Shadetree Mechanic Sanitaria Springs

Pretty simple if you're a fan of this author and the Sanitaria Springs series you are going to love this.It as good as any other SS story out there.The only difference is the protagonist Ansel is an adult so you read about some adults issues too wouldn't normally read about.But there are plenty of appearances from recent SS stories and interesting flashbacks to Ansel teen years

Very well written and the pacing was excellent; that said, the character development was beyond perfect.  Even the evil neighbors just sucked you in; couldn't wait to see what the next string of insults were going to be.  

Story about a man that is learning how is childhood is still controlling him in ways that he never truly realized.  Ansel has a boyfriend and good friends that help him as he finds a way forward.

Satisfying ending, but would not mind a sequel or even a longer multi-chapter look at this group of characters.

You have read the other reviews, and if they don't convince you to read this story, take a gander at the following...

I turned the final corner and back onto my block. It's a decent block that's owner occupied. You can always tell when people rent out their house – people just don't take care of things that aren't their own. The block was in transition, really. It used to be white folks as far as the eye could see – as my dad used to say, the only black guy you ever saw was Bill Cosby hawking Jello on the TV. Now the neighborhood has changed, the old families moving on as their kids grew up and being replaced with new families. The Chews lived at the end of the block, a mixed family with an Asian mother and a Caucasian father. They had a teenage boy and a tween girl. There were the Kellers, who were also a mixed race family, the father being an Irish fellow and his bride an African-American woman. They had younger kids, probably in primary school. I walked up to my home, one owned by my parents before me, and smelled the Karen before I saw her. Brimstone is her signature scent, I think.

“There are kids on this block. I think you should consider that,” she said, looking at me through the chain link.

I smiled at her. “Come on. We both know you didn't actually think.”

She got up from her perch on her front porch and descended her front steps. “I'm just saying not everyone wants to see your...boobs.”

“Interesting that your husband doesn't want to see yours, either,” I replied. I walked up to my front door while she moved to the sidewalk to follow me.

“You're disgusting! No one wants you here! I'm going to call-”

“Who? Who will you call?” I ask, turning around. She took a startled step back as I glared at her. “This is my house. Go back to yours and make your family miserable, but leave me alone. For Christ's sake!”

“I'm telling you there are standards!” she said, pointing two fingers at me with a cigarette smoldering between them.

I chuckled. “I told you my condition for selling the house.”

He dropped his chin and looked at me. “Putting a sign up that says 'I'm moving because my neighbor is an asshole' might affect the sale price of your house.”

I chuckled again. “Well. Full disclosure, right?”

This is a wonderful new story in the Sanitaria Springs world.  It is well told with a cast of characters you can easily empathize with.  The tale flows quickly, but so smoothly leaving you feeling warmth and hope.  A tale of young love and old love set in a wonderful community with some flawed people felt authentic and realistic.  A great read for a long afternoon any time.  Read it.

A truly wonderful story, that fits perfectly in the Sanitaria Series.

I truly wonderful group of characters featuring Ansel, a mechanic who has problems to deal with.

You will find other SS popping in for a visit.

The clock in the old house stopped working but time didn’t stop. Ansel condemned himself living in his parents’ house as a prisoner of his own past. Watching the clock he becomes aware that his life didn’t stop with it, but also, time didn’t go backwards. The demons of the past haven’t occurred in his mother’s kitchen, there was no molesting from his father, no abusing. But lost chances haven’t show either. Youth spend in closet, longing for teenage love and passion…the life hasn’t come back to be lived again. But the future was in his hands. Having a true love and support in Joe, real friend and, eventually, business partner Ken, as life bring us unexpected twist and turns, Ansel get the opportunity to be a father as well. Breaking with the past but carrying deep scars, Ansel bravely embrace the future. He knows that life is not going to be harmony all the time but, with self-acceptance, faith in himself and loving himself; he is well armed to confront all challenges.