I really liked Charlie from Better Than People so I was really excited to read his book. Charlie has long carried the weight of being caretaker for his brother. As a result, he hasn't always cared for himself. When Rye comes to town, Charlie can't help himself from helping Rye.

They had a great story and I was invested in them. This was like Grumpy/sunshine with Charlie as a sunshine who isn't actually very sunshiney.

Charlie goes overboard to help Rye get his house built. It was fun to see their relationship develop and watch Rye learn to believe in Charlie's goodness along with his own.

Parrish seems to have a theme of bringing two emotionally damaged people together quickly. Similar to Better Than People, they quickly move in/spend massive amounts of time together. I was a little annoyed that this one also contained a virgin hero. But I thought Parrish did a spectacular job of the two characters talking through their concerns about sex.

One big note, there were considerably less animals in this book than Better Than People, but cats are a big focus in this story.

I enjoyed Charlie and Rye's story. I will definitely read more from Parrish and in this world.

I loved this and hope to write a full review soon. Rye is on the cusp of homelessness when he inherits a wreck of a house from a grandfather he never knew in a state he's never even visited. Charlie is a sweetheart, an older brother/guardian who's middled aged decades before his time. As is his habit, he's only happy to help Rye find his way. Both men are wonderful, sweet, unique, sensitive in the very best way-- and their story is well told. Definitely recommend.