The Hardware Store

A YA Sweet M/M Romance

By: D.A.E. Jackson

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

In a town built on perfect love stories, Roland is about to rewrite the script.

After years of playing the hometown hero, Roland never imagined that falling in love would be his most daring move yet. Story City, Iowa, may look like the set of a small-town romance movie—complete with fairy lights, friendly neighbors, and conveniently timed festivals—but beneath the charm lies gossip, judgment, and unspoken rules about what love is supposed to look like. When Roland takes Alex’s hand at the annual Moonlight Dance and makes their relationship public, he knows he’s stepping off the safe, scripted path.

But being out in Story City isn’t as easy as a movie montage. As the town launches a flashy “rebranding” campaign that threatens to erase the places that made them who they are—like Alex’s beloved Coffee Shop and Roland’s family Hardware Store—Roland and Alex find themselves fighting for more than just each other. They’re standing up for the soul of their town, and for the kind of love that doesn’t fit neatly into anyone’s trope.

Heartfelt, romantic, and sharply observant, this second installment in the Story City series proves that even in a town full of picture-perfect endings, the bravest stories are the ones that refuse to fade into the background.
YA, M/M, Sweet Romance.