Review - Pay It Forward by Nic Starr

Bailey works part time in a call center. He hates it, but it pays the bills, barely, and since he was forced to leave home after finishing high school, he’s hard-pressed to find anything better. In his spare time, Bailey also collects donated books for distribution to kids on the street. Tom is the owner and chief barista of Take Two, a coffee shop that’s his own second chance after a disastrous career in finance. This time he’s determined to make it on his own without risking dragging down anyone else if he fails. Both men are about to learn that we all need help sometimes.

“Pay It Forward” is a rather charming little romance featuring two very realistically drawn protagonists. Tom and Bailey are very believable characters, and the dramatic turns the story takes are quite relatable facets of everyday life as opposed to artificial. Both men are rather like-able characters, if far from perfect.

There are a number of secondary characters surrounding the two main protagonists, and many of them are quite well drawn. In particular, the street kids that Bailey works with are painted with special care to make them quite real. One suspects the author may have been trying to make a point, but if so, it’s done very softly.

If there is one nit I would pick with the story, it’s how everything turns out. While most of us may like our happy endings, things get wrapped up a little too neatly for everyone at the end of this story. It’s a little too much of a good thing, with everything working out for everyone.

“Pay It Forward” is available from Amazon.