The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds by Charley Descoteaux

Title: The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds

Series: N/A

Author: Charley Descoteaux

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Novel (197 Pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press ( 2014)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts

Blurb: All he ever wanted was to be a normal guy….

Phil Brask spends his days in the basement of his mentor’s Victorian home, converting legal documents into electronic format. When the pipe feeding the water heater bursts, Lee Redding arrives in the plumber’s truck and draws Phil away from the narrow focus of his computer and camera lens. Lee gives Phil hope for a life beyond the walls he’s constructed using the nesting habits of migratory birds and dense legal files, a guided tour through a world filled with romance and music…maybe even family. But there’s a reason Phil retreated behind those walls, why he panics at a simple touch.

Lee has a good life—working with his uncle and on his mother’s farm, playing bass in a horrible metal band, and hooking up when he pleases—but he’s always suspected something was missing. When he meets the hot photographer with the icy-blue eyes, he knows exactly what that something is. Phil isn’t like other guys, but neither is Lee beneath his carefree exterior. Maybe Lee’s the perfect guy to show Phil that everything doesn’t have to be done the hard way and “home” isn’t a four-letter word.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5271

Reviewer: GiGi

Review: A beautiful and dramatic look at two people learning to live life through the lens of their own experience, helping each other to cope and find love. The writing was smooth, the internal dialogue was seamless, the romantic scenes intense, and the plot was fast paced.
Phil has learned to trust just one man through his trauma, but knows that he needs more than the security of Jerry’s house, he needs to take a risk, to step out and experience life. This characters’ anxiety was so well written I could feel it, along with his minor successes. Each brave step Phil took had my heart pounding and expecting the worst. When it didn’t happen, I cheered for him, and when it did, I wanted to retreat to that basement with him.

Lee kept me curious, his intent and his own explorative personality had me smiling while at the same time I kept my guard up through the plot hoping he wasn’t going to destroy the bravery Phil had established in himself. I was very pleased to see a mirrored personality and an honest heart in Lee.

There are plenty of minor hurdles and then major dramatic events for both main characters, but they are survivors and that is what this story is about. Surviving adversity, rising above what others try to force on us, and beating the odds.
The important thing I saw in this story is that success was not just internal. Yes, Lee and Phil had their own demons to fight, and they worked hard to defeat them so that once they had met each other they were more able to make that relationship work.

But the secret to the healing and survival, in this case of Phil, is that at least one person stepped forward to be the hero, to be the support system and safe place for that healing to happen. The biggest hero in this story for me is not Phil or Lee, it is Jerry. Without the Jerry’s of this world, characters in story plots like this and in the real world would not have a chance. So, go Jerry! And congrats to Lee and Phil, two strange birds who found each other and made life work for them.

The Nesting Habits of Strange Birds is a great read, with plenty of surprises and “Aww damn that’s sweet!” moments.