is more than a friend to him because he’s fallen in love with him. Unable to confess this to Clark, it takes the car breaking down for Harper to be forced to confront these feelings.
The part which worked best for me with this story is the character of Harper. He’s got a good friend in Clark, but he’s also lonely and a bit socially inept, so he finds it hard to get romantically close to anyone. This comes across strongly in the way that he’s constantly holding back in telling Clark his feelings. I wasn’t as keen on Clark who comes across as interfering at times, but the portrayal of their friendship showed that, given a nudge, the developing romance would be believable. The close setting of the car meant that nearly everything was focused on the two men which gave a nice intensity to their interactions.
My main gripe with the story was really not the fault of the story itself, but more my lack of enthusiasm for I see as the same format of story being churned out at the moment. Like so many shorts the format of the story goes: Set up situation and introduce problems in first two thirds of story, followed by a final third of resolution and sex. In the case of this story the set up was done well, but again the old ‘I’m friends with the guy I’ve fallen in love with, but I don’t want to tell him in case I ruin our friendship’ plot device is getting rather old. I’ve read hundreds of stories like this in the time I’ve been reading m/m romance. This meant that whilst the writing is good, the characters well done and the story was entertaining whilst I was reading, it wasn’t particularly memorable.
If you’re looking for an undemanding romance with a nice main character and a satisfying and definite HEA then this story will be for you. I liked it, but there wasn’t much to set it apart from the many, many other similar m/m stories about at the moment.
