Second Hand by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton is a sweet love story chronicling the beginning of a gay romance between Paul Hannon and El Rozal. I’m a fan of Cullinan and Sexton, so reading Second Hand was great fun. The novel is part of the Tucker Springs world, but the story of Paul and El stands alone.
Paul is a young wannabe veterinarian trying to get his life back on track after his girlfriend walks out on him. El owns the local pawnshop, Tucker Pawn and he’s seen enough people come into his shop with broken lives and broken dreams, he’s not sure anybody can be happy.
El and Paul meet when Paul starts clearing out his kitchen pantry of appliances he’s never going to use that his former girlfriend purchased. Second Hand touches on some heart-felt moments involving El and his family, as well as issues of coming out to parents with Paul and his mother. I liked that Second Hand did not bog down in heavy emotions; the feelings between El and Paul are genuine and complex, but the story remains light-hearted.
Cullinan and Sexton are both fine writers and they work well together in Second Hand. The storyline is logical with enough plot twists to keep it entertaining. Paul and El are both engaging young men; they share some touching moments confronting their growing feelings for each other. The sex between them is also steamy fun with lots of lip-locks and butt-clenches. I’m definitely looking forward to reading another Tucker Springs tale.
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Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Image courtesy of Riptide Publishing