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Sympathy

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It took Anthony Potosi years to recover from the accident that claimed his father's life, and doctors told him he'd never walk again. He proved them wrong. Now he's back at the landscaping business, Potosi and Sons, he shares with his two older brothers—but they seem more interested in getting Anthony to sell out his share than in celebrating his recovery.

The oil-and-water relationship between Anthony and his brothers is hardly new. Even when they were kids, Sal and Chip delighted in terrorizing their baby brother with stories like "The Hook," complete with visits to the abandoned Victorian a half mile down the two-lane.

Now Anthony towers over his brothers...but he's still the youngest. When the new owner of the Hook House calls in an order, they take a little too much satisfaction in sending him to face his old fears. And learning to open up again to trust, desire—and maybe even love—is far scarier than The Hook.

61 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2009

42 people are currently reading
193 people want to read

About the author

Jordan Castillo Price

138 books2,131 followers
Author and artist Jordan Castillo Price writes paranormal sci-fi thrillers colored by her time in the Midwest, from inner city Chicago, to various cities across southern Wisconsin. She’s settled in a 1910 Cape Cod near Lake Michigan with tons of character and a plethora of bizarre spiders. Any disembodied noises, she’s decided, will be blamed on the ice maker.

Jordan is best known as the author of the PsyCop series, an unfolding tale of paranormal mystery and suspense starring Victor Bayne, a gay medium who's plagued by ghostly visitations.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Jordan Price.
Author 138 books2,131 followers
wrote
October 14, 2009
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love writing a special book for each Halloween. And so with this story, I gathered up all the elements for what I thought would be a traditional horror story: a haunted house, "voodoo dolls", The Hook, and some hidden gravestones.

And I ended up with a contemporary romance. Go figure.
Profile Image for Josephine Myles.
Author 66 books652 followers
February 4, 2011
As I’ve come to expect from Jordan Castillo Price, this was a beautifully written story. The novelette tells the story of Anthony Potosi, a man who runs a landscape gardening business with his older brothers and who has mostly recovered from a crippling car accident a couple of years previously. When delivering shrubs to the new owner of the house Tony’s brothers always teased him about being scared of, he discovers a connection with the charismatic potter.

There is much to admire in this story, particularly the quality of the descriptive passages and the dialogue between the brothers. I also liked the gradual way the connection between Tony and David unfolds. I could have done with a little more time to get to know David, as he still seemed fairly nebulous by the end (especially when compared to Tony’s brothers who I really felt I knew), but I certainly enjoyed the read. JCP never disappoints!
Profile Image for Jyanx.
Author 3 books110 followers
May 13, 2014
It was okay, but the stale relationship dynamics left me a little cold. I liked the characters, but didn't feel engaged by their relationship or connection. I guess I was hoping for something a little more creepy than I got.
Profile Image for Josy.
992 reviews3 followers
June 24, 2018
~ 3.5 stars ~

This was a really good, beautifully written short story. My first by Jordan Castillo Price but certainly not my last.
Profile Image for Ann.
1,452 reviews135 followers
July 31, 2013
First off, thanks to Cole over at the Armchair Reader for hosting an awesome blog where I win stuff and to the author for offering up stuff I can win.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover, it's unique, moody, pretty and creepy. After you read the story you realize the cover captures the book very well. The writing is amazing. The kind of writing where you don't feel like you're reading, you're just in the story. It was short, too short. Not that anything was left out or unanswered, I just wanted to read more about these characters and The Hook House.

I liked the characters a lot. Tony is struggling to live with his life changing injuries, trying to find his place in the family business again. He struggles and he's lonely, but he's also very brave for all that he's been through. David is now living in and renovating The Hook House. He's a ceramic artist shrouded in some mystery. The Hook House was THE scary, abandoned house in the town where Tony and his brothers grew up and he has always held on to that little bit of fear he had as a kid.

It was fun to be a little on edge reading about Tony and David. Everything about David was really pretty normal, quirky maybe, but normal. Tied in with the house though, and there was just enough edginess there to make me wonder what direction the story may go.

I appreciated the information about the title and the author's personal experiences with ceramics at the end too. It made complete sense learning those bits of information. Besides, I like learning stuff on accident, that's the way.
Profile Image for Ami.
6,242 reviews489 followers
January 7, 2010
I thought this will be a creepy horror story but it is more "mysterious", I guess. I love the twist in the background of Anthony and David. What actually happened prior to them meeting at David's house. It's a nice read from one of my favorite authors ...
Profile Image for Elisa Rolle.
Author 107 books237 followers
Read
December 2, 2009
Due to the time of release, Hallowen, and the author, Jordan Castillo Price and her vampires and psycops, I was expecting something "paranormal" from this seasonal novella, and instead, to my surprise and delight, it was a very nice, and normal, romance, with a good love story.

Tony was in a bad accident and now, even if he is the younger of the Potosi's brothers, he is also the weaker, the one the other two look after, the one who has to do the less heavy jobs... losing his status of "body", the man who could do everything, is for Tony like losing a bit of his masculinity. Then he does a job for David, the man who bought the old house Tony and his brothers thought haunted when they were young, and when Tony goes there the first time, he doesn't know what to expect. For sure he isn't expecting David, and the sudden sexual sparks the man arise in him and the mutual interest. David doesn't look at Tony like a broken man, he looks at him like a fine piece of meat he can't wait to taste. And Tony is both excited than perplexed. David comes to him in a so strong way, that Tony is almost scared: has David an hidden agenda that Tony can't find out?

There is a little surprising turn in the story, nothing big, but it gives to all the novella a meaning more. Other than that, what I enjoyed was the slightly May/December relationship between David and Tony, and also the reverse play of Top and bottom: David is older than Tony, forty-something against not yet thirty, and he is the one who is straightforward in proposing Tony, actually Tony is the one who asks to step back a bit, to have more time, but when they finally arrive to share a bed, David leaves the upper hand, and position, to Tony. I think that was absolutely necessary for Tony, he needed to prove to another but above all to himself, that he was still "man" enough, that he wasn't broken.

Another thing I liked was Tony's relationship with his brothers Chip and Sal, and their Italian heritage. It wasn't so much developed, but the classical tight-knit Italian family was there, and I wouldn't have minded to read a little more on them, how they deal with Tony's homosexuality, something they know and seem to accept, but that probably was not easy at first.

http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/86...
Profile Image for J.L. Merrow.
Author 145 books1,324 followers
July 11, 2010
I was disappointed by this one, but bear in mind that a disappointing JCP work is still a well-written story. This short tale raised questions which it didn't answer to my satisfaction, and tried to create conflict in ways that, to me, bordered on melodramatic.
I was left with the impression that the author kind of liked the idea, but not enough to really go for it.
Profile Image for Karen K.
426 reviews13 followers
July 10, 2010
Oh wow - I really loved this. I know it was short but it packed such a punch in so few pages, although I really just wanted it to continue. The characters were so beautiful, yet so flawed and I love how things progressed. Definitely a fave.
Profile Image for Christy.
4,432 reviews127 followers
January 26, 2025
I have come to expect a certain level of fabulousness in Jordan Castillo Price's writing. Luckily for me, she's never let me down. 'Sympathy' is a short read, but beautifully written, and it's well worth it.

Anthony is the youngest of three brothers in an Italian family. The three of them run a landscaping business, although lately, it seems his older brothers just want him to sell out. Anthony was in a crippling car accident a couple of years before, and he's worked hard at getting out of the wheelchair and walking again. Typical of sibling rivalry, and Italian macho men, his brothers don't seem to have a lot of sympathy for his aches and pains. Even going so far as to send him with a delivery down to the Hook House, where the three boys used to go as kids and scare each other on tales of ghosts and ghouls.

Hook House is different now with the new owner. It's been painted, there are curtains in the windows, the yard has been cut back, and there's a gorgeous artist, David, living there. Anthony and David hit it off and, afterwards, David tells a story of being in the middle of a screaming fight with his loser junkie boyfriend, when he looked out the window of his apartment and watched an SUV slam into a landscaping truck that rolled through a stop. Anthony is shocked that David witnessed his crash, the crash where his father died, but David turned his life around after witnessing it. Or, at least, his personal life.

There's a little bit of magic happening in Anthony and David's story. A little mystique which really caught at my fancy. A well written, and gentle, love story.
Profile Image for Theo Fenraven.
Author 32 books75 followers
August 15, 2013
It was nice reading something from Price that didn't contain supernatural elements. Well, not so you'd notice anyway.

It is a love story between a landscaping guy and an artist. I loved the characters and their interaction, but the story ended so abruptly, I almost gasped aloud.

I've been wanting to say this to Ms Price for a long time: please stop writing shorts. They are never enough. You are an excellent writer, but this story in particular made me feel cheated. I wanted so much more, and I didn't get it.

It's gotten to the point where I refuse to read the shorts any longer, because I hate the empty gnawing feeling I get when I click to the last page, which I never see coming, and realize there is nothing more.


Some people can write short stories that make me feel full. Ms Price is not one of them. Only novellas and novels will sate my appetite; I will wait for them.
Profile Image for Emanuela ~plastic duck~.
805 reviews121 followers
May 20, 2012
There were a few creepy houses in my neighborhood and it's strange how different they look now that I'm much older. They scared me and my friends, but we used to hang around those places time and again. This is why this story struck a chord with me. On top of that there are these two men meeting. One of them is a survivor of a car accident and he's been coping with the pain the accident left him. The other man is older, and mysterious, and he lives in the house that used to scare Anthony, with its family graveyard in the backyard. He is a sort of survivor too. Their hook-up is useful to them both and by the end of the story we learn more about this fascinating stranger.

The story is short, but I was delighted about how the author was able to describe the entanglement of all the protagonists in few pages with a lot of psychological nuances. I adored this story.
Profile Image for Julesmarie.
2,504 reviews88 followers
December 12, 2017
Bizarre and a little creepy and a lot fascinating. Everything I love about JCP stories!

Some Favorite Quotes:
"Just a little ways more," I told the plants. Yeah, I talked to 'em, always had. I figured if they could hear Mozart playing, according to those studies they did a few years back, then there was a chance that talking nice might make one of us feel better.

I wasn't as broken as I'd thought.
Profile Image for Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine).
1,189 reviews34 followers
August 14, 2023
“I was worried maybe your friends might be right—you’ve got a thing for fixer-uppers.”
“This house…maybe. But not you, Anthony.” He sighed against my lower lip, and turned it into the brush of a kiss. “There’s not a single thing I’d change.”
— Tony Potosi and David Dean

Warnings: references to drug addiction, death and life altering car accident.

Sympathy uses a fairly small cast and limited time frame to tell the story of Tony Potosi and David Dean. It is roughly 36 hours (plus two memories) told through the eyes of Tony and does feel like it has more focus on him. Tony has largely physically healed from a disastrous, life-altering accident but psychologically he is still struggling. The good intentions of his two brothers, Sal and Chip really isn't helping. This story is his healing, to a degree, it takes him back to a place that caused him already-healed scars to heal these new ones. The story of Tony's accident. That feels so unlikely but I guess not at the same time. Seeing an accident like Tony's could easily make someone reflect on their own life. it is here that the hint f magic comes in. It is effective and written well.

When you read the About this Story Sympathy feels like it was something of a personal piece for Jordan Castillo Price. Jordan is an artist with her hands as well as her words, like protagonist David, her preferred medium is clay. She includes an example of the relevant work which I appreciate. The About this Story also explains the interesting source of the title. I think I saw it to a degree but not with clarity, it was nice to have it explained.

Highly recommend to those who enjoy the MM genre, especially those looking for a quick read. It is available on KU but at only 60p I'm not sure how much I would pay for it.

“Remember, I’m not used to anyone giving a damn about what I do or don’t like. Attempts at impressing me send me into paroxysms of delight.” — David Dean

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Profile Image for Cheryl.
36 reviews2 followers
June 13, 2013
Beautifully crafted, multi-layered short story. Wonderful characters. Great character dynamics.

At first glance this is just a spooky house story. Anthony Potosi needs to get over his childhood fears of the neighborhood haunted house in order to make a delivery there. On another level, physical and emotional trauma from his past haunts him wherever he goes, and he must learn to get past that as well. There's also a tale of a family still trying to set itself right after a tragedy. In between these layers runs a ribbon of fate and magic, of the arcane hiding in broad daylight, allowing you to see it or not according to your own wishes.

Anthony is a wonderfully fleshed out character. He's physically and emotionally strong, practical, grounded, determined, and a little bit superstitious. Someone who used to be the biggest and strongest member of his family, he now has physical limitations that he's fought hard to overcome but which will follow him throughout his life like the ghosts he was once afraid of. David is artistic, sympathetic, nurturing, and open to all things. He has an innate spirituality. He's comfortable with himself and with the world around him. He embraces the parts of his house that once frightened Anthony. It's David's comfort and acceptance that eases Tony into the house and into a relationship.

JCP wrote that when she started this story she threw in a bunch of traditionally scary stuff and ended up with a contemporary romance. But in the process she wove the esoteric into the contemporary and traditional and came up with a story that hints at the supernatural in a surprisingly realistic way, the way things like deja vu or feeling a sudden connection with a total stranger happen in everyday life all the time, often to be overlooked or soon forgotten. It's this hinting of the occult that has me craving more. This story only covers the first thirty-six hours or so of Tony and David's relationship, yet there is so much there that I really want to see how this relationship develops. I also want more of the Potosi family. I loved meeting these three brothers and seeing how they interact, their awkward but supporting and protective dynamic that tends to go wrong, just as so many family interactions do. If I could choose any of JCP's stories to expand on, it would be this one. Well, after Psycop, of course, but she's already said she'll write more of those. Now to figure out how to convince her to write more of this.
Profile Image for Charly.
754 reviews31 followers
October 31, 2012
Not bad, but not great either

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.

Rating: 6/10

PROS:
- I like reading about characters who are not physically perfect, especially when they deal with pain or their physical limitations the way that Tony does: he neither whines about his injury nor pretends that it doesn’t exist. He just accepts things and goes on with his life.
- Price has an amazing ability to create suspense as well as a sense of paranormal weirdness in a short amount of time.
- As is always the case with this author, she seems to have done a lot of research into the subject matter. There are lots of details in this story that sound quite genuine.

CONS:
- The story, although well written, is so short that I didn’t have a chance to form an attachment to either of the main characters.
- There’s a sex scene that’s capably written, but the guys have known each other for less than a day when it happens, so it left me cold.

Overall comments: This is a nice little story about the beginning of a relationship, but it’s not long enough to get attached to the characters or to show much more than the possibility of a happy ending down the line.
Profile Image for Tara.
941 reviews59 followers
June 1, 2010
A Short Story by Jordan Castillo Price.


Anthony Potosi is the baby brother at the landscaping business, Potosi and Sons. The brothers seem to have a delicate relationship, and it does not have to do with the fact that Tony is gay. A delivery request from David Dean, the new owner of the haunted house from their childhood seems to bring to light many of the problems Tony seems to be having.

Another one of those sexier Twilight Zone books. I wish there was more about the little paranormal element that was there, just a little more.
Profile Image for Sandra.
4,121 reviews13 followers
August 13, 2011
I heart JCP. Her characters are amazing and always well developed no matter how short the story. My only complaint is that it ended too soon and I would love a follow up on Tony and David even thought this ended cleanly and without any lose ends. So good. It wasn't quite paranormal but had a slightly creepy vibe that was magnified by Tony's superstitions. It focused more on Tony's regaining both physical and emotional confidence following a severe accident, through his interactions with his brothers and with David.
Profile Image for Amber.
1,294 reviews33 followers
September 28, 2014
For the length I think it had more characters than it needed to. It spent a lot of time developing Anthony's family dynamics and the creepy house. That took time away from the time developing Anthony and David's relationship. Add to it David's backstory and there just isn't a lot of time spent focusing on them. There were lots of different threads to this story and I think it would have been a little bit better to either cut some of the threads out or expand the story itself. As it is I just felt unconnected to the guys.
Profile Image for Feliz.
Author 59 books107 followers
December 31, 2009
Jordan Castillo Price stands for supernatural, gripping suspense, for surprising plot twitches and sometimes shockingly detailed scenes including blood, pain (physical and psychic)and, not to forget, white - hot erotics.
So this novella is an exception. Even more endearing because of it. A lovely story about coming to terms, becoming friends, becoming lovers. The author's proof that she can do more than shock her readers.
Profile Image for Elith.
108 reviews6 followers
January 9, 2016
Why aren't more people reading this book?? It's by Jordan Castillo Price so it's every single thing you'd expect - so where are the 2k reviews?? I'm so glad I picked it up - ok so it's a tad shorter than most of her work and it left me saying "please make this into a series!!" But other than that it was perfect. A little mystery a little romance a little sex a little angst a little creepy creepy = a very enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Rhode PVD.
2,469 reviews35 followers
May 20, 2016
Happily not scary in a Halloween story sense. Although some serious stuff, past relationships, family dynamics and ugly-ass Victorian wallpaper, is mentioned.

Yes I wish it was longer, but that's a case of liking the characters, not because the story was missing anything.

I'm working my way through all of this author's work now and I can say is gonna be a hardship when I pop out the other side. She is just that good. A three star her is a four star anyone else.
Profile Image for Katherine.
2,870 reviews13 followers
July 25, 2016
Getting your life back after an accident is no small feat, and one that leaves you with lasting physical and emotional harm is even harder. Nothing is ever the same and finding your way in that new life is a challenge. Throw in dating and relationships and it can seem to be too much. Working on this delicate subject in a beautiful way, touching on past and present, past expectations and new hopes and fears, this short story is a beautiful and sexy read that is worth your time.
Profile Image for Leslie Nicoll.
170 reviews24 followers
April 14, 2010
My Jordan Castillo Price marathon continues...I found this short story on Amazon. Sort of melancholy, but loving. I guess it came out around Halloween and people expected it to be spookier but it's not. Once again, lovely writing from JCP. Recommended.
Profile Image for Wren.
Author 6 books58 followers
May 6, 2010
I really enjoyed this, even tho' it's very short. JCP is such a good writer, she gets right to the heart of the characters and makes you love them in quick time. I particularly liked how Tony grew up with David's attentions, and how in the end he managed to see his (annoying) brothers in new light.
Profile Image for Alli.
255 reviews11 followers
October 9, 2012
Quick, enjoyable read. I'd be very interested if JCP should ever decide to develop into a series. Intriguing characters & paranormal aspect, all of which are definitely worth exploring further. Short, but still fleshed out. A sweet conclusion.
Profile Image for Kelly (Maybedog).
3,501 reviews239 followers
May 1, 2017
Well the statues were a little creepy...a lot creepy...but it was a great story. It was one of the best written of hers, love scene was beautiful. I loved how real the family felt, how perfectly imperfect and just real. Anthony's dream guy sounds a lot like mine...
Profile Image for Jess.
2,340 reviews78 followers
December 18, 2012
Surprisingly sweet (I was expecting more creepy). Short love story about two damaged people -- it's nice to see a hero who has to compensate with physical limitations. Made things a bit more normal/relatable, which I think was the intent.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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