2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Some Assembly Required (345-08-30-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

1) The premise of a furniture store which I assume is modeled after IKEA is the gateway or purgatory after you die was highly original and enjoyable. The leads try to hold onto their humanity through eating, wearing new clothes and interacting with the living when needed. In fact there were times when I forgot the two were dead, they even have jobs which is something I hope isn't true after I die. Both men had issues lingering from past relationships, as most people do and they way they were handled in a skillful way that helped them to move forward. Both authors blended seamlessly and I couldn't tell where one ended and one began.

2) This was a nice story. The plot was different from any I have read, and it was easy to follow. Something about the ending though. It never fully cleared up an important secondary character other than to share that he was aware of what was going on with the main character Patrick all along.

3) This was an interesting book. Instead of a ghost and a live person, these are both ghosts. One doesn't know he's dead (Benji), until quite into the story. The other ghost (Patrick) is a 'guide', a person who is supposed to help newly spirits move on to their final destination. They didn't count on falling in love, though. And while Patrick insists he doesn't deserve to pass on, he tries to guide Benji to leave the store where they all gather, a sort of Purgatory, as they call it.  Well written and quite entertaining..

Some Assembly Required by Bru Baker and Lex Chase
Gay Paranormal Romance
Paperback: 210 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (February 8, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1634768094
ISBN-13: 978-1634768092
Amazon: Some Assembly Required
Amazon Kinlde: Some Assembly Required

Everyone wishes they were dead when wandering the purgatory of a home furnishings store, but these guys actually are.

Benji Goss is the quintessential good guy. When his boyfriend dumps him and moves out, Benji obligingly keeps the cat-even though he's allergic-because his ex's new place doesn't accept pets. He's always joked the cat would be the death of him, but not in a way he expects when a feline mishap crushes him under a DEL TORO bookcase.

Snarky loner Patrick Bryant is in such a rut he barely remembers the life he used to lead. The last thing he recalls is being decapitated by a DEL TORO bookcase in a freak accident. As a spiritual CASA resident, he haunts the aisles of affordable Italian furniture, assisting fellow spirits in moving on to their final destinations.

When Benji appears in the CASA café, Patrick considers the naïve spirit just the man to cure his boredom. Benji's relentless optimism chips away at Patrick's sarcasm, making him question if there's something beyond what he can see. But the heart is like CASA furniture-there's always some assembly required.

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