Review: Great short story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 2, 2013
I really enjoyed this short story by Samantha Hunter. Tight Quarters takes place over a weekend on a train trip through New York State and turns into something so much more for a phobia laden writer and a retired NYPD detective recovering from being shot. It was hard not to like these two wounded characters and feel for their plight.Brenna Burke survived a horrible accident as a teen that left her with several phobias but she's managed to mostly conquer them with the exception of claustrophobia. She's applying for a job as a travel writer and knows she must get past this to win the job, so she's booked a trip on the train and is dead set on making it work.Reid Cooper is freshly retired from the NYPD and recovering from a gunshot wound. He's trying to figure out where to go next in his life and plans on using this trip to figure out what direction to go.Finding out they are both booked in the same berth sends Brenna into a panic but Reid is somewhat excited as he's immediately attracted. Since they both want to make the trip, they decide to share the room. When Brenna wants to set up some rules, Reid throws them right out and suggests they just live in the minute.It was fun watching Reid help Brenna realize not everything has to be controlled. I think his injury made him see life in a whole new light and it was nice to see him share that with her. There is no doubt Brenna has had a huge uphill battle to fight but I did wonder if after so long it became more of a habit than anything. While with Reid she took huge steps in getting better, but without him she took even bigger ones.While I enjoyed this story, they seemed to move a really rapid pace; one I'm not so sure someone with extreme phobias would have been able to handle. Brenna seems somewhat self absorbed and while I can sympathize with her issues, I had a hard time connecting with her. Reid on the other hand was very easy to like and I admire him for seeing past Brenna's issues.Tight Quarters is a very easy story to like; it's short, sexy, and has a great male lead. However, I would have loved an epilogue because with Brenna's issues it would have been nice to know how things turn out for them.Review copy provided for an honest review.